Senior HR Advisor

Phoenix Learning & Care Group; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 39,000 - 43,000; Full time

Job summary

Phoenix Learning and Care Group is seeking a Senior HR Advisor to join our People Services Team. This hybrid role is based from Tiverton or Bristol, with regular travel to sites across South Wales, Bristol, Newbury and to other regions including Birmingham and Manchester.

You will manage a busy employee relations caseload, advise managers and handle investigations with confidentiality and care. You will collaborate with the HR Manager and a second Senior HR Advisor to deliver a responsive and

Qualifications

• CIPD qualification or equivalent HR experience with practical ER knowledge.
• Strong generalist HR experience handling high-volume ER caseloads.
• Sound knowledge of employment law and fair process.
• Ability to advise and challenge managers with confidentiality and care.
• Experience across multi-site care/education settings or regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Manage a busy ER caseload including absence, performance, disciplinaries and investigations.
• Support managers with absence management, probation, and return-to-work planning.
• Collaborate with HR Manager and another Senior HR Advisor to deliver high-quality service.
• Coach managers through sensitive people processes and difficult conversations.
• Prepare clear documentation and referrals (occupational health, DBS) as needed.
• Contribute to policy updates and trauma-informed people practices.

Skills

HR policy

Employee relations

Caseload management

Coaching managers

Travel readiness

Education

CIPD Level 3+

Tools

HRIS

Job description

About The Role

Senior HR Advisor

Salary: £38,937 The role also comes with either a company car or a £500 monthly car allowance, depending on preference. Full time, 36 hours per week, with 9 Day Fortnight.

Hybrid role: based from Tiverton or Bristol, with a combination of office working, site visits and working from home. On average, we would expect this to be around two days per week from home, with three days per week either in the office or out on site.

Phoenix Learning and Care operates schools and colleges, as well as care services for children and adults. The People we support are some of the most vulnerable in society, and often have not had the best start in life.

We are looking for an experienced Senior HR Advisor to join our People Services Team. This is one of two Senior HR Advisor roles reporting into the HR Manager and will provide high-quality, practical and timely HR support across Phoenix's care and education settings.

The role is largely employee relations focused, so you will be confident managing a varied and busy caseload, including repetitive short-term absence, long-term absence, performance, disciplinary, grievance, investigations, hearings and appeals. Some cases will be extremely sensitive and may involve safeguarding concerns, so you will need to be able to handle information carefully, work with appropriate confidentiality and keep the needs of the People we support and Team Members firmly in mind.

As a trauma-informed organisation, we want our people practice to be supportive, reflective and fair, while still being able to address concerns directly when this is required. You will need to be comfortable making difficult decisions where they are needed, doing so in a compassionate, legally sound and trauma-informed way.

The main areas of travel are likely to be South Wales, Bristol and across to Newbury, with travel to other regions, including Birmingham and Manchester, as Phoenix continues to open and develop new sites. We aim to take a personal approach and meet face to face where this adds value, particularly for sensitive matters, while also balancing this with online meetings where they are appropriate and effective.

This role would suit someone who has a real passion for employee relations and already brings strong ER experience. Experience within care, education or another regulated safeguarding environment would be ideal; however, we are open minded to candidates from other sectors where they can demonstrate significant employee relations experience and a genuine interest in developing their understanding of our sector.

What you will be doing:

• Managing a busy employee relations caseload, including repetitive short-term absence, long-term absence, performance, disciplinary, grievance, investigations, hearings and appeals.
• Supporting managers with absence management and probation processes, including cases involving occupational fitness, reasonable adjustments, return to work planning and, where appropriate, cases that may progress through to termination of employment.
• Working closely with the HR Manager and the second Senior HR Advisor to maintain a responsive and high-quality HR service.
• Coaching managers through sensitive people processes so they feel confident handling difficult conversations, making balanced decisions and keeping a compassionate, trauma-informed approach.
• Preparing clear documentation and supporting appropriate referrals, including occupational health and DBS referrals where required, ensuring concerns are factual, timely and handled with appropriate care.
• Supporting organisational change activity, including workforce planning, restructures and changes to ways of working, making sure people processes are fair, consultative and well communicated.
• Working with managers to support Team Member health and wellbeing, recognising when further advice, occupational health input or risk assessment is needed.
• Supporting the HR Manager with general compliance activity, including right to work checks, immigration control matters, occupational health referrals and DBS referrals.
• Contributing to policy, guidance and process improvements that support fair, consistent and trauma-informed people practice.

What we are looking for:

• CIPD qualified, ideally Level 3 or above, or able to demonstrate equivalent HR experience. For this role, practical employee relations knowledge, sound judgement and relevant experience are more important than qualification level alone.
• Strong generalist HR experience, with significant confidence in complex and high-volume employee relations casework, including absence management and sensitive safeguarding-related matters.
• A sound working knowledge of employment law, fair process and HR policy application.
• The confidence to advise, support and appropriately challenge managers and leaders, including the ability to make and guide difficult decisions where they are needed.
• Experience of working in a multi-site environment, ideally within care, education or another regulated setting; candidates from other sectors will also be considered where they already have substantial employee relations experience.
• An understanding of how recruitment, onboarding and retention link to effective employee relations and workforce stability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with good judgement, resilience and attention to detail.
• A strong commitment to safeguarding, inclusion, health and wellbeing, and Phoenix's values of Nurture, Flourish and Grow.
• A full driving licence and the ability to travel regularly across South Wales, Bristol, Newbury and to other regions such as Birmingham and Manchester.