People Adviser

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Job title: People Adviser
Contract type: 12-month Fixed Term Contract
Location: Manchester, M15
Salary: £34,000 to £38,300
Working Arrangements: Hybrid working – 2 days a week in office (Tuesdays & Thursdays)
Working hours: 35 hours per week with flexible working hours (8am – 4pm OR 9am to 5pm)

People join us for the work, but stay for the team. We're supportive, collaborative, and genuinely enjoy what we do.

Looking for a role where your employee relations expertise will make a real impact? At AQA, you'll join a passionate People Team where you'll take ownership of a diverse and complex employee relations (ER) caseload from an early stage. We believe great people practices create the foundation for a positive employee experience and organisational success. As we continue to support our colleagues through change, growth and business priorities, we're looking for an experienced People Adviser to join our People Team on a 12-month fixed-term contract.

If you're an experienced HR professional with a broad range of practical ER experience, who enjoys managing formal cases end-to-end whilst building trusted relationships with managers, we'd love to hear from you.

What's in it for you?

This is an opportunity to work on meaningful people challenges while developing your expertise within a collaborative and supportive People function.

• Work on a diverse range of complex and high-impact ER matters with exposure to managers across the organisation
• Free access to an on-site gym and games room in our modern Manchester office
• Access opportunities for ongoing professional development and continuous learning as well as employee assistance and wellbeing programmes
• 25 days' annual leave, rising to 30 days with service, plus additional Christmas closure days
• A generous pension scheme with combined contributions of up to 18.5%, available from your first day
• Up to five paid volunteering days each year.
• An inclusive, values-led culture supported by employee networks including LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, empowering women, wellbeing, ethnic diversity and interfaith communities

Purpose of the role

As a People Adviser, you’ll be working in a team of 4 Advisers, alongside the People Partnering and Employee Relations team, who value knowledge sharing, teamwork and delivering excellent support across the organisation. You'll take ownership of a varied ER caseload, supporting managers across AQA with practical, people-focused advice on complex workforce matters.

From an early stage, you'll independently manage a varied range of formal ER cases, involving leading workplace investigations, interviewing employees and witnesses, preparing investigation reports and supporting managers through formal meetings and outcomes.

Alongside case management, you'll help managers navigate sensitive and complex workforce issues with confidence, coaching them through challenging conversations, performance concerns and sensitive employee situations, ensuring fair, consistent and legally compliant approaches that balance business needs with colleague experience.

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

• Leading a range of formal ER cases from start to finish, including grievances, long-term and short-term sickness absence cases, formal capability processes, probation reviews, failed probation cases, disciplinary matters and conduct concerns.
• Facilitatingworkplace investigations, gathering evidence, interviewing employees and witnesses, supporting independent hearing managers to assess findings and producing clear, balanced investigation reports.
• Advising managers on appropriate courses of action, ensuring decisions are fair, consistent, evidence-based and aligned with company policy and employment legislation.
• Coaching and supporting managers through difficult conversations, performance concerns, attendance issues and complex employee dynamics.
• Preparing for and facilitating formal meetings, including capability, attendance, disciplinary, grievance and probation-related hearings.
• Making recommendations and supporting managers through decision-making processes and formal outcomes.
• Building confidence and capability within the management population by providing practical, commercially focused ER guidance.

You'll thrive in this role if you have:

• Significant experience in a People Adviser, HR Adviser or Employee Relations-focused role, with responsibility for independently managing formal ER cases.
• Demonstrable experience leading investigation processes, interviewing employees and witnesses, supporting hiring managers to evaluate evidence and producing high-quality investigation reports.
• Experience confidently handling formal grievance, sickness absence, capability, disciplinary and probation processes from start to finish including supporting reviews and handling failed probation cases, conducting witness interviews, preparing investigation reports, managing formal capability and attendance processes, and guiding managers through challenging employee situations.
• Experience chairing or supporting formal ER meetings and advising managers on appropriate outcomes.
• A proven track record of coaching managers through difficult conversations, challenging employee situations and sensitive workplace issues.
• Sound knowledge of UK employment law and confidence applying legislation, policy and best practice to real-life ER scenarios.
• The ability to balance empathy with objectivity whilst making practical, risk-based recommendations.
• Strong written communication skills with experience drafting formal documentation, outcome letters and reports.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification (or equivalent experience).
• The confidence to quickly establish credibility and take ownership of a caseload early in the role.
• Experience of Employment Tribunals is not essential

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At AQA, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We believe that a diverse team brings richer perspectives and drives better outcomes. Our ED&I strategy ensures that everyone—regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, or background—is valued, respected, and empowered to thrive. We actively promote inclusive language, avoid stereotypes, and strive for representation across all dimensions of diversity. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

What's Next?

To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter as part of the application process and answer screening questions.

Application deadline: Please apply with your CV and Cover letter by 19th October
Interview process: Teams interviews to start on W/C 26th Oct with face-to-face interviews the following week

#MCRE

Recruitment Agencies

We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place.

Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.

Full Job Description

Summary

To provide the highest quality HR service through coaching, guiding, supporting and advising managers and colleagues on all aspects of the employee lifecycle, ensuring compliance with policies, employment law and regulations with consideration to risk and commercial management and ensuring a positive colleague experience. Having a hands-on approach and taking ownership of specific business area delivering proactive interventions in response to identified business and colleague needs.Landscape: The People Adviser role is a key member of a team of three advisers, providing high quality HR advice to managers and colleagues across the business. The team sits within People Partnering and Employee Relations department (22 colleagues). The department provides a range of services including: business area strategic support, diagnosis, consultancy and delivery of people-related services and projects; subject matter expertise in diversity and inclusion and employee relations; HR policy development and associated training development; operational support with people queries; and joiners, movers and leavers administration and checks.

Activities:

Proactively participate, facilitate, support and advise managers about employee lifecycle matters for example from the point of recruitment to the leaver process, policies, variations to contract, secondments, leavers, organisational development, and respond to colleague queries as appropriate.

Proactively participate, facilitate, support and advise managers about employee relations matters such as absence management, performance management, grievance, disciplinary, capability, probationary, change management and TUPE, ensuring compliance with employment law and company policy, with consideration to risk and commercial management, and respond to colleague queries as appropriate.

Lead on the development and implementation of projects including restructures, policy implementation and people plans in conjunction with the Senior People Partner/People Partner, ensuring deadlines are met in line with business plans and employment legislation.

Conduct benchmarking and evaluations of job roles utilising external data and systems. Proactively participate in regular job evaluation meetings.

Coaching and developing managers in order to improve their capability and empower them to make decisions, challenging and escalating where necessary.

Manage collaborative relationships across People Group teams, other key teams and managers.

Interpret data into relevant reports, identifying themes and trends, ensure agreed follow up action is taken to enable implementation of decisions.

Ensure the People Service Desk ticketing system and other systems/records are maintained and that high standards of service and performance and continuous improvement are demonstrated at all times.

Results driven approach to managing complex employee relations cases that escalate to higher stages in the process in conjunction with Employee Relations Team, Senior People Partner/People Partner, business managers and Trade Unions/Employee Forum.

Responsible for maintaining the relationship with recognised Trade Unions/Employee Forum in support of employee relations cases, as and when required.

To comply with all AQA’s policies and other legislative requirements, including but not limited to Health, Safety and the Environment, Diversity and Inclusion and Information Security Management System.

Take responsibility for your own continuous professional development to meet existing and future business needs.

Travel to other AQA sites, sometimes necessitating overnight stays, as the need arises.



To be successful in this role, you will need to know:

CIPD qualified or equivalent – Level 5, or equivalent levels of experience.

Proven experience of advising, guiding and supporting managers on a range of employee relations and employee lifecycle matters, at various stages and complexities and managing the application of policies, procedures and processes.

Clear written and verbal communication skills, strong proven interpersonal skills, adaptable to a range of circumstances with an approach to achieving consistently high standards of work.

Experience of challenging stakeholders at different levels where appropriate.

Strong organisational skills, ability to prioritise and plan ahead.

Proficient use of HR systems and Microsoft Office applications.

About Us

AQA is an independent charity that sets and marks over half of all GCSEs and A-levels in the UK every year. Our purpose is to advance education by helping students and teachers to realise their potential. As part of AQA, you’ll very quickly appreciate the determination and unwavering passion to deliver this goal in everything we do. To help drive these ambitions, AQA invests in the development of its people by offering a range of professional development and learning opportunities leading to over 50% of our permanent roles being filled internally.

Reasonable Adjustments

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the role, please contact the recruiter named in the vacancy advert or your interview correspondence. They will work with you to ensure the appropriate support is in place and that the process is as accessible and equitable as possible.

If you're unsure who your recruiter is, or can't reach them, contact Faye Harrison (she/her) at fharrison@aqa.org.uk or 07813 724161, and she'll direct you to the right person.

Please note that Faye cannot assist with temporary vacancy enquiries or non-recruitment matters. For temporary vacancies, contact temprecruit@aqa.org.uk.

Smart Working

We’re operating a smart working model. This allows for our colleagues to work from two days a week in one of our offices across England.

Diversity and inclusion

AQA is committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Conflict of Interest

Please note that due to the confidential nature of our work, we are unable to employ people for our temporary roles who are currently a candidate for Key Stage 4 and 5 public examinations.

Safeguarding

AQA is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. We’re dedicated to reducing the risk of employing or contracting any person intent on abusing their position of trust, along with identifying and responding to any incident of alleged abuse from its employees or associates fairly and swiftly.

For more information on safeguarding at AQA please visit the AQA website here.

Contact

Temporary roles: temprecruit@aqa.org.uk
Permanent and Fixed Term roles: opportunities@aqa.org.uk

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