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A wilderness Way; Newton Aycliffe; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days leave

Company pension

Medicash health & wellbeing

24/7 virtual GP access

Gym discounts

Life assurance

Job summary

Wilderness Way is seeking an experienced Senior HR Advisor to join our People Team. You’ll act as a trusted advisor to managers, handling ER cases and delivering practical HR guidance to support great teams.

The role is hybrid with regular visits to North East homes and our Penrith Head Office; a full driving licence and access to a car are required. CIPD Level 3/5 is helpful but not essential, and UK employment law knowledge is essential.

Qualifications

• This role requires experience in an operational or advisory HR role with capability handling ER cases and advising managers.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and practical HR systems skills are important.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building to support managers and the organisation.

Responsibilities

• Lead on employee relations cases including disciplinary, grievance, absence and flexible working.
• Provide pragmatic, commercially focused HR advice to managers.
• Coach managers to build confidence and capability on people issues.
• Identify trends in ER cases and translate into insights for senior managers.
• Support engagement, wellbeing, retention and career development.
• Utilise HR data to drive improvements and participate in People projects.

Skills

Employee relations

Advisory HR

UK Employment Law

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Education

CIPD Level 3/5 (desirable)

Job description

Be the trusted voice behind great people decisions.

If you’re happiest getting out into the business, building relationships with managers and using your expertise to help them make great people decisions, this could be the role for you.

We’re looking for an experienced Senior HR Advisor to join our People Team at Wilderness Way. You’ll become a trusted advisor to managers, providing practical, straight talking advice that helps our managers lead great teams and creates a consistent experience for our colleagues.

What you’ll be doing

This isn’t an HR role where you’ll spend all your time behind a desk. With hybrid working, you’ll balance time at home with getting out across our services, coaching managers and giving them the confidence to make great people decisions.

You’ll:

• Lead on a range of employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, absence and flexible working.
• Give managers pragmatic, commercially focused HR advice and help them find the right way forward.
• Coach managers to build their confidence and capability when dealing with people issues.
• Spot trends across ER cases and turn these into useful insights for senior managers.
• Support colleague engagement, wellbeing, retention and career development.
• Use our HR systems and data to identify opportunities to improve how we work.
• Get involved in wider People projects and change initiatives as Wilderness Way continues to grow.

What we’re looking for

You’ll already have experience in an operational or advisory HR role and be comfortable managing employee relations cases and advising managers directly.

Just as importantly, you’ll be someone who enjoys getting to know the people you support, builds trusted relationships and can balance doing the right thing for our colleagues with the needs of the organisation.

You’ll bring a good understanding of UK employment law, strong communication and systems skills, great attention to detail and a professional, practical approach. CIPD Level 3 or 5 would be great, but it’s not essential.

Why Wilderness Way?

We’re one of the country’s leading providers of residential care, health and education for children who have experienced trauma and exploitation. That means the work our People Team does really matters.

You’ll receive 25 days' annual leave plus Bank Holidays, additional leave at 2 and 5 years' service, company pension, Medicash health and wellbeing benefits, 24/7 virtual GP access, discounted gym memberships and life assurance at twice your annual salary.

This is a hybrid working role, with regular visits to our North East homes and our Head Office in Penrith Cumbria, alongside the flexibility to work from home. As travel is an important part of the role, you’ll need a full driving licence and access to a car.

If you’re an HR professional who loves working alongside managers, thrives on navigating challenging ER cases and wants your work to have real purpose, we’d love to hear from you.

All roles at Wilderness Way are subject to Safer Recruitment checks, including references, an enhanced DBS, and online/social media screening for successful candidates. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff to share this commitment. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of background, experience, or protected characteristics.