Senior HR Advisor

Senior HR Advisor | Home-based with weekly meetings in Penrith, Cumbria | £45,000 - £50,000 | Full time (flexible patterns considered)

Do you want to work in HR supporting the Education sector? Do you enjoy the complex end of HR casework, the investigations, the panels and the TUPE consultations? And would you like to do it for a well established, successful growing business based here in Cumbria? You would join a small friendly team of around 6 staff who are all hybrid / fairly remote and who meet regularly at the office in Penrith for team briefing, collaboration and support. 

Foxgroves Recruitment is working exclusively with Just People (HR) Limited, a specialist HR and employment law consultancy working solely with the education sector. They support schools, academies and large trusts across Cumbria and the wider North West, giving them HR and legal advice. The team is a mix of experienced HR professionals, employment solicitors and business support colleagues, which means clients get advice that is practical and commercially sensible, not just technically correct. They have an established client base, they're growing, and they're moving from a reactive service to a genuinely proactive one.

This is a senior, hands-on advisory role. You'll take the lead on the most complex and sensitive work for a range of education clients, manage your own clients and casework with a lot of autonomy, and have real scope to shape how the service is delivered as the business grows.

The Role

Complex casework and investigations

You'll be the investigating officer on the difficult ones.

• Lead complex and sensitive investigations in disciplinary, grievance and parent complaint cases, including matters involving safeguarding and SEND
• Gather and analyse evidence objectively, and produce balanced, well-evidenced investigation reports
• Present evidence at formal meetings as investigating officer

Panel, appeal and formal process support

You'll be the calm voice in the room when the stakes are high.

• Advise at disciplinary, grievance and complaint panels and appeal meetings
• Guide governors and school leaders through contentious situations with professionalism and care

TUPE and change projects

• Manage TUPE consultation processes linked to trust rebrokerage and other transfers
• Run restructuring and reorganisation projects, advising school and trust leaders through consultation from start to finish

Advisory and client relationships

• Provide expert HR and employment advice to your own allocated clients, through the advisory helpline and ongoing casework
• Build trusted relationships with school and trust leaders and give advice that fits their circumstances
• Work with clients to get ahead of problems rather than only picking them up once they've escalated
• Work collaboratively with trade unions

Team contribution

• Manage your own workload independently while staying well connected to the wider team
• Support and guide less experienced colleagues on casework and process
• Contribute to how the team develops its knowledge and ways of working, with scope to take on team leadership as the business grows

What You'll Bring

• Substantial HR advisory experience at a senior level, with sound, up-to-date employment law knowledge
• Real experience of leading complex investigations into disciplinary, grievance or complaint matters
• Real experience of running TUPE consultations and restructuring or reorganisation processes
• The confidence and credibility to advise or present at panel and appeal meetings
• Excellent written skills, particularly for clear, balanced investigation reports
• Sound judgement, discretion, and the ability to keep your head in sensitive and contentious situations
• The self-discipline to work independently from home while staying connected to the team
• A full UK driving licence and your own car, with the ability to get to clients and team meetings across Cumbria and the North West at short notice

Desirable:

• Experience working within or advising the education sector
• Experience working within a highly unionised environment
• Experience advising at MAT or trust level, including strategic advice to leaders
• The aptitude to move into a team leadership role
• A relevant HR qualification such as CIPD level 5 or 7 welcomed, but the right experience in the sector and approach matter more

Why You'll Love Working Here

• Up to £50,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications
• 30 days' holiday plus bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time or term-time patterns)
• 5% matched employer pension contribution
• Private medical insurance
• Business mileage reimbursed at 55p per mile
• Your choice of a full-year or term-time plus three weeks working pattern
• Genuinely home-based, with a weekly team day in Penrith
• A supportive team, and real scope to shape a proactive, high-quality HR service for schools

Safeguarding

Just People (HR) Limited works exclusively with schools and trusts and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. Foxgroves Recruitment follows safer recruitment practices in all education sector appointments.

Foxgroves Recruitment acts as an employment agency for vacancies on behalf of clients, following fair and inclusive recruitment practices in line with the Equality Act 2010. All appointments are subject to pre-employment screening, including right to work checks, reference checks, and qualification verification.