Senior HR Advisor

GB News; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic media organization is seeking an experienced Senior HR Advisor to work in London. This position involves supporting HR and Payroll services, managing employee relations, and contributing to the employee lifecycle. The successful candidate will collaborate with the HR Director to ensure compliance with best practices while overseeing payroll processing. Ideal for an HR professional wanting to leverage their skills in a fast-paced environment, this role requires a CIPD Level 5 qualification and comes with 40 hours per week commitment, predominantly on-site.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of UK Employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience of working collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven experience in payroll processing (minimum 1-2 years).

Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day HR matters.
• Provide guidance and counselling to line managers and employees.
• Support the administration of payroll and benefits.

Skills

HR best practice

Employee relations

Data analysis

Communication skills

Payroll processing

Education

CIPD Level 5 Qualified

Tools

HRIS (Cintra)

Job description

Overview

FTC 12 Months January 2026 start. 40 hours per week across 5 days. London Paddington Area – 4 Days per week in the office. Great opportunity for an experienced Senior HR Advisor.

The role will work closely with the HR Director and the wider HR team to support the delivery of the HR and Payroll Service. This role plays a key part in driving forward the HR agenda by contributing to all aspects of the employee lifecycle while also taking operational ownership across the organisation and supporting HR projects. Provide expert advice and guidance on HR policies and procedures to managers and employees. Manage employee relations matters, including handling grievances and disciplinary processes. Ensure compliance with employment legislation and best practices in the Human Resources department.

This role is ideal for an HR professional looking to utilise their generalist HR skills while also taking responsibility for accurate and timely payroll processing. The successful candidate will work closely with managers and employees to provide day-to-day HR support, design and deliver key HR processes, and ensure an excellent employee experience, within a dynamic and evolving business and apply strong data and reporting skills in a meaningful way. You will need to be in London 4 days per week.

You will be involved in the following

• Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day HR matters including employee relations, sickness absence cases, exit interviews, maternity and shared parental leave. Escalating to the HRD as required.
• Provide guidance, counselling, and training to line managers and employees and members of the HR team
• Lead and own cases and escalating more complex issues to the HRD.
• Ensure onboarding, promotions and offboarding processes are positive experiences for our employees by supporting the relevant review meetings and maintaining records on agreed outcomes
• Maintain and update trackers in a timely manner to ensure accurate people data and identify trends for driving business change
• Support the wider HR team with organisation wide HR projects from initial inception through to successful roll out
• Support HR colleagues and managers in handling day-to-day people matters including employee relations, performance, wellbeing, and absence management.
• Assist in delivering HR initiatives, engagement activities, and organisational development projects.
• Provide guidance to employees on HR policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Support recruitment processes including job postings, screening, interviewing coordination, and onboarding.
• Maintain accurate and confidential HR records in HRIS. (Cintra)
• Create reports and use HR data to spot trends, helping inform decisions and support the wider organisation with meaningful insights
• Working in collaboration with HR colleagues to support the accurate and timely administration of payroll and benefits
• Prepare, validate, and process monthly payroll data with a high degree of accuracy.
• Ensure all changes (starters, leavers, salary changes, deductions, benefits, overtime, leave) are recorded correctly.
• Reconcile payroll reports and liaise with Finance as required.
• Collaborate with external payroll providers (if applicable) to ensure timely submission and issue resolution.
• Respond to employee payroll queries promptly and professionally.
• Ensure compliance with all statutory reporting and payroll legislation.
• Support benefit administration and respond to employee benefit queries.
• Produce regular HR reports including turnover, absence, and payroll metrics.
• Contribute to process improvements and HR system enhancements
• Assist with audit preparation and compliance checks.

Qualifications

• CIPD Level 5 Qualified
• Knowledge of UK Employment law and HR best practice
• Experience and knowledge of employee relations and the fair and consistent application of HR policies and procedures
• Ability to assist and advise on all aspects of the employee life cycle
• Experience of working collaboratively in a fast paced environment with a variety of stakeholders
• Track record of contributing to HR projects and organisational change efforts, promoting employee engagement and a positive workplace culture
• Developed ability to use and leverage data, creating insights and actions including supporting decision making.
• Proven experience in payroll processing (minimum 1-2 years), including data entry, payroll validation, and liaising with payroll providers.
• Working knowledge of payroll legislation and statutory requirements (e.g., pensions, tax, NI, statutory leave/pay).
• Strong attention to detail, data accuracy, and organisational skills.
• Confident user of HRIS and payroll systems.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to handle confidential information with integrity.
• Experience in employee relations cases (informal or formal).
• Exposure to HR business partnering and advisory responsibilities.