Senior HR Advisor

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A renowned healthcare provider in London seeks a Senior HR Advisor to offer expert advice across the employment cycle. The role involves supporting managers, analyzing workforce data, and implementing HR strategies. Ideal candidates will have experience in the NHS and possess strong communication, analytical, and coaching skills. This position provides an excellent opportunity for career development in a high-profile area of the Trust.

Qualifications

• Proven HR advisory experience in a complex, unionised organisation.
• Experience with NHS Agenda for Change terms.
• Strong understanding of employment law.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert HR advice across the full employment cycle.
• Support local people strategies and workforce planning.
• Analyze workforce data to identify trends and make recommendations.

Skills

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Coaching ability

Education

CIPD or equivalent qualification

Graduate calibre or significant relevant experience

Job description

Go back Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Senior HR Advisor

The closing date is 23 November 2025

Do you have a proven track record of providing expert HR advice across the full employment cycle? Are you keen to build on your experience in a fast-paced function with an ambitious people agenda?

We are offering an exciting opportunity to join our Business Partnering team, supporting the Integrated & Specialist Medicine Clinical Group. You will be working in a small embedded workforce team and you will be the key point of contact for managers across the Clinical Group. You will:

• Provide detailed advice and guidance on the interpretation of Trust policies, procedures and employment legislation.
• Act as the interface between the People embedded team and the Workforce Relations team.
• Analyse workforce data, including staff survey results for directorates, to identify trends, hotspots, and risks, and recommend proactive solutions.
• Work with HR Business Partners to develop and deliver training on a range of HR topics, building capability among our people managers. This may include delivering targeted training on an ad hoc basis to support hot spot areas.
• Use a coaching approach to develop management capability and confidence in handling people matters.
• Support and influence local people strategies, workforce planning, and change initiatives.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to further develop your HR career in a high-profile area of the Trust, working with senior stakeholders and directly influencing workforce outcomes.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a dedicated, experienced, and agile HR professional, who is keen to take their next step in their career. You must be passionate about providing people focused support to a range of stakeholders across operational teams. Be a collaborator, adaptable to the needs of the business and able to support in the creation and create and implementation of people plans that support the wider business strategy. To be successful you will need to be resilient and initiative-taking, you thrive on challenge, and you strive to make a positive difference in your work

You will have excellent communication skills and the ability to address complex and sensitive issues with staff at all levels. You will need to display tenacity and resilience and possess the ability to inspire confidence in the managers you support. You must be able to evidence 'hands on' experience within a HR setting operating in a complex and challenging employment environment. Ideally you will have a good working knowledge of the NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions of service. You will need to have experience of providing high quality advice on sickness absence, disciplinary processes, grievance, capability and dignity at work issues. Experience of managing change and advising on the implications of change is a must. You must have experience of analysing workforce data with the ability to identify trends and hot spots to inform interventions with the directorate management teams.

About us

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK's busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

We strive to recruit and retain the best staff as the dedication and skills of our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe and focused on our patients.

Job responsibilities

Develop effective relationships with directorates to influence, challenge and support service delivery and people strategies and monitor success.

To analyse data both qualitative and quantitative to identify themes and make recommendations on interventions, supporting plans to manage current and future performance targets, meet the directorate business needs and support wider People objectives.

To act as the interface between the People embedded team and the Workforce Relations team in relations to sickness absence management support.

Provide detailed advice and guidance to managers on the interpretation of Trust policies and procedures and employment legislation.

Working autonomously, support and challenge managers in the identification of training and development needs in respect of the people management agenda, and in application of HR policies and practice, providing advice and guidance on complex HR issues in order to minimise risk and financial exposure.

Working closely with managers, determine both short-term and long-term strategies on how to effectively manage their workforce issues. To respond to unpredictable outcomes and events and align the strategy appropriately.

To lead and support the implementation of change management programmes and the launch of such programmes in conjunction with the People Director and HR Business Partners.

To work with the People embedded team and wider HR to ensure the services provided meet the needs of the Clinical Group, utilising the expertise of the specialist teams in HR to ensure workforce issues are addressed efficiently and effectively.

To be a key link between the Clinical Group and the HR functions To plan, design and conduct projects to analyse and respond to current and projected workforce need.

To use a coaching style to ensure managers take responsibility for and are supported in the HR management aspects of their roles.

To ensure continuing, personal and professional development, taking ownership and accountability for staying up-to-date and professionally registered with the CIPD.

Ensure equality and diversity is underpinned in all areas of the HR services provided.

Person Specification

Qualifications / Education

• Graduate calibre or person with significant relevant experience.
• CIPD or equivalent qualification, skills and experience
• Evidence of continued learning/development
• Coaching Qualification/Training
• Experience in providing employee relations advice and support to managers in a large complex organization with union recognition
• Experience of coaching and empowering managers
• Significant post registration HR advisory experience in a complex, unionised organisation
• Experience working with managers to develop and deliver workforce change plans aligned to strategic objectives
• Proven experience leading or supporting organisational change initiatives (e.g. restructures, service redesign, TUPE, culture change)
• Experience of working in the NHS
• Experience of coaching and empowering managers

Skills

• Developed written and oral communication skills for a variety of formal and informal purposes
• Analytical skills to be able to assess and understand workforce issues in order that they are resolved in a pragmatic and timely manner.
• Ability to communicate HR protocols and procedures, and advise managers in a manner that enhances the HR function
• Able to foster productive working relationships internally and externally
• Proven ability to effectively manage a range of situations that may evoke a high level of emotional reaction.
• Able to identify a range of options, associated risks and barriers in relation to a range of employee relations scenarios
• Ability to work with unpredictable and intense situations and under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Ability to work autonomously and take ownership of HR interventions
• Skilled in stakeholder engagement and influencing during periods of change
• Ability to assess risks and workforce impact of proposed changes
• Advanced analytical skills to interpret workforce data and trends
• Political awareness

Knowledge

• A detailed and up to date knowledge of employment law and demonstrable experience of interpreting and applying the law in relation to the terms and conditions of an organisation
• Ability to interpret and explain Terms and Conditions in a manner that enables the manager to seek an appropriate resolution of the presenting issue.

Other Requirements

• Team player, flexible and responsive to the needs of colleagues
• Flexible, pragmatic and problem-solving approach. Able to seek and exploit opportunities to advance objectives
• Robust and persistent in pursuit of organisational objectives and maintaining personal credibility
• Outcomes and solutions focused

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust