Starting salary: £32,255 pro rata, per year
Contract type: Fixed term contract up until 31st March 2026
Grade: 3
Location: Longmore House, Edinburgh, EH9 1SH (with hybrid working)
Working Hours: 21 hours per week
Interviews: To be held in person at Longmore House or over MS Teams
In this role, you will work closely with the Employee Relations and Policy Manager and work in partnership with the HR Advisers to support the People Services function and its colleagues – through supporting, advising and coaching managers and HR colleagues on a range of HR case/employee relations issues including but not limited to, investigations, suspensions, disciplinary, capability, disputes (grievance), sickness absence, occupational health referrals and appeals.
Benefits of joining us at Historic Environment Scotland
* Enrolment onto a Civil Service Pension scheme – 28% employer contribution
* 25 days annual leave, pro-rata (increasing to 30 days after 3 years public holidays
* Reimbursement for relevant professional subscriptions
* Support for further education and personal development
* Study leave for work related courses
* Flexible working hours (where appropriate)
* Free entry to all of our properties (with up to three guests)
* Free entry to English Heritage, Manx and Cadw properties
Key Responsibilities of this role
You will be required to build strong relationships across the wider organisation, including actively:
* Managing a portfolio of HR cases with considerable autonomy. Examples of an HR case include (but are not limited to): long term sickness, conduct and discipline, grievances and grievance panels, and appeals against warnings and dismissals.
* Working with managers to support and coach them in managing cases and helping them make effective and balanced decisions when dealing with complex staffing issues in individual teams.
* Ensuring cases are managed to a timely and appropriate conclusion adhering to employment law, policies, business and operational need and establishing the level of organisational risk and ensuring all documentation is accurate and signed off appropriately.
* Providing managers with advice and guidance which adheres to a range of policies and terms and conditions and meets operational needs.
* Delivering a high-quality service to all parties involved in an HR case and to manage all communication with Trade Unions.
* Maintaining the Case Tracker on a regular basis to ensure up to date MI is available.
* Pro-actively supporting a culture of continuous improvement and initiatives within HR.
* Assessing and communicating any risks and/or costs to HES in relations to Employee Relations issues.
* Supporting investigatory meetings in line with relevant procedure and supporting with writing complex reports recommending outcomes and actions.
Key requirements of the role:
In order for you to be successful in this post, we will be looking for you to submit a cover letter which addresses how you can meet each of the essential and desirable criteria (in up to 1,200 words), using examples of where you have demonstrated these criteria previously. Please ensure that you provide real life examples for each of the criteria to be considered for this post. You can use examples of how you have met this criteria from your work life, home life, education or volunteer experience.
Essential:
• A strong understanding of employee relations knowledge
• Ability to understand complex problems, develop solutions and resolve them
• Proven HR generalist experience, with an emphasis on policy, process and case management
• A good knowledge of IT packages (including Word, Excel and Outlook)
• Experience of advising managers on all aspects of people management and development
• An ability to maintain confidentiality and act with discretion and diplomacy
• Proven communication skills with experience of communicating to senior staff
• Proactive team player with strong engagement and problem-solving skills
• Strong ability to prioritise and thrive in a fast-paced environment
We are dedicated to building a workforce which is reflective of diversity within Scotland. We warmly welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, gender or gender identity, religious beliefs, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity. In support of our Gaelic Language Plan, we welcome applications from Gaelic speakers.
We want every candidate to have the best chance to succeed during the recruitment process. If you require your application in an alternative format, please reach out to us via email at or call our Head Office at and speak to a member of our People Team.
Please note that, at this time, we are unfortunately unable to provide sponsorship as part of the recruitment process, therefore you must have current right to work in the UK to be considered for a post.