Senior Employee Relations Advisor

Senior Employee Relations Advisor

The closing date is 29 April 2026

The People and Culture Directorate is seeking to appoint an experienced Senior Employee Relations Advisor to work within our busy but friendly Employee Relations team.

This exciting opportunity could be the next step in your career; providing opportunity to grow and develop in a supportive, progressive environment.

Main duties of the job

You will be instrumental in supporting the development of a just and restorative learning culture, including the review and development of employee relations policies and management training packages reflective of current legislation, case law and best practice, and which embed Trust values and behaviours.

The role will provide advice on a range of complex employee relations cases which includes disciplinary processes, grievance, performance, management of change, TUPE and absence management. You should have up to date knowledge of Employment Law and be able to provide professional advice to hearing panels up to dismissal. You should have experience of working collaboratively with staff side representatives, partners, senior and operational managers and staff.

About us

comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

We offer a variety of employee led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net zero commitment.

Job responsibilities

You should be CIPD qualified (Level 5) and have demonstrable experience of providing comprehensive advice and support to managers on a range of employee relations issues in a unionised environment.

You should have excellent knowledge of up to date and relevant employment legislation and case law. Please refer to the job description and person specification for further information.

Qualifications and Training

• Postgraduate Diploma (CIPD Level 5) or equivalent qualification
• Demonstrates clear evidence of current continuous professional development
• Desirable: additional HR specific training & development, e.g. Trained Job Evaluator

Experience

• Experience of advising operational managers across a wide range of specialised HR and employee relations matters within a complex, multi site, unionised environment.
• Experience of supporting complex organisational change programmes.
• Proven track record of success at addressing employment issues in order to ensure the effective resolution of concerns.
• Experience of working collaboratively in partnership with staff side, managers and staff.
• Experience of advising on employee relations panels up to and/or including dismissal.
• Demonstrable experience of supporting managers with employment tribunal claims and subsequent processes including liaison with Trust solicitors.
• Experience of interpreting data in order to formulate effective HR strategies, including audits and surveys.
• Desirable: experience of working within an HR role in the NHS.
• Has supported ET cases through the provision of information.
• Experience of managing TUPE transfers.

Knowledge

• Excellent working knowledge and understanding of employment law and recent case law.
• Good working knowledge of IT packages, e.g., employee relations databases, PowerPoint, Excel, Word.
• National NHS priorities and the significance of the contributions of HR.

Skills

• Ability to form effective business relationships in order to drive forward the contribution of HR services.
• High level communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to professionally and confidently present complex and sensitive data and information.
• Confident and resilient, with the ability to negotiate and influence others.
• High degree of credibility and professionalism.

Values and Behaviours

All staff should be able to demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as identified within the Trust's Equality and Diversity Policy and associated Equality, Diversity and Human Rights legislation.

Contractual requirements

• Regular travelling required to sites within the Trust, spread over a wide geographical area.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Salary

£39,959 to £48,117 a year (pro rata for part time).