Senior People Advisor

Senior People Partner IMA is a creative agency that builds brands people want to be part of. We are looking for a passionate, driven Senior People Advisor to join our dynamic People team. If you are an HR professional who wants to work within a fast-paced environment to deliver first-class, strategic people solutions across a global agency, this is the perfect place to elevate your career. What You’ll Get From Us Career Growth: A chance to develop your career within an award-winning, people-first creative agency. Recognition: A values-led culture where your contribution is recognised and supported. Autonomy & Support: Ownership and variety from day one, with the support of a collaborative team. Real Impact: The opportunity to lead projects across live campaigns, retail activations and brand experiences. Our Culture: A people-first environment where we challenge, grow, and deliver together. The Role As a Senior People Advisor, you will be fully embedded as a strategic people partner working collaboratively with key stakeholders across our global offices. This is an immersive, high-impact opportunity designed to provide effective, consistent, and first-class Employee Relations (ER) advice on a wide range of people management matters. You will act as a critical touchpoint for talent, recruitment, and employee relations, ensuring our regional teams are supported and our company frameworks thrive. In this role, you will get a 360-degree view of how our global agency aligns commercial needs with people development. You will experience the full lifecycle of employee relations and talent management—from triaging complex cases and coaching managers to elevate their leadership capabilities, to leveraging data-driven insights that address business performance gaps. It’s a space where you are encouraged to challenge conventional approaches, champion a people-led approach, and treat every challenge as a chance to drive what is right for the agency. Key Responsibilities Your daily focus will include: Stakeholder Engagement: Building proactive relationships with key global stakeholders to advise on current legislation, identify risk, and offer pragmatic solutions. Employee Relations Management: Resolving challenging situations and facilitating employee relations matters (such as grievance, disciplinary, absence, and capability investigations) to mitigate business risk. Talent Development & Recruitment : Coaching and upskilling line managers on employment legislation and consistent, legally compliant recruitment practices. Data Analysis & Reporting: Leveraging people data, tracking trends (including leaving chats and D,E&I statistics), and providing recommendations to close performance gaps. Policy & Compliance: Reviewing frameworks like sickness absence, ensuring company policies remain legally compliant and fit for purpose in an agency environment. Team Collaboration: Actively engaging in annual People activities—such as promotions, probations, performance, talent, and salary reviews—while supporting the wider People team. Representing: Acting in the best interest of IMA Agency and Smollan Group Companies at all times. What We Are Looking For The Essentials (Must-Haves): Experience: Extensive experience working in a similar generalist Advisor role or equivalent, with a proven track record in complex case management across ER-related issues. The Fundamentals: Robust working knowledge across recruitment, employee relations, onboarding, reward and recognition, health and wellbeing, learning and development, and D,E&I. Legal & Commercial Acumen: Up-to-date knowledge of employment law required for an Advisor level, with the ability to conclude ER matters providing commercial, pragmatic advice. Relationship Building: Exceptional ability to gain credibility with stakeholders, influence best-practice decision-making, and coach people managers. Tech-Savvy: Highly competent with Google Suite, Microsoft Office, as well as modern people management systems. Workflow: Exceptionally organized with strong attention to detail, the capability to work on your own initiative, and the ability to meet strict deadlines. Attitude: A proactive completer-finisher whose approach matters with absolute confidentiality and discretion, bringing a positive, approachable, and "can-do" mindset. Logistics: A flexible approach with the ability to react calmly and professionally within a fast-moving, changing environment. The Desirables (Nice-to-Haves): Experience working directly within a global agency environment or managing cross-border stakeholder networks. A proven track record of designing and delivering upskilling sessions or training frameworks for recruitment compliance. Our Values Curiosity: We explore it. Courage: We challenge it. Commitment: We run with it. These principles shape how we work — with each other, with clients, and with the world. Apply Now We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. If this role sounds like a good fit, we’d love to hear from you. Department People Locations Leeds Remote status Hybrid Leeds About IMA Informed by human behaviour. Fuelled by creativity. Connected by data, media and digital. We are IMA. Co-workers About 300