Senior HR Advisor

WILDERNESS WAY; Newton Aycliffe; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Bank holidays

Company pension

Medicash health and wellbeing benefits

24/7 virtual GP access

Discounted gym memberships

Life assurance

Job summary

Wilderness Way is seeking an experienced Senior HR Advisor to join our People Team. This hybrid role combines working from home with visits to our North East homes and Head Office in Penrith Cumbria, and travel is a key part of the job.

You will become a trusted advisor to managers and lead on employee relations matters to support great teams. You’ll coach managers, spot trends in ER data, and contribute to engagement, wellbeing, retention, and career development while using HR systems to drive

Qualifications

• Experience in an operational or advisory HR role.
• Good understanding of UK employment law.
• Experience leading employee relations cases and advising managers.

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 in people issues.
• Identify ER trends and turn insights into action for senior management.
• Support colleague engagement, wellbeing, retention and career development.
• Utilise HR systems and data to drive process improvements and report on metrics.

Skills

Employee relations

HR advisory

Stakeholder management

Coaching managers

UK employment law

HR data & systems

Communication skills

Education

CIPD Level 3/5 (preferred)

Tools

HR systems

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.