Senior People Advisor

NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board; Wakefield; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in Wakefield is seeking a Senior People Advisor to provide comprehensive support in HR functions. The role involves delivering expert advice on HR issues, managing employee relations, and ensuring compliance with NHS policies. Ideal candidates will have HR qualifications and experience in a similar role. This temporary position offers opportunities for professional development and is crucial for fostering an inclusive workplace.

Benefits

Inclusive workplace culture

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience advising on employment policy and legislation.
• Experience with employee relations casework.
• Knowledge of employment reward and job evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high quality people advisory service to managers and staff.
• Provide advice and support on HR issues in a timely manner.
• Manage complex employee relations cases and meetings.

Skills

Attention to detail

Excellent communication skills

Training, presentation and facilitation skills

Able to analyse and interpret complex workforce data

Education

Degree in Human Resources Management or equivalent

CIPD Level 5 qualification

Willingness to work towards Level 7 CIPD qualification

Job description

Senior People Advisor

The closing date is 27 November 2025

Wouldyou be interested in joining our Corporate People Team to further develop yourHR career?

Wehave a temporary 12-month opportunity, available as either a fixed termcontract or secondment and are looking for a proactive and people-focusedPeople Advisor to join our dedicated team. In this pivotal role, you willprovide expert advice and guidance to managers and staff across theorganisation, ensuring fair, consistent, and effective people management inline with NHS policies and employment law.

You will play a key role in supporting managers andstaff through organisational change processes, ensuring that all activity isfair, transparent and in line with NHS policies and employment law.

We would welcome applications for those looking for asecondment for the period of the post, but please ensure you have the fullsupport of your employer before submitting your application.

Expected Shortlisting Date: 28/11/2025

Planned Interview Date: Provisionally 09/12/2025

Main duties of the job

Responsible for delivering aprofessional, comprehensive, proactive and high quality people advisory serviceto managers and staff and supporting the HR Business Partners in undertakingtheir professional and operational responsibilities.

Embed and role model theorganisational values through people focused practice.

Act as the HR team lead on specificareas of work as directed by the HR Business Partners

Provide an effective employeerelations service for the organisation including dealing with and managing allaspects of complex cases with contentious information which may beconfrontational or disputed.

Be the HR representative at employeerelations meetings/hearings eg, disciplinary, grievance, dignity at work,performance. This includes undertaking investigations, attending hearings,giving evidence at hearing and/or meetings which includes analysis andinterpretation of information which may be contentious, highly complex andsensitive.

Provide workforce information tomanagers in a timely and accurate manner, eg sickness data including analysingthe information and advising managers of appropriate strategies.

Support with key deliverables inrelation to equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace includingreporting, mandatory submissions.

Contribute and support the design andimplementation of policies/procedures and guidelines within service area andidentifying and proposing changes to administrative policies/procedures andguidelines

About us

NHS West Yorkshire ICB works to improve population healthand reduce inequalities, addressing diverse community needs. As part of theWest Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, we collaborate with local councils,health providers and community organisations.

We value diversity as a strength that enhances creativityand patient outcomes. Committed to fostering an inclusive and supportiveworkplace, we prioritise wellbeing and encourage applications from all areas ofthe community, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of theirprotected characteristics.

We support Carers with a Carer friendly environment and aworking Carer passport. As a Mindful Employer, we support employees andapplicants with mental health conditions. As a Disability Confident Employer,we guarantee interviews for suitable applicants meeting the essential criteria.Please let us know of any required adjustments.

Note: This advert may closeearly due to high application volume, or be paused or withdrawn in line withour policies if an applicant at risk or on pay protection applies.

Job responsibilities

JobSummary

Responsible for delivering aprofessional, comprehensive, proactive and high quality people advisoryservice to managers and staff and supporting the HR Business Partners inundertaking their professional and operational responsibilities.

Embed and role model theorganisational values through people focused practice.

Act as the HR team lead on specificareas of work as directed by the HR Business Partners

MainDuties and Responsibilities

Provide advice and support to managers and employees on a wide range of operational Human Resources issues ensuring that issues are dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner.

Work closely with line managers to provide appropriate guidance and advice on all aspects of HR in line with theorganisations policies and procedures.

Provide an effective employeerelations service for the organisation including dealing with and managing all aspects of complex cases with contentious information which may beconfrontational or disputed.

Be the HR representative at employee relations meetings/hearings eg, disciplinary, grievance, dignity at work, performance. This includes undertaking investigations, attendinghearings, giving evidence at hearing and/or meetings which includes analysisand interpretation of information which may be contentious, highly complexand sensitive.

Ensure regular updates are provided on the progress of employee relation cases and seek advice as required.

Provide workforce information to managers in a timely and accurate manner, eg sickness data including analyzing the information and advising managers of appropriate strategies.

Proactively manage sickness absence in line with the organisations Sickness Absence Management Policy, supporting managers to ensure quality and timely referrals to occupational health and informal and/or formal meetings/ hearings as appropriate.

As directed the Senior HR Manager and HR Business Partners take a lead role on specific areas of work including ongoing programmes of work and projects eg workforce reporting, wellbeing, ESR, recruitment, appointment of Board Members, staff survey.

Interpret, advise and coach employees on the application of terms and conditions of employment, ensuring compliance with the organisations policies and procedures and employment legislation.

Support with key deliverables in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace including reporting, mandatory submissions.

Deliver and assist the development of training sessions on people management skills and workforce related topics across the organisation.

Participate in job evaluation processes ensuring compliance with national guidance.

Take a lead role in supporting managers to develop job descriptions, providing feedback as necessary.

Contribute and support the design and implementation of policies/procedures and guidelines within service area and identifying and proposing changes to administrative policies/procedures and guidelines as required.

Support the HR Business Partners and managers in relation to change management processes including TUPE, redundancy, redeployment etc providing appropriate guidance and advice.

Provide advice to managers on complex recruitment queries and ensuring recruitment processes are diverse and inclusive.

Be a proactive member of the HR team and identify implications and solutions to operational issues.

Produce specific workforce reports and briefing papers requiring analysis and using prolonged concentration and the appropriate computer, keyboard (hardware) and software packages, as required.

Develop project communication material including briefings, presentations and progress reports.

Work in partnership with Trade Union representatives on specific issues

Undertake activities in relation to workforce audits, as required.

Support in responding to employment-related Freedom of Information Act Requests and Data Protection Act Subject Access Requests, as required.

Ensure robust and accurate records management processes.

Support with activities in relation to employee engagement such as attending or presenting information to the Staff Engagement Group and Staff Networks.

Support in relation to the development of HR related service specifications and associated processes.

Formal line management responsibilities of employees, as required.

Work on own initiative, at pace and often under pressure.

Gain co-operation and agreement from managers, using effective communication skills including a degree of negotiation, persuasion or motivation skills where appropriate

Make judgements on a range of issues relating to HR, using own expertise

Plan and manage own workload to weekly, monthly and annual timescales to ensure continuity of service.

The post holder will be expected to undertake ongoing professional and development in line with the responsibilities of the post

General

Thepost holder will:

Treat people with dignity and respect.

Maintain a high standard of professional and personal conduct.

Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity. The post holder must be aware of and committed to the equality and diversity policies of the organisation.

Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candour are observed and upheld in all working practices.

Ensure compliance with all mandatory and statutory training relevant to the post.

Be familiar with and adhere to the safeguarding policies, procedures, and guidelines for both children and adults at risk of abuse or neglect. This must be in conjunction with the Multi-agency Safeguarding Children and Safeguarding Adults at risk of abuse or neglect Multi-Agency Policy, Protocols and guidelines.

Ensure that any infection prevention and control issues are reported appropriately.

Be aware of and adhere to the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act and to ensure their own safety and the safety of others.

Maintain confidentiality and adhere to the principles of data security and data protection.

Follow a professional Code of Conduct, where relevant to the post.

Participate in the organisational appraisal process.

Be expected to undertake ongoing professional and personal development in line with the responsibilities of the post.

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive. It describes the main duties and responsibilities of the post. It may be subject to change in accordance with developing organisational and service needs and wherever necessary, will follow appropriate consultation with the post holder. The post holder may be directed to complete other duties according to organisational requirements. These duties will always be reasonable and commensurate with the skills of the post holder and level of the post.

Person Specification

Other

• Highly resilient with the ability to cope under pressure
• Proactive, responsive and solution focused

Skills & behaviours

• Attention to detail, able to work accurately, identifying and rectifying errors quickly
• Able to analyse and interpret complex workforce data to draw conclusions
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written, with the ability to adapt communication style and content to suit the audience.
• Planned and organised approach with ability to manage competing priorities in order to meet deadlines
• Training, presentation and facilitation skills

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level in Human Resources Management or demonstrable experience of an equivalent level
• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Level 5 qualification or equivalent level of demonstrable experience within Human Resources Management
• Working towards or willingness to work towards Level 7 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) qualification or equivalent qualification
• Coaching Qualification

Experience

• Provision of advice to managers on a range of areas including terms and conditions of employment and application of employment policy and legislation
• Experience of dealing with employee relations casework and organisational change processes
• Design and development of employment policy
• Producing and analysing workforce reports
• Knowledge of employment reward and job evaluation
• Importance of maintaining effective employment record management systems
• Working in partnership with Trade Unions
• Knowledge of employment equality, diversity and inclusion issues
• Working knowledge of Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions
• Trained in NHS Agenda for Change Job Evaluation

Employer name

NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board