HR Consultant

**Overview**:
We are seeking an HR Consultant with extensive Employee Relations experience to join our team.

As a professional HR Consultant, you will need to be a self-starter who can demonstrate comprehensive practical employee relations experience with a solution focused approach. You will take responsibility for handling a range of complex and sensitive employmentissues, including disciplinary, grievance, and redundancy.

The ability to travel across a wide geographical area in a timely and flexible manner at various times of the day (and evening on occasions) is essential. You should note that public transport is rarely a viable option as your role will involve you travellingto venues in rural areas. The majority of our schools are based in Kent, but we also cover schools in Sussex and North London. The role will involve attending meetings in the customer location and this will mainly be Kent.

**Roles & Responsibilities**:

- Provide professional HR support and advice to schools/Academies/clients, dealing with a wide range of complex and sensitive employment issues including disciplinary, grievance, bullying and harassment, capability, redundancy, TUPE terms and conditions andemployment legislation.
- Advise Governor panels or Head Teachers at Hearings and Appeals.
- Undertake investigations and/or work alongside investigating officer in areas of grievance, harassment, bullying and discipline.
- Prepare, assist and support in the preparation of Employee Relations cases, Hearings, Appeals and Employment Tribunals to ensure satisfactory outcomes for the customer.
- Support and advise Head Teachers, Governors and Local Authority Officers to achieve organisational and managerial objectives e.g. restructuring of staff, change management and implementation of new initiatives.
- Work with schools in their transition from school to academy status and be fully conversant with TUPE legislation and then transition to provide tailored and bespoke HR support to academies, where required.
- Contribute to the development of new policies and procedures and documentation associated with casework.
- Undertake research and use information to inform HR decisions.
- Participate in the recruitment process for Head Teachers, and other staff, as require.
- Ensure that current Case Management Software systems are fully utilised to enable generation items are detailed accurately for invoicing purposes.
- Plan, deliver and evaluate training sessions to school-based staff, governors and clients to ensure effective implementation of employment legislation, education staffing regulations and best practice in the management of staff.
- Actively participate in consultancy duty cover and advise and support other HR colleagues, as appropriate.
- Develop and support a positive employee relations climate through productive and professional working relationships with the Teachers’ Associations and support staff unions, liaising and advising on HR related issues, as necessary
- Undertake various work projects on behalf of SPS to aid the future development and viability of the service.
- Actively market and promote SPS to potential customers and discuss new contracts with existing customers in relation to upgrade to packages appropriate to their needs, in order to maximise income and ensure the future viability of the service.
- To develop and maintain knowledge of SPS’s and wider Cantium Business Solutions products and service portfolio, capabilities and other offerings from a business development perspective to meet customer base requirements.
- Ensure that all information received and disseminated whether verbal or written, concerning all employees or prospective employees is treated in the strictest confidence and that all such information held is regulated and controlled in a similar mannerand all such information is held and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Regulations.
- Undertake any such additional duties that are reasonably commensurate with the level of this post.
- Any other duties consistent in nature with those outlined above.

**Package**:

- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Support Line Counselling.
- Workplace Wellbeing Services.
- Electric Car Scheme.
- Minimum of 33 days holiday (inc.bank holidays).
- Generous contributory pension scheme.
- Employee shopping discount scheme.
- Regular one-to-one meetings with your supervisor and have an on-going development plan.

**Skills**:
Ability to work both collaboratively and independently, liaise and negotiate with persuasion and credibility within multi-agency setting.

Experience of dealing with difficult and sensitive situations in a diplomatic and professional manner.

Excellent communication skills: must be able to communicate at all levels; excellent written communication, verbal communication, active listening and presentation skills.

Ability to develop and maintain constructive relationships with current and prospective customers.

Ability to ensure that the highest standards of quality and customer care are achieved.

Project management, problem solving skills, resilience and experience of working in a pressured environment.

Makes effective decisions that respond to the short-term pressures, yet do not compromise either long term strategies or the broader business or client issues. Evaluates the pros and cons of alternative, considers the impact of decisions on others and onthe client organisation. Seeks out and balances relevant information, assess the issues and reaches effective timely decisions with confidence.

Ability to cope with conflicting demands and to prioritise tasks to meet deadlines.

Ability to effectively manage customer and stakeholder relationships, promptly respond to queries and manage expectations.