HR Advisor

Salary: £19,200 per annum pro rata (£32,000 FTE)
Contract: Permanent, part-time (22.5 hours per week) - working days to be agreed at interview
Location: St Edmund House, Bishop Crispian Way, Portsmouth, PO1 3QA
Travel: Occasional travel across the Diocese required. Valid driving licence and access to a vehicle essential

About Us:

The Diocese of Portsmouth spans Hampshire, Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, and the Channel Islands. We support 87 parishes and 50 schools, serving over 27,000 practising Catholics and 32,000 children and their families. Our work is meaningful, community-focused, and values-driven.

About the Role:

Are you an experienced and proactive HR professional with a strong understanding of UK employment law and a passion for supporting people? We are seeking a confident and capable HR Advisor to join our Diocese HR Team, providing high-quality advice and guidance to managers and employees across a wide range of HR matters.

This is a pivotal time to join our team as we continue to develop our HR infrastructure and support the implementation of our 10-year Mission Plan. You ll play a key role in shaping our HR function and contributing to a positive and inclusive working culture.

HR Advisor - Job Description

Advisory

• Provide advice to line managers on employee relations (ER) issues e.g. policies, performance management, end-to-end absence management including return to work meetings, reporting and occupational health referrals etc. Able to resolve complex employee relation issues and conduct investigations where necessary.
• Provide advice to managers across all policy and practice areas, for example on family friendly policies such as maternity, paternity, shared parental leave, carers leave, etc.
• Support the maintenance of existing policy documentation and make changes where applicable
• Proactively take responsibility for the adherence and implementation of HR policies
• Support line managers in the management of employees in probation, and where necessary extension cases
• Support line managers in performance management practices, objective setting and performance improvement plans (PIPs)

HR Analytics

• Report on HR analytics monthly and quarterly for the HR Manager, for example on headcount, sickness, recruitment analytics, staff turnover and remuneration reports.

Benefits and Payroll

• Support the HR Manager with reward strategies and implementation
• Prepare payroll changes each month for HR Manager sign off
• Assist the HR Manager with annual benchmark surveys
• Support the HR Manager in liaison with benefit providers

Talent Acquisition and onboarding

• Work with the HR team for efficient and accurate end-to-end recruitment in all areas across the Diocese.
• Work in liaison with the HR Administrator to coordinate and execute the Diocese recruitment processes to include working with recruitment agencies, posting job adverts, liaising with line managers for shortlisting, offers of employment to suitable candidates, and onboarding.
• Ensuring the new joiner inductions are organised and all documentation has been received and checked.
• In the absence of HR Administrator, produce and issue relevant documentation following promotions, job title changes, salary increases and ensure that HR records are updated accordingly by the HR administrator.

Learning & Development

• Identify learning needs and appropriate methods of meeting needs in the most cost-effective way.
• Support the HR Manager in the delivery of training as required, including annual conferences and line manager training.
• Ensures training requirements are met to fulfil and maintain health and safety requirements such as First Aid and Fire Safety.
• Ensures that refresher training is completed for existing employees in data protection, cyber security, health and safety, and EDI.
• Be a trusted advisor and coach to line managers on people related issues.
• Ensure all documentation is completed by employees who are supported in their further training and education by the Diocese, including a Further Education Support Agreement.

General

• Regular review of data integrity and updates to the HRIS including regular audits.
• Support the HR Manager to drive workforce planning, talent acquisition, and retention strategies
• Deal with queries from the HR inbox to ensure effective and prompt responses
• Involvement in HR projects and new initiatives as required
• Updating of HR intranet pages.
• Contribute to HR-related projects such as organisational change, restructures, and employee engagement initiatives.
• Keep up to date with developments in employment law and HR best practices.
• Support the HR Manager with volunteer management
• Undertake other reasonable tasks as requested by the HR Manager.

HR Advisor - Person Specification

Essential

• Understands the people practices, processes and approaches across the employee lifecycle including for example, recruiting people, conducting learning needs analysis, creating talent pools, developing people policies, analysing people data, managing grievances.
• Able to apply legal knowledge and judgment to people practices
• Able to demonstrate evidence-based practice in decision making
• Proven problem-solving ability
• Understands and interprets data and analytics and its usage, and can measure their impact and value
• Able to explore stakeholder needs and concerns using a range of methods
• Experience of managing change and different approaches
• Understands and can influence the organisation to develop and maintain a positive culture and healthy working environment.
• Able to think in a systemic way to align different elements of the organisations values, culture, structures, people policies and practices to maximise organisational performance
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• High level of integrity and confidentiality.
• Proficient in HR systems and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Minimum CIPD Level 5 qualification

Desirable

• Working towards or holds CIPD Level 7 qualification
• Experience of change management
• Experience of working in the reward arena and adept at data analysis
• Experience in not-for-profit sector or public sector
• Experience supporting organisational change and employee engagement initiatives.

Applicant Information

Employee Benefits:

• 25 days annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays
• Contributory pension scheme
• Free life assurance
• Employee wellbeing programme

If you are inspired by the idea of working in a values-driven environment where your efforts will have a lasting impact, we would love to hear from you.

How to Apply:

Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability and motivation for applying.

Closing date: Wednesday 3rd December at 23:59.

Early applications are encouraged as we reserve the right to close the advert prior to the deadline.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship.

We welcome applications from individuals who support the ethos and values of the Catholic Church. The Diocese of Portsmouth is an equal opportunities employer.

Interview Details

You will be notified shortly after the closing date, should we wish to progress your application and invite you to an interview.

Appointment

Any offer of employment to work at the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is conditional upon receipt of two satisfactory employment references, provision of relevant certification of qualifications held, and completion of pre-employment checks.

You must have a valid UK Right to Work, as the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth does not offer UK Visa Sponsorship.