Senior HR Advisor

Main Purpose of the Job
The Norwich Bioscience Institutes Partnership (NBIP) have an exciting opportunity for a Senior HR Advisor to join their busy Human Resources department.

The Norwich Bioscience Institutes (NBI) carry out internationally renowned scientific research and training in the fields of plant, microbial, food and genome research and are based at the Norwich Research Park on the outskirts of Norwich.

The HR team supports the Earlham Institute, the John Innes Centre, the Quadram Institute Bioscience and the NBI Partnership. Each customer has different needs and the HR team support them in the delivery of their strategic plans by providing organisational development and a customer focused HR service.

This Senior HR Advisor will support and assist in the provision of a professional HR service to researchers, managers and staff ensuring the employee life cycle is managed pragmatically reflecting our policies, procedures and best practice.

The role will cover the full spectrum of HR activity supporting talent management, performance management, employee relations, policy development and change management, supporting staff and colleagues. Over time, the post holder may become the HR lead for some business areas.

Key Relationships
'¢ HR Team
'¢ Staff at all levels across the institutes
'¢ Other shared service teams
'¢ Employee Forums/Trade Union
Main Activities & Responsibilities
**1. Providing HR advice and support to managers and staff**

'¢ Provide advice, practical expertise and guidance on terms and conditions of employment and a range of employment matters ensuring legally compliant and pragmatic solutions are developed.
'¢ Manage sickness cases and ensure appropriate support is provided, making referrals to Occupational Health, providing advice to line managers and reporting any complex issues to the HR Managers.
'¢ Provide appropriate advice and coaching to managers on Disciplinary, Capability and Grievance Procedures. Supporting the HR Managers on more complex cases.
'¢ Manage the HR aspects of parental (maternity, adoption, shared parental, etc) leave requests, providing employees and line managers with relevant information, responding to enquiries, calculating and confirming pay and leave entitlements, and ensuring appropriate payment and deductions.

**2. Supporting HR change initiatives and developments**

'¢ Working with the HR Managers and/or Head of HR, work on projects to support the achievement of the annual HR action plans and developments across NBI.
'¢ Work with the HR team to develop and implement improvements to HR policies, systems and processes.
'¢ Regularly review the HR intranet, policies and procedures to ensure that they are up to date, effective and provide the necessary information.
'¢ Undertake relevant research and support the compilation, interpretation and analysis of complex data and information, produce high quality, informative and concise reports on a range of HR related topics to support new initiatives.
'¢ Support the development of legally compliant HR policies and processes.
'¢ Support the HR Managers/Head of HR in HR projects, including re-structuring initiatives and/or redundancy matters.
'¢ Manage recruitment exercises, the production of employment contracts, extensions and visas as required.
'¢ Support management in developing senior level job descriptions, person specifications, adverts and assessment processes to support organisational developments.

**3. Other HR activities**

'¢ Contribute towards the implementation of performance management processes, including the annual Performance Review, monitoring and reporting on progress and compliance.
'¢ Support with all stages of the annual pay review process, from the provision of pay modelling data through to the implementation of pay awards, bonus payments and communication with employees.
'¢ Assist in the preparation of periodic reports and provide accurate and timely management information as required.
'¢ Support the promotion processes within each institute, ensuring these cases are progressed in a timely manner.
'¢ Management of performance awards and staff surveys across the NBI.
'¢ Working with the Head of HR and Payroll Manager, complete reward benchmarking data returns, and use Research Institute benchmarking data and external market pay data to make reward recommendations.
'¢ Carry out job evaluation, grading reviews, as required.
'¢ Provide cover for HR Managers at peak times.
'¢ Contribute to continuous improvement in all HR activities to ensure excellent service.

**4. Any other HR activity commensurate with the nature of the post.**

Person Profile

Education & Qualifications
**Requirement**
**Importance**
CIPD qualified
Essential
Degree or equivalent
Essential

Specialist Knowledge & Skills
**Requirement**
**Importance**
A good understanding of HR processes, employee relations and employment legislation
Essential
Understanding of contracts of employment and con