People Advisor

Smiths News; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Cash Plan

5% pension match

25 days holiday

E-Learning modules

Sharesave Scheme

Cycle to work

Colleague Assistance Programme

Colleague referral scheme

Job summary

Smiths News in Swindon is seeking a proactive People Advisor to support managers and colleagues across the business. You will provide expert guidance on employee relations, onboarding, probation, and wellbeing, and work with the Head of People Business Partnering to deliver strategic initiatives.

You'll build strong relationships, navigate employment legislation, and help shape a trusted People service while driving performance and improving the colleague experience.

Qualifications

• Generalist HR or People Advisor experience.
• Strong employee relations experience with a varied caseload.
• Good understanding of UK employment legislation and practical application.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to build credibility and influence managers at all levels.
• Organisational change and transformation experience would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Provide first-line advice and guidance to managers on a wide range of people matters.
• Support and coach managers on employee relations cases including absence, performance and conduct.
• Coordinate and support onboarding, probation and wellbeing initiatives.
• Produce case documentation and guidance for management.
• Contribute to People projects and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

Generalist HR

Employee relations

UK employment law

Communication

Stakeholder management

Organisational change

Education

CIPD Level 3

Job description

Hyrbrid working - 60% of your working week in an office or depot and regular travel to our Swindon head office.

Our reputation as the UK’s largest newspaper and magazine wholesaler speaks for itself. Every day, we serve more than 22,000 customers from 34 distribution centres across the country. Behind every nightly miracle is a team of dedicated people carrying out more roles than you realise – we’re the unseen force that delivers. So when we say we’re excited for what the future holds for our customers and colleagues, you can trust we’re as good as our word.

At Smiths News, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We're looking for a proactive and commercially minded People Advisor to join our People Team and play a key role in supporting managers and colleagues across the business.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced HR professional who enjoys building relationships, solving problems and providing practical people solutions that support business performance. You'll work closely with People Business Partners, managers and colleagues, providing expert advice and guidance across a broad range of employee relations and people matters.

You’ll also support the Head of People Business Partnering & Employee Relations, helping to deliver strategic people initiatives, drive consistency across the organisation and contribute to the ongoing development of our People agenda.

If you're passionate about delivering a great colleague experience and are looking for a varied role where no two days are the same, we'd love to hear from you.

As a trusted People Advisor, you'll:

• Provide first-line advice and guidance to managers and colleagues on a wide range of people matters.
• Support and coach managers on employee relations cases including absence, performance, conduct, grievance, probation and flexible working.
• Build manager capability and confidence through practical, commercially focused advice.
• Ensure people policies and procedures are applied consistently and in line with employment legislation.
• Coordinate and support employee lifecycle activities, including onboarding, probation and wellbeing initiatives.
• Produce case documentation, meeting correspondence and management guidance.
• Support annual people processes including salary reviews, talent discussions and engagement activities.
• Use people data and insights to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Contribute to People projects, organisational change initiatives and continuous improvement activities.
• Build strong relationships across the business to deliver a responsive and customer-focused People service.
• Support the Head of People Business Partnering & Employee Relations in delivering strategic People priorities and business change initiatives.

What we can offer you

Not only do we offer free onsite parking and competitive salary but you’ll also have access to:

• Company funded Health Cash Plan – providing cash back for everyday healthcare costs such as dental, optical and physiotherapy
• 5% match pension
• 25 days holiday plus holiday buy scheme
• 24/7 E-Learning modules, Training and Development opportunities
• Sharesave Scheme, Cycle to work schemes, Health cash plan
• Colleague Assistance Programme & Colleague referral scheme

About you

We're looking for someone who can combine strong HR knowledge with a pragmatic and collaborative approach.

You’ll ideally have:

• Experience in a generalist HR or People Advisor role.
• Strong employee relations experience and confidence managing a varied caseload.
• A good understanding of UK employment legislation and its practical application.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• The ability to build credibility and influence managers at all levels.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• CIPD Level 3 qualification (or working towards CIPD), or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience of supporting organisational change and business transformation activities would be advantageous.

Please note: you must have the right to work in the UK to be considered for this position.

A career with us is a career filled with people, pride, and passion. We rely on each other to get the job done, and we deliver what we say we will. Let’s see if we can rely on you, too.