Job Description

 Senior HR Advisor (Interim, approx. 6 months may extend) | Home-based with a day in Cumbria head office every 2-3 weeks | Circa £26-£28 an hour | Full time, flexible patterns considered | Immediate start

Do you know the education sector inside out — the unions, the TUPE transfers, the complex ER cases that other people pass upwards? And are you free to start now?

Foxgroves Recruitment is working exclusively with a well respected and professional client in the Education sector. This critical role it to support the client with HR case work for a number of schools, academies and large trusts across Cumbria and the wider North West.

New contracts and genuine business expansion have created this role. It's an interim appointment of around six months, with a strong possibility of extension depending on workload. The complex casework will be ring-fenced to you, so this isn't an overflow job, it's a defined piece of work for someone who has done it before and doesn't need bringing up to speed.

They need someone who can start as soon as possible.

The Role

This is the bulk of the job, and it's the complex end.

• Lead sensitive disciplinary, grievance and parent complaint investigations, including safeguarding and SEND matters
• Act as investigating officer, gathering and analysing evidence and producing balanced, well-evidenced reports
• Advise at disciplinary, grievance and complaint panels and appeal hearings
• Guide governors, headteachers and trust leaders through contentious situations where the stakes are high

TUPE and change

• Run TUPE consultation processes linked to academy conversions and other transfers
• Manage restructuring and reorganisation projects, advising leaders through consultation from start to finish
• Handle the harmonisation and protected terms questions that follow a transfer

Trade unions

• Work directly with teaching and support staff unions, including NEU, NASUWT, NAHT, ASCL and Unison
• Lead formal consultation and keep relationships constructive through difficult processes

Client advisory

• Provide expert HR and employment advice to line managers and Head Teachers
• Build trusted relationships with school and trust leaders quickly, because interim doesn't mean distant

What You'll Bring

• Substantial senior HR advisory experience with deep education sector knowledge - schools, academies or multi-academy trusts
• A strong track record of running complex ER casework through to conclusion, including investigations and formal hearings
• Genuine TUPE experience - not awareness of the process, but having run transfers, managed consultation and dealt with what comes afterwards
• Real experience of working with teaching and support staff unions in a highly unionised environment
• The confidence and credibility to advise or present at panel and appeal level
• Excellent written skills, particularly for clear, balanced investigation reports
• Sound judgement and discretion, and the ability to stay calm when things are contentious
• Availability to start immediately or at short notice
• A full UK driving licence and your own car, with the ability to occasionally visit schools in Cumbria if required (milage covered)

Desirable:

• A relevant HR qualification such as HR degree, Masters, CIPD Level 5 or 7, though sector experience at this level matters more

Why You'll Love Working Here

• Competitive hourly rate (equivalent to approx. £50-£55k) negotiable for the right experience
• Holiday pay for first 12 weeks is 20 days plus banks likely rising to 30 days plus banks after 12 weeks continuous service
• Around six months, with a real possibility of extension as the workload grows
• Genuinely home-based, with a day at the Cumbria office roughly every fortnight or so to be discussed
• Flexible working - they're open to how you structure your week
• Complex casework ring-fenced to you, rather than picking up whatever lands
• A proper specialist team around you, so you're not the only one carrying the difficult cases
• Variety across a range of schools and trusts rather than one employer's issues

Safeguarding

You will be working exclusively with schools and trusts and therefore the successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check. Foxgroves Recruitment follows safer recruitment practices in all education sector appointments and can assist with assisting you to secure an enhanced DBS check at cost unless of course you already hold an enhanced DBS check which is on the live "update service."

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.