People Adviser

AQA Recruiting; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 33,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job description

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

People Adviser

Permanent

Manchester: £33,950 - £38,267

Smart Hybrid Working- 2x days a week in the office

Would you like to work for a charitable organisation that helps teachers and students to reach their potential alongside the opportunity to be supported and learn from a collaborative group of HR professionals? Then this could be the role for you!

We are a really busy team. To enable continued high functionality, we have created another position in the HR Adviser Team. You will need to hit the ground running and be keen to make a difference.

Within AQA, you will be known as a People Adviser. You will work collaboratively with colleagues within People Group (Recruitment and Talent, Learning and Development, People Partnering and our People Services team) and will support teams across the business in multiple sites – Manchester, Guildford, London and Milton Keynes – visiting these offices from time to time will be essential.

You will be able to deliver robust and informed HR advice to managers and employees in relation to all aspects of the employee lifecycle including absence management, conduct, performance management, grievances, probation reviews and change management.

Proactivity, autonomy and being self-driven will serve you well in this role, as well as using your prior knowledge and experience to support continuous improvements within the team and processes.

A level 5 CIPD qualification is preferred though experience is just as beneficial.

You will have Christmas off without touching your 25 days annual leave entitlement (rising even further with service) and the opportunity to have up to 18.5% contributed into your pension (contributions ranging up to 7% from you and up to 11.5% from AQA). We have adopted smart, hybrid working which, to us, means a mixture of working from home and in the newly refurbished office near to the city centre, to support the business, the team and colleagues as necessary.

How do I apply?

Read the full job description and upload your most recent CV by following the link provided.

Closing date for applications will be Wednesday 23rd April.

AQA is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone—regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, or background is valued, respected, and supported to thrive.

Summary

To provide the highest quality HR service through coaching, guiding, supporting and advising managers and colleagues on all aspects of the employee lifecycle, ensuring compliance with policies, employment law and regulations with consideration to risk and commercial management and ensuring a positive colleague experience.

Having a hands-on approach and taking ownership of specific business area delivering proactive interventions in response to identified business and colleague needs.

Landscape: The People Adviser role is a key member of a team of three advisers, providing high quality HR advice to managers and colleagues across the business. The team sits within People Partnering and Employee Relations department (22 colleagues). The department provides a range of services including: business area strategic support, diagnosis, consultancy and delivery of people-related services and projects; subject matter expertise in diversity and inclusion and employee relations; HR policy development and associated training development; operational support with people queries; and joiners, movers and leavers administration and checks.

Activities:

1. Proactively participate, facilitate, support and advise managers about employee lifecycle matters for example from the point of recruitment to the leaver process, policies, variations to contract, secondments, leavers, organisational development, and respond to colleague queries as appropriate.
2. Proactively participate, facilitate, support and advise managers about employee relations matters such as absence management, performance management, grievance, disciplinary, capability, probationary, change management and TUPE, ensuring compliance with employment law and company policy, with consideration to risk and commercial management, and respond to colleague queries as appropriate.
3. Lead on the development and implementation of projects including restructures, policy implementation and people plans in conjunction with the Senior People Partner/People Partner, ensuring deadlines are met in line with business plans and employment legislation.
4. Conduct benchmarking and evaluations of job roles utilising external data and systems. Proactively participate in regular job evaluation meetings.
5. Coaching and developing managers in order to improve their capability and empower them to make decisions, challenging and escalating where necessary.
6. Manage collaborative relationships across People Group teams, other key teams and managers.
7. Interpret data into relevant reports, identifying themes and trends, ensure agreed follow up action is taken to enable implementation of decisions.
8. Ensure systems are maintained and that high standards of service and performance and continuous improvement are demonstrated at all times.
9. Results driven approach to managing complex employee relations cases that escalate to higher stages in the process in conjunction with Employee Relations Team, Senior People Partner/People Partner, business managers and Trade Unions/Employee Forum.
10. Responsible for maintaining the relationship with recognised Trade Unions/Employee Forum in support of employee relations cases, as and when required.
11. To comply with all AQA’s policies and other legislative requirements, including but not limited to Health, Safety and the Environment, Diversity and Inclusion and Information Security Management System.
12. Take responsibility for your own continuous professional development to meet existing and future business needs.
13. Travel to other AQA sites, sometimes necessitating overnight stays, as the need arises.

To be successful in this role, you will need to know:

1. CIPD qualified or equivalent – Level 5, or equivalent levels of experience.
2. Proven experience of advising, guiding and supporting managers on a range of employee relations and employee lifecycle matters, at various stages and complexities and managing the application of policies, procedures and processes.
3. Clear written and verbal communication skills, strong proven interpersonal skills, adaptable to a range of circumstances with an approach to achieving consistently high standards of work.
4. Experience of challenging stakeholders at different levels where appropriate.
5. Strong organisational skills, ability to prioritise and plan ahead.
6. Proficient use of HR systems and Microsoft Office applications.