Senior People Consultant

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Hybrid working

Job summary

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Kettering is seeking a Senior People Consultant to provide focused, professional HR support across the Trust, deliveringMental Health and Community Healthcare services across Northamptonshire.

We’re recruiting for a fixed‑term contract (30 hours per week) until 18 August 2027, with base at St Mary’s Hospital and a hybrid working pattern. You will manage a complex employee relations caseload and support organisational change.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in a full range of complex employee relations cases.
• Employment Law knowledge.
• Experience of NHS or equivalent.
• Experience of unionised environment.
• Experience of advising, influencing and coaching managers.
• Policy implementation and development.

Responsibilities

• Manage a complex employee relations caseload and provide pragmatic HR solutions.
• Advise managers and staff across NHS services.
• Lead project areas within the People Team.
• Support absenteeism reduction and organisational change.
• Work flexibly in a hybrid model across NHFT sites.

Skills

Employee relations

Employment law

NHS experience

Unionised environment

Advising managers

Policy development

Education

CIPD qualification

Job description

Main area Human Resources Grade Band 6 Contract Fixed term: 10 months (30 hours per week - until 18th August 2027 (Additional post at 37.5 hours until 31st May 2027)) Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

30 hours per week (Working from base at St Mary's Hospital up to twice a week, and working from home) Job ref 270-TH215-CORP-A

Site St Mary's Hospital Town Kettering Salary £39,959 - £48,117 pa pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 31/08/2026 23:59

Job overview

We are pleased to be recruiting a Senior People Consultant to provide focused, professional HR support across the Trust, in delivering Mental Health and Community Healthcare services across Northamptonshire.

We’re recruiting for a fixed‑term contract (30 hours per week) until 18th August 2027.

This role will provide a wide range of opportunities to independently manage a complex employee relations case load, as well as supporting organisational change. The role will will also support the reduction of absenteeism across the workforce, working with our People Business Partners. Working as a Senior People Consultant you will deliver timely and professional advice and expertise to enhance and develop the workforce, as our people are at the core of being a leading provider of outstanding, compassionate care.

In return you will benefit from working for an organisation who values you for your individuality, who supports your health and wellbeing and blend a generous reward package with a supportive work life balance.

As a valued member of our friendly, supportive and professional team you will utilise your existing HR skills and knowledge to fulfil a varied role where every day is different, interesting and rewarding.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work as part of the People Team. The successful candidate will need to quickly build relationships through the Trust, understand the people needs of the services and work in partnership to deliver HR solutions. The Senior People Consultant will offer advice to managers and staff members. The Senior People Consultant will lead a variety of project areas and hold an employee relations caseload ensuring pragmatic solutions are reached for HR issues.

We are looking for candidates who ideally have experience of working in the NHS or a similar setting, have a CIPD qualification, and experience of delivering a HR service and managing complex cases. Candidates will need to be great communicators, have a passion for people management and engagement and have the ability to balance priorities and workload to meet the needs of a busy service.

The People team are based at St Mary’s Hospital, Kettering and work in a hybrid flexible way working from home and from the office, delivering timely advice utilising video conferencing and appropriate technology in order to fulfil the role requirements.

Please note the role involves working across all NHFT sites and therefore a suitable candidate will need to have the ability to travel independently to these sites.

Working for our organisation

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools.We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document.

Person specification

Qualification

Experience

• Significant experience in a full range of complex employee relations cases
• Employment Law knowledge
• Experience of NHS or equivalent
• Experience of unionised environment
• Experience of advising, influencing and coaching managers
• Policy implementation and development

Other

• Ability to travel independently to all NHFT sites
• Full UK Driving License
• Acces to Vehicle for Work Purposes

We are an equal opportunities employer, which aims to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.

All roles are subject to the home office immigration rules and therefore eligibility must meet certain requirements for any sponsorship to be considered. Please visit the government website for more information regarding eligibility,

At NHFT we support many of our colleagues to work flexibly and we will consider requests for flexible working from day one. For this role, we are open to discussing a range of options including flexible hours, agile/home working, compressed hours and part time hours. Please have a conversation with the recruiting manager about the flexibility you need and we will promise to explore what is possible with you.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible.

All posts that are engaged in a regulated activity will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and a DBS re-check on a three yearly basis whilst employed in such a role. Staff employed in these posts will therefore be asked to register with the DBS Automatic Update Service upon receipt of their DBS certificate and must update yearly , the annual fee will be reimbursed subject to Trust policy. For further information please visit: DBS Update Service: applicant guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note if a DBS is applicable for the position then a charge will be deducted from your first salary.

Please note that all new starters to the trustare subject to a probationary period.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.