Personnel (HR) Assistant

Peter Symonds College; Winchester; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

Peter Symonds College in Winchester is seeking a Personnel (HR) Assistant for a term-time role starting as soon as possible. You will join the HR and Payroll team to provide seamless support across recruitment, onboarding, payroll processing, and employee records.

The role requires strong IT skills, meticulous administration, and confidentiality. A CIPD/CIPP qualification or prior experience in education is advantageous.

Qualifications

• Strong IT skills and meticulous administrative experience.
• Experience in HR, recruitment, or payroll is advantageous.
• CIPD or CIPP qualification and education-sector experience are welcome.
• Ability to safeguard and maintain confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Recruitment & onboarding: coordinate candidate attraction, interview schedules, references, onboarding for new staff.
• Administrative support: maintain employee records, assist payroll processing, support staff reviews.
• Customer service: act as a contact point for personnel/payroll inquiries via phone, email or in person.

Skills

IT skills

Administrative experience

Attention to detail

HR experience

Payroll experience

Education setting experience

Job description

We are seeking a Personnel (HR) Assistant for a term time role starting as soon as possible.

The details for this post are as follows:

Reference (please quote):

09/26

In the range £25,159 - £26,343 per annum full time equivalent - Actual salary -£22,376 - £23,430 per annum (0.8894 FTE)

Hours:

37 hours per week - 41 weeks per year (Term time plus 3 weeks) 08:30 - 17:00 Monday to Thursday, 08:30 - 16:30 Fridays

Contract:

Permanent

Start Date:

ASAP

Interview Date:

15th October 2026

Closing Date:

Thursday 8 October 202608:00

Information About The Post

Peter Symonds is a vibrant sixth form college in Winchester which has been rated by Ofsted as 'outstanding' in every respect. We have a large team of committed and talented staff who are at the heart of the success of the College.

The Role

Our Personnel (HR) and Payroll team of six manages the complete employee journey, supporting several hundred colleagues with a high standard of professional, personalised service.

In this varied role, you will play a key part in delivering seamless support across the team.

Core responsibilities include:

• Recruitment & Onboarding: Coordinating candidate attraction, managing interview schedules, obtaining references, welcoming prospective staff to campus, and facilitating smooth onboarding experiences.
• Administrative Support: Maintaining accurate employee records, assisting the Payroll Officer with payroll processing, and supporting the staff professional review process.
• Customer Service: Serving as a welcoming point of contact for personnel and payroll inquiries via phone, email, or in-person visits, ensuring queries are handled promptly or directed to the right specialist.

About You

What You Bring:

• Essential Skills: Strong IT skills, solid administrative experience, and outstanding attention to detail.
• Helpful Background: Experience in HR, recruitment, or payroll—including familiarity with online HR or payroll systems - is beneficial, but not essential.
• Bonus Qualifications: A CIPD or CIPP qualification and prior experience working in an educational setting are welcome advantages.

Most importantly, you excel in a supportive and dynamic environment where multi-tasking, maintaining confidentiality, and meeting deadlines are second nature. With your warm, approachable style, you naturally put candidates and colleagues at ease while being a key player in keeping our personnel operations running smoothly.

We are dedicated to safeguarding the students in our care. To that end, a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced disclosure will be required in the event of an individual being offered a position within our College. Our staff undertake regular safeguarding and Prevent training and are subject to ongoing safeguarding scrutiny.

Due to the number of applications we receive, we regret that we are unable to respond to all applicants personally. If you have not heard from us by the interviewdate you should assume that you have not been successful on this occasion. However, we would be very pleased to hear from you again in respect of future vacancies.Thank you for your interest in working at Peter Symonds College.