Salary: £30,805.00 - £34,132.00  per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 28 July 2025

The Role

We are excited to launch a new opportunity within our People Relations and Policy Team.  Reporting to the Head of People Relations and Policy, this role offers you an opportunity to gain experience in employee relations and policy.  Whether you are looking to expand your knowledge or step into a new space, this will offer you valuable exposure to case work, policy development and industrial relations.

You will bring a working knowledge of university People Services policies and be competent in MS Office applications, particularly Excel.  To be highly successful in this role you will be a self-starter who can work independently as well as part of the wider service.

This role is a secondment opportunity until September 2026.

To apply, please upload a CV and cover letter outlining how you can evidence the essential criteria for the role.

Please reach out to kate.smith@ncl.ac.uk for any questions.

Interviews will be held on 5 August 2025.

Key Accountabilities

• Provide professional advice to line managers, responding to day-to-day queries on cases in line with university People Services policies.
• Manage own case work in relation to disciplinary action and sickness absence, referring to the People Relations Adviser for guidance where required.
• Drafting disciplinary, grievance, and investigation documentation. Advise managers on appropriate steps in line with People Services policy and employment law Maintain accurate records of casework and support timely resolution.
• Facilitate training on People Services policies and procedures.
• Carry out equality analysis using data from our core HR systems, external benchmarking and colleague feedback to inform decision making and assist with consultation of future changes.
• Analyse case trends and generate insightful reports to help improve People Services practices and identify training needs.
• Continuing to develop appropriate communication links to enhance the overall People services provision with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support the People Relations Adviser with administration, such as actions relating to Industrial Action and Organisational Change programmes.
• Minute-taking in Trade Unions Joint Negotiating Committee meetings.
• Support the wider HR team with HR Project work.

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• A thorough understanding of university People Services policies.
• Experience of working in an HR generalist or administrative support role.
• Has a foundational understanding of UK employment law and ACAS guidelines. Stays up to date on relevant legal developments.
• Knowledge and understanding of EDI legislation and good practice
• Evidence of carrying out investigation and data collection to inform decisions.
• A track record in dealing with both academic and non-academic stakeholders with positive outcomes.
• Ability to produce reports and data using MS Office tools.
• A good working understanding of SAP HCM/My NU modules.

Attributes and Behaviour

• Committed to engendering an inclusive working environment.
• Excellent judgement in dealing with and responding to sensitive situations.
• Understands different perspectives while remaining impartial.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, in both written and verbal formats, with demonstrable track record of working closely with stakeholders.
• A solution focussed, problem solver with the ability to make independent decisions without own area of expertise. The ability to work on their own initiative and prioritise and forward plan workload.
• Ability to work autonomously as well as being a strong team player.
• Maintains confidentiality and professionalism
• Manages multiple cases, deadlines, and administrative tasks efficiently.

Qualifications

• CiPD Level 3 or qualified to HND/HNC in a Human Resources discipline.

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28375