People Advisor

Norwich City College; Norwich; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

City College Norwich is seeking a seasoned People Advisor to join its People Services team. You will provide professional, proactive employee relations guidance across the college and act as the first point of contact for managers on employee relations matters.

With CIPD Level 3 qualification and hands-on HR experience, you will manage ER cases, support policy application, and help resolve issues early. The role spans recruitment, onboarding, absence management and GDPR compliance, in a

Qualifications

• CIPD Level 3 qualification or higher.
• Experience in a People Services/HR environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide first-line employee relations advice to managers and employees on policies and terms.
• Manage a range of employee relations cases including probation, attendance, performance, and grievances.
• Support investigations and hearings with notes and administrative support.
• Coach managers to handle people matters confidently and consistently.
• Assist with absence management and Occupational Health referrals.
• Identify trends in ER and attendance data and escalate risks.
• Support recruitment, onboarding and probation activities.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure GDPR compliance.
• Develop and update manager guidance and resources.
• Contribute to People Services projects and organisational change.
• Build effective working relationships to promote a positive ER culture.
• Collaborate with People Partners, Admins and Payroll to deliver excellent service.

Skills

HR experience

Relationship building

Communication

Education

CIPD Level 3

CIPD Level 5 (desired)

Job description

People Advisor

People Services | City College Norwich, Easton & Paston College

37 hours per week, 52 weeks per year

£30,941 – £32,977 DOE

We are looking for an experienced People Advisor to join our People Services team to provide professional and proactive people advice across the college and acts as the first point of contact for managers on a wide range of employee relations matters.

The role is responsible for managing lower-level employee relations cases, supporting managers to apply policies consistently, and helping to resolve people issues at an early stage. The People Advisor bridges the gap between administrative HR support and strategic HR partnering, ensuring managers receive timely, pragmatic and legally compliant advice while escalating complex, sensitive or high-risk matters to the People Partner team.

What you’ll be doing

• Providing first-line employee relations advice and guidance to managers and employees on people policies, procedures and terms and conditions.
• Managing a range of employee relations cases, including probation reviews, attendance management, performance concerns, flexible working requests, disciplinary matters and grievances.
• Supporting formal investigations and hearings through note-taking and administrative support.
• Coaching and supporting managers to handle people matters confidently, consistently and in line with best practice.
• Assisting with absence management processes, Occupational Health referrals and employee wellbeing initiatives.
• Identifying trends and themes in employee relations and attendance data and escalating risks where appropriate.
• Supporting recruitment, onboarding, induction and probation activities across the employee lifecycle.
• Maintaining accurate employee records and case management information, ensuring compliance with GDPR and information governance requirements.
• Developing and updating manager guidance, toolkits and people resources.
• Contributing to People Services projects, continuous improvement initiatives and organisational change activities.
• Building effective working relationships with managers and colleagues across the College to promote a positive and proactive employee relations culture.
• Working collaboratively with People Partners, People Services Administrators and Payroll to deliver an excellent people service.

What we’re looking for

This role will suit someone who:

• Is CIPD Level 3 qualified (or above) with solid, hands‑on HR experience.
• Is willing to work towards CIPD Level 5 qualification.
• Experience of working in an HR or People Services environment Enjoys building relationships and influencing at all levels.
• Can communicate the right information, to the right audience, at the right time, in the appropriate manner.
• Proactively take responsibility to deliver an outstanding service.
• Wants a role where they can have real impact, not just provide advice from the sidelines.

Why join us?

You’ll be part of a collaborative People Services team that values professionalism, fairness and curiosity. You’ll have the space to think, the backing to challenge constructively, and the opportunity to influence how the college supports its people now and in the future.

If you’re looking for a People Advisor role where relationships, judgement and values genuinely matter, we’d love to hear from you.

Closing date: Sunday 8 November 2026 at Midnight

As a College we are required to undertake various Safer Recruitment checks as set out within the guidance from the Department for Education Keeping Child Safe in Education.We require all staff to undertake an enhanced Adult and Child Workforce DBS Check and to register with the DBS Update Service. From 28 November 2020, changes were made to the DBS filtering rules. As DBS certificates issued before this date may have been produced under different filtering arrangements, we are unable to rely on an Update Service status check for certificates issued before 28 November 2020. In these circumstances, a new DBS application will be required.