People Advisor

National Grid; Exeter; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Pension with employer match

Share incentive plan

Salary sacrifice car

Technology schemes

Employee assistance lines

Matched charity giving

Job summary

National Grid is seeking a proactive People Advisor to join the NGED People team. You will partner with leaders, provide pragmatic HR guidance, and use data to influence decisions while ensuring policy and legal compliance. The role is hybrid with options for remote and office work in the south west region.

You will lead HR initiatives across Talent Management, DEI, and organisational effectiveness, supporting absence, flexible working, and employee relations. CIPD study is advantageous.

Qualifications

• Experience working within a BP and COE HR model.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building with the ability to influence.
• Customer-focused with excellent communication skills.
• Ability to prioritise and adapt to changing business needs.
• Attention to detail with data, policies and processes.
• Experience analysing large data sets and turning insights into recommendations.
• Ability to handle highly confidential information professionally.
• Proficient in MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint).
• Broad HR experience across recruitment, ER and talent management.
• Experience advising leaders balancing policy and business needs.
• Experience delivering projects from planning to review.
• CIPD qualification or progress towards one is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leaders to provide pragmatic HR advice across colleague matters.
• Use data and dashboards to generate insights and support decisions.
• Deliver HR processes in collaboration with NGED People and CoE teams.
• Lead and support projects in Talent Management, DEI and organisational effectiveness.
• Analyse trends and workforce data to identify risks and opportunities.
• Support Trade Union engagement activities and forums.
• Provide Employee Relations guidance and coaching to managers.
• Assist leaders with absence management and flexible working requests.
• Signpost leaders to specialist support and resources when needed.
• Drive continuous improvement of people processes and employee experience.

Skills

HRBP model

Stakeholder management

Communication

Independent working

Data analysis

Confidential data

MS Office (Excel/PowerPoint/Word)

HR lifecycle

Advising leaders

Project delivery

CIPD (advantageous)

Education

CIPD qualification (or working towards)

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Outlook

Teams

SharePoint

Job description

About The Role

Help shape the future of energy by putting people at the heart of everything we do.

At National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), our people are critical to delivering safe, reliable energy to millions of customers.

About The Role

Help shape the future of energy by putting people at the heart of everything we do.

At National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), our people are critical to delivering safe, reliable energy to millions of customers.

We're looking for a proactive and commercially minded People Advisor to join our People team and support leaders in driving business performance through exceptional people practices.

Working closely with the Lead Business Partner, you'll provide expert HR guidance and support across your assigned business area, helping leaders navigate a broad range of people matters. You'll use data and insight to influence decision-making, deliver meaningful people initiatives, and ensure compliance with employment legislation, company policies, and our values.

This is an exciting opportunity for an HR professional who enjoys building trusted relationships, analysing people data, and contributing to strategic people priorities while delivering excellent day-to-day support.

The role is hybrid so you can enjoy working from home as well as one of our base offices located in south west area - whichever is most local to you.

Please note - Interviews will be held for the role on week commencing 9th November.

What you'll do

• Partner with leaders and stakeholders to provide pragmatic, people-focused HR advice across a variety of colleague-related matters.
• Use people data, analytics and dashboards to generate meaningful insights, support evidence-based decision-making, and challenge constructively where appropriate.
• Support the delivery of key HR processes and cyclical activities, working closely with the wider NGED People team and Group Centres of Excellence.
• Lead and support projects that deliver both business and people priorities, including areas such as Talent Management, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and organisational effectiveness.
• Analyse internal and external trends, metrics and workforce data to identify opportunities, risks, and recommendations for improvement.
• Support Trade Union engagement activities and forums across the business.
• Provide informal Employee Relations guidance and coaching managers on colleague matters in line with company policies, values and the Code of Ethics.
• Support leaders with absence management, Occupational Health referrals, flexible working requests, family-friendly provisions and other employment-related matters.
• Act as a trusted advisor, ensuring leaders are signposted to the right specialist support and resources when required.
• Champion continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance people processes and the employee experience.

What you'll need

• Experience working within a Business Partner and Centre of Excellence HR model.
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with the confidence to influence and challenge constructively.
• A customer-focused approach with excellent communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and adapt to changing business needs.
• Strong attention to detail and a disciplined approach to managing data, policies and processes.
• Experience analysing large volumes of data and translating insights into meaningful business recommendations.
• Ability to handle highly confidential information with professionalism and discretion.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Teams and SharePoint.
• Broad HR experience across the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, employee relations and talent management.
• Experience advising leaders on people matters while balancing business needs with policy, employment legislation and company frameworks.
• Experience delivering projects from planning and initiation through to implementation and review.
• CIPD qualification or working towards one would be advantageous.

What you'll get

A competitive salary between £40,706.00 - £44,297.50 per annum – dependent on capability.

As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus based on personal and company performance and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%. You will also have access to a number of flexible benefits such as a share incentive plan, salary sacrifice car and technology schemes, support via employee assistance lines and matched charity giving to name a few.

More Information

This role closes on 5th November at 23:59, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary.

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates – we make appointments purely on merit, assessed against objective selection criteria. We support flexible working and will make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process should you have any physical or mental impairment which may affect your ability to participate in the process.

Please note that in most cases, National Grid is unable to offer sponsorship for employment under the UK points-based immigration system. As such, applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship now or in the future under the UK points-based immigration system. However, in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear and demonstrable need for specialist skills that cannot be sourced from the local labour market, National Grid may consider offering sponsorship. All applications are welcome from candidates who meet these requirements, regardless of race, nationality, or ethnic origin.