People Advisor

Warburtons; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Profit share

Extra annual leave

Pension 7%

Life assurance

Discounts

Development opportunities

Kitchens stocked

Wellbeing support

Job summary

Warburtons in Bristol is seeking an experienced People Advisor to provide expert HR guidance across manufacturing and distribution, delivering practical solutions and coaching to managers while upholding company values.

You will manage employee relations cases, support organisational change, stay compliant with UK employment law, and partner with the broader People team to raise performance and colleague experience.

Qualifications

• Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and ER case management across disciplinary, grievance, performance and attendance issues.
• Experience advising across manufacturing/distribution environments.
• Proven ability to coach managers and influence at all levels.

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted advisor to managers on employee relations matters, ensuring fairness and alignment with values.
• Manage employee relations cases from start to finish with pragmatic, commercially focused solutions.
• Partner with leaders to enhance team performance, engagement and talent development.
• Build management capability through coaching and practical support.
• Support organisational change initiatives, including consultations and restructures.
• Work with the People Partner to identify continuous improvement opportunities using data and insights.
• Collaborate with ER specialists, legal advisors and trade union reps to ensure consistent handling of matters.
• Keep up to date with employment legislation and best practice, sharing knowledge across the team.

Skills

Excellent communication

Self-motivated

Strong team working

Commercial acumen

Prioritising & organisation

Coach, consult & challenge

Relationship builder

HRM system experience

Education

CIPD qualified or working towards

Tools

SAP SuccessFactors

Job description

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Are you an experienced People Advisor and looking for your next challenge?

As ‘the UK’s No. 1 Bakery Brand’ we have been baking bread since 1876. Today, we are proudly a fifth-generation family, with the introduction of the sixth generation, supplying over 18,000 retail customers from 11 bakeries and 16 depots, producing a range of over 70 products including gluten and wheat free. Family and values are what makes us different, and we are a proud bunch, join us and you too could be proud to be Warburtons.

Function: Human Resources
Location: Bristol - Monday to Friday on site, as required operationally.

The Recipe

Supporting leaders across both Manufacturing and Distribution, this role offers the opportunity to make a real impact on our people and business performance. You'll provide expert advice, guidance and coaching on a broad range of people matters, helping managers build high-performing teams, navigate employee relations challenges and drive positive outcomes. Working as part of a collaborative People team and reporting into the Regional People Partner for Distribution, you'll deliver practical solutions, influence decision-making and champion our values while ensuring a consistent and people-focused approach across the business.

Key Accountabilities and Measures

• Acting as a trusted advisor to managers, you will provide expert guidance and coaching on a wide range of employee relations matters, ensuring cases are managed fairly, consistently, and in line with business values.
• Manage and support employee relations cases from start to finish, delivering pragmatic, commercially focused solutions that balance colleague experience, business needs and legal compliance.
• Partner with leaders to enhance team performance, engagement and talent development, equipping them with the tools and confidence to lead their teams effectively.
• Build management capability through coaching, development and practical support, helping leaders navigate people challenges and apply policies with confidence.
• Support organisational change initiatives, including consultations and restructures, ensuring change is delivered smoothly, sensitively and in line with legal requirements.
• Work closely with the People Partner to identify opportunities for continuous improvement, using data, insights and people expertise to address business challenges and enhance colleague experience.
• Collaborating with the wider People team, ER specialists, legal advisors and trade union representatives to ensure employee matters are managed effectively and consistently.
• Keeping up to date with employment legislation, best practice and emerging people trends, sharing knowledge and insights across the team.
• Contributing to wider People projects and initiatives, supporting the delivery of an exceptional people service and helping the business achieve its goals.
• Experience in an advisory HR/People role ideally gained in a fast paced or blue-chip environment in manufacturing/distribution
• Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and solid background and expertise of ER case management, handling disciplinary, grievance, performance and attendance management issues at all stages of company procedure in an advisory capacity,
• CIPD qualified/may be working towards
• A good understanding of business issues and how the identification and delivery of HR/ People interventions
• Systems: Experience of using a HRM system / database, ideally SAP Success Factors;
• Commercial acumen- Good business awareness / knowledge.
• Prioritising and Organisation - Ability to plan and organise and monitor a diverse workload.
• Strong team working ethic
• Excellent communication skills: articulate, influential; persuasive; and politically savvy.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and as part of a wider People Function
• Excellent relationship builder- collaborative in approach, establishing credible, trusted relationships with both internal and external contacts at all levels.
• Ability to coach, consult and challenge in a constructive manner, with confidence and resilience to influence at all levels from senior stakeholder to team members.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Strong balanced judgement and use a pragmatic common-sense approach
• Attention to detail and high, consistent levels of accuracy
• Full clean UK driving license

Extra Dough

At last and by no means yeast you will want to know what your breads worth:

• A slice of the annual profits (discretionary profit share)
• Family time is important to us so as well as your holiday entitlement, we'll give you the opportunity to purchase up to an extra weeks annual leave
• Award winning pension scheme with company contributions of 7%
• Life assurance
• Products you will love along with deals and discounts for you and the family through our Extra Dough website
• Continued investment in your personal development
• Fully stocked kitchens filled with our delicious products for you to enjoy with your daily brew!
• Support for your health and wellbeing, including access to free physiotherapy, 24/7 access to a confidential helpline for practical advice and a comprehensive occupational health service

We respect and value difference. We look to create an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Companies that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, or any other aspect which makes them unique, are proven to be better companies. More importantly, creating an environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best work, is the right thing to do.