Senior HR Caseworker

GCHQ; Manchester; On-site; GBP 51,000; Full time

Job summary

A government intelligence agency in Manchester seeks a Senior HR Caseworker to lead advisory and investigatory functions related to HR casework. The role demands a Level 5 CIPD qualification and experience in employee relations. You will guide managers through various HR challenges while mentoring junior staff. This position offers a starting salary of £50,838 with additional benefits including a comprehensive pension scheme and generous leave policies.

Benefits

Starting salary of £50,838

25 days of annual leave

Excellent pension scheme

Interest-free season ticket loan

Paid parental and adoption leave

Qualifications

• Proven experience in HR advisory and case management.
• Strong knowledge of employment law and HR best practice.
• Ability to manage competing priorities effectively.

Responsibilities

• Run HR Casework Advisory, offering practical solutions to casework queries.
• Lead case investigations and dispute resolutions.
• Mentor junior caseworkers and support their development.

Skills

HR advisory experience

Employee relations knowledge

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Education

Level 5 CIPD qualification

Job description

Flexible working: This full‑time role is based at our Manchester office. Opportunities to work from home will be very limited, with a maximum potential of up to 20% of time working from home, but this cannot be guaranteed and will be determined by business requirements. We are happy to consider part‑time & compressed hours working requests.

About us

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting‑edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber‑attacks and espionage. At GCHQ you'll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The role

As a Senior HR Caseworker at GCHQ, you'll be at the heart of an exciting new advisory service. You'll use your expertise to shape how we tackle people challenges across the organisation. This is a unique role, full of variety.

On the advisory side, you'll run our HR Casework Advisory, offering timely, practical solutions to colleague casework related queries by phone and email. As a calm and knowledgeable voice, you'll help managers navigate all kinds of situations, from early performance reviews and absence monitoring to misconduct issues. In every conversation, you'll focus on finding fair outcomes before issues escalated, making sure your advice is always current, compliant and aligned with policy and best practice.

You'll also help shape the future of our service. Through regular horizon scanning, you'll keep the team informed of new or changing legislation, case law and emerging employment trends. And, you'll make sure all casework and guidance are clearly documented, maintaining accurate, auditable records. Whether you're reviewing sanctions and assessments or checking in with line managers to oversee improvements, you'll spot opportunities to strengthen our approach even further.

On the investigatory side, you'll lead case investigations and dispute resolutions, work with our Employment Legal Advisors to support employment tribunal preparations, and keep accurate, up‑to‑date records. You'll mentor junior caseworkers, sharing your experience to build their confidence and help them develop the skills to manage their own cases. Whether you're advising or investigating, you'll make sure everything we do meets policy, legal, and compliance standards.

About you

You'll hold a Level 5 CIPD qualification and bring proven experience in HR advisory and case management with a strong knowledge of employee relations, employment law and HR best practice. Integrity, discretion, and professionalism will come naturally to you, and colleagues will know they can rely on you for clear, practical guidance in any situation.

You’ll be organised and confident managing competing priorities, and your communication skills, both written and verbal, will allow you to provide advice that is thoughtful, clear and supportive. Flexibility is key in this role; as a brand‑new advisory service, you'll be comfortable adapting to change and if required, moving between advisory and investigatory work as the service grows.

You’ll also have some line management responsibilities. While prior experience isn't required, you'll be supported and trained to lead your team confidently. The size and scale of GCHQ means you'll have the resources, guidance, and networks you need to thrive in your role.

Training and development

From the day you join us, you'll be supported. You'll be paired with a buddy to help you settle in, and your team will be there to offer ongoing guidance throughout. You'll also have access to a wide range of internal communities, support networks, and mentors to help you navigate your journey. In line with our commitment to nurturing talent and developing future leaders, we'll support you in developing and progressing in your career.

Rewards and benefits

• Starting salary of £50,838 (plus a concessionary payment of £2,658), plus other benefits including 25 days' of annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• A dedicated development budget
• An interest‑free season ticket loan
• An excellent pension scheme
• A cycle to work scheme
• Paid parental and adoption leave

Equal opportunities

At GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under‑represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio‑economic backgrounds.

We're Disability Confident

GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions' Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident Leader, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position, will be offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. (This is known as the Offer of an Interview.) To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria you must have (in order of application process) are :

1. Minimum of level 5 CIPD qualification, assessed at eligibility stage.
2. Proven experience in HR in a Casework or Employee Relations role, assessed at eligibility stage.
3. Meet the minimum pass mark for the application questions which explore your motivation for joining GCHQ and your skills and qualities for the role, assessed at application sift.

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.

What to expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation.
2. A virtual interview, which will include competency questions.
3. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you to continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before you apply

To work at GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. Read about our eligibility criteria.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs, and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more securely.

The role is based in Manchester, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Right to withdraw statement

Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.