Job title: HR Advisor
Location: Southampton, hybrid working 1 - 2 days in the office
Contract: Permanent
Salary: Starting salary is £37,279 with annual progression through the salary band £37,279 - £40,777.
Overview
We have an exciting opportunity for a Permanent, Full Time (1 FTE), HR Advisor to join Southampton City Council (SCC) in the HR Advisory Service, within the Enabling Services Directorate.
Southampton is an exciting place to be and SCC has an ambitious and challenging agenda. Our Enabling Services Directorate is central to delivering this and is underpinned by a business partnering approach to working with the wider council and our partners to deliver successful outcomes for our customers.
Alongside technical expertise, we are seeking dynamic, pragmatic and knowledgeable individuals who are solution-focused, with an eye for innovation and can ask the right questions at the right time. Central to this are excellent communication and interpersonal skills together with the ability to build and develop professional relationships across the council and beyond.
About the team
SCC's HR Advisory Service is part of Enabling Services Directorate and aspires to be the 'best in class' through creating a cohesive approach to HR advice services to deliver value for money for Southampton City Council.
The HR advisory team is a team of HR Business Partners and HR Advisors providing effective support and advice across the spectrum of HR advisory services facilitating the delivery of the Council's Workforce Strategy, enabling the development of workforce capability and capacity and ensuring effective employee relations across the Council
About the role
Working as an HR Advisor at Southampton City Council involves providing expert guidance and support on a wide range of employee relations (ER) matters and policy. Acting as first line support you will support managers to resolve workplace concerns effectively ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant approaches to managing people issues. You may also be involved in organisational change activities or specific service focused projects.
This role requires strong knowledge of employment law, organisational policy, and best practice HR processes, as well as the ability to build trusted relationships across diverse service area.
Managing a varied ER caseload, including sickness, disciplinary, grievance, and performance matters.
Advising managers on HR policies, employment legislation, and best¿practice people management.
Preparing documentation and guidance for formal hearings, investigations, and case reviews.
Supporting organisational change processes such as restructures, consultations, and redeployment.
Providing proactive coaching and guidance to build manager capability and reduce ER issues.
For further information about this role please view the job description.
About you
We are looking for a motivated and experienced individual to join us as an HR Advisor as part of the HR Advisory team. This is a key role within the team, and the successful candidate must be able to demonstrate experience of managing complex casework in a complex organisation.
Ideally you will have previous experience of working within a large/complex organisation, alongside a good level of employment law knowledge, experience of managing complex employee relations case work and supporting organisational change activities.
If you have experience of working with Trade Unions in resolving case work and experience of delivering or supporting employee relations specific training sessions that would be a great experience to bring to the team although it is not essential.
Experience of providing balanced professional HR advice and guidance to managers and supporting managers at all levels in employment matters
Experience of managing positive employee relations
Ability to build effective working relationships with a range of voluntary, private and public sector partners and stakeholders to deliver shared objectives
Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to present data and information clearly.
Ability to handle standard employee relations issues and resolve workplace conflict, case work and disputes.
If you feel you have the necessary background, experience, and skills to undertake this role we would like to hear from you.
What we can offer you:
Salary: The salary band for this role is £37,279 - £40,777. The starting salary is £37,279 with annual progression through the salary bands.
Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.
Excellent local government pension with 16.8% employer contribution
Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution).
Generous holiday 25–31 days, based on role and service.
Flexible working options (role-dependent).
Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents.
Training and development, including coaching and mentoring.
Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks.
Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform.
Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres.
Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans.
Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer.
Visit our careers website to view the full job description and apply online.