Employee Relations Specialist

People Relations Manager We’ve got an exciting opportunity for a People Relations Manager to join the Ciphr team on a fixed-term contract (12 months+) covering maternity leave. As we continue to grow and evolve, we’re looking for someone who can bring fresh ideas and make a real impact. At Ciphr, we’re all about creating value for our customers while making sure our people feel valued too. We want you to embrace your role, shape how we work, and help us keep things moving forward. In return, you’ll find an open, collaborative environment where your voice matters and your ideas count. Ready for a new challenge? Scroll down to see what we can offer you. Location: This is a hybrid role, spending 3 days a week with the team in our Reading office, with some trips to our office in Guildford In a nutshell As the company’s ER specialist, you’ll be the subject matter expert for all things employee relations at Ciphr. You’ll lead the resolution of complex ER cases, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes that reflect our values and culture. You’ll coach and support managers across the business, build ER capability within the People team, own our Amplifying Performance framework and manage our outsourced recruitment agency relationship to ensure a seamless and values-aligned hiring experience. You’ll also line manage a People Advisor, supporting their development and ensuring operational excellence in day-to-day people support. What you'll be doing You'll: Lead the management of complex ER cases including disciplinaries, grievances, performance, absence, and welfare matters, ensuring timely, fair, and legally sound outcomes. Provide expert coaching and guidance to managers on ER issues, building confidence and capability across the business. Own and continuously improve ER policies, processes, templates, and guidance materials, ensuring they are up-to-date, accessible, and aligned with Ciphr’s culture and legal requirements. Analyse ER trends and share insights to help us continually improve our people practices. Take ownership of Ciphr’s performance management framework (‘Amplifying Performance’), ensuring it is embedded across the organisation, aligned with V2MOM goals, and supports a culture of high performance and continuous feedback. Partner with L&D to deliver training, resources, and campaigns that build performance and ER capability. Line manage a People Advisor, supporting their development and ensuring high-quality operational delivery. Oversee the relationship with external agencies, ensuring service levels and outcomes meet Ciphr’s standards. Monitor ER and performance trends and data, providing insights and recommendations to the Head of people operations and Director of people. What you’ll need to succeed Experience in generalist HR management, including ER and performance management Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and best practice ER case management. Proven experience managing complex ER cases independently and confidently, including engagement with external legal specialists. Proven ability to coach and influence managers at all levels. Experience managing third-party relationships, ideally in HR services. Experience implementing or managing performance frameworks and embedding them into organisational culture. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility. Experience line managing or mentoring junior HR professionals. Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion. Be resilient and values led in your HR practice CIPD qualified or working towards chartered membership (desirable, not essential). What we offer you Ciphr has a benefits package which has you and your family in mind. As well as offering you the opportunity to work with a great team, be part of a growing company and have the chance to learn and enhance your knowledge and qualifications, we offer: 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays Family National Trust Membership Birthday day off Religious holiday swap Family forming support - e.g., time off for family forming appointments or to support your partner Enhanced maternity and paternity leave Work from Anywhere for 4 weeks per year Volunteering days for 2 days per year Cycle to work scheme Pension Health cash plan Life assurance Technology/home improvements Loans Perks at Work – access to exclusive discounts, cinema tickets, etc. Regular training £1,500 employee referral scheme Medical Cover and Dental cover (after 6 months’ service) Income Protection insurance (after 12 months’ service) About Ciphr: Ciphr is a leading UK-based provider of integrated HR, payroll, learning and recruitment solutions. Ciphr’s integrated HCM platform helps organisations manage their end-to-end employee lifecycle so they can deliver an amazing employee experience. With Ciphr, organisations can be confident they can access all their people data in one place, thanks to secure, time-saving integrations between our own solutions and API connections to specialist, third-party tools. We are all about people at Ciphr. Our values are trust, service excellence, authenticity, and accountability. We want you to bring your authentic self to work, giving you the space to be yourself whether that is creative, outgoing, quiet, courageous, observant or any other attributes you may have. Ciphr welcomes all kinds of people to the team and would love you to come and join us