Starting Salary: £29,200 Working Pattern: Full-Time Monday to Friday 35 hours per week, working from home on Fridays. Happy to consider further flexible working arrangements. Location: Lancaster If you have HR advisory/generalist experience and are looking for your next career opportunity, we'd love to hear from you. We are searching for a People and Culture Advisor in our progressive environment, as an employer that truly values its people by prioritising its people strategies. As the People and Culture Advisor, you will be instrumental in delivering efficient and effective HR support and advisory services to managers and employees throughout the company. Your role will be crucial in maximising the consistent and effective application of HR policies, procedures, and initiatives, contributing to a positive and productive workplace. We’re a successful educational charity and the work we do at the Ascentis group makes a difference to the lives of learners across the world. We have previously won the Red Rose Employer of the Year Award and have ambitions to review and further enhance our levels of employee engagement. You can find out what our employees have to say about working at Ascentis by watching this video or reading some testimonials on our careers page. Join us in making a difference, and in our ambitions to attract, develop, inspire and retain our engaged, highly performing and adaptable team. In this role you will be: Happy to work closely with the People and Culture Operations Manager to provide professional and balanced advice across the range of HR policies and procedures, recruitment, terms and conditions and employee relations matters. You will be able to evidence that you have provided HR advice and support before and are confident enough to work effectively with managers at all levels, with the ability to build rapport and trust quickly. Adept at reviewing and developing policies, using your knowledge of HR best practice and employment legislation. Keen to continually improve HR procedures to maximise efficiency and make best use of digital solutions where appropriate, to allow more time to be spend on strategic people projects and initiatives Working on delivering exciting HR projects in areas such as wellbeing, EDI and reward. Excellent at working collaboratively with others to deliver an efficient and effective HR service, coordinating recruitment and selection, handling general HR queries, undertaking contract administration, updating and developing our people systems, and liaising with our payroll team. Passionate about learning and development, coordinating all L&D activities and providing input to the L&D strategy. Driven to succeed and to achieve the goals set out in People strategy alongside the team and you will continually develop your skills and knowledge. The full Job Description can be found by clicking here. Whilst the role is advertised at full-time (35 hours), we are happy to consider flexible working patterns and part-time hours if preferred, a minimum of 4 days per week. Salary is based on 35 hours and would be pro-rata for part-time. So, what are you waiting for? If you like the sound of the role and the organisation, and you think the below attributes describe you well, then we would love to hear from you. Qualified to CIPD level 5, or working towards Experienced in advising managers at all levels on the full range of HR issues Experienced in advising on employee relations issues in both informal and formal settings Experienced in coordinating recruitment and selection activities Experienced in using a HR MI system Good understanding of HR best practice, policies and employment law Passionate about a career in HR, with the drive to continually develop yourself Happy to support the full employee lifecycle end to end, from advising the manager to completing the relevant HR administration procedures Meticulous with a very high attention to detail Excellent verbal and written communication skills Able to prioritise to meet deadlines and organise complex activities Competent and experienced in the application and operation of ICT, in particular, Microsoft Office Products If you have the following attributes, then we’d be even more impressed: Associate member of the CIPD Qualified to a degree level, ideally in a relevant field such as HR or business management Experience and confidence in presenting and/or training others in a group setting Further Information and How to Apply Closing date: 7th November If you have any questions, or would like to discuss this opportunity with the recruiting manager, you can contact Emma Knight, Director of People and Culture at peopleacentis.co.uk A little more about who we are We are proud to be one of the UK’s leading educational charity groups, encompassing an awarding organisation, a provider of dyslexia intervention software and an online training organisation. Our enthusiastic people bring genuine passion and natural energy to everything that they do and through their infectious energy they transform the lives of thousands of people each year through the power of education. It has never been a more exciting time to join The Ascentis Group as we continue on our journey of growth across the UK and overseas. The Ascentis Group is made up of brilliant people, unique in terms of background, personality, characteristics, experience and skill. We value our people for the differences they bring to the table and believe this diversity is powerful. We are an equal opportunities employer and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable. Benefits Up to 43 days of annual leave. 25 days annual leave plus 8 public holidays, birthday day off, closure days gifted during the Christmas period, increased annual leave with long service and an Annual Leave Purchase Scheme Competitive pension benefits, including a salary sacrifice scheme Access to Informal Flexibility, allowing you to flex your working times and location where viable. Incremental service benefits as a family-friendly employer, including enhanced Maternity, Paternity, Shared Parental and Adoption Leave and Pay, Sick Pay, Life Insurance, and Compassionate Leave with Pay Reward and recognition scheme, regular team building and communication activities. Access to state of the art office and break facilities, including pool table, xbox, outdoor seating, indoor herb garden, dressing room, harry potter reading room, employee library and more Tailored learning and development opportunities Cycle to Work Scheme Technology purchase scheme Discounted gym membership 24-hour Employee Helpline and a proactive focus on wellbeing