People Partner

 Location: Home based with occasional travel
Salary: £45-50K

Hours: 40hrs per week
Contract: Permanent / Fulltime

 Be part of making a difference

At Aurora, we are driven by one purpose: to improve the lives of the children, young people and adults we support. As a leading provider of specialist education and care services, we know that our people are at the heart of everything we do.

We are looking for a People Partner to join our People team. Our service leaders lead their own Employee Relations people matters day to day, with expert advice on hand from our external employment advice partner. You will pick up the most complex and sensitive ER cases escalated to us, and work with our central People team on the transformation and core HR activity that improves the experience of working at Aurora.

If you enjoy getting stuck into tricky people issues, building managers' confidence and working in a fast-paced, purpose-led organisation, we would love to hear from you.

 The Role

Reporting to our Senior People Partner, you will be one of two People Partners. Day-to-day employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, sickness absence and probation, are led by service managers with support from our external advice partner. When our advice partner escalates a more serious or complex case, it comes to you.

You will provide advice and hands-on support on these escalated cases, including those with a safeguarding dimension, making sure risks are understood and managed. Alongside this, you will work with the rest of the People team on our transformation and cyclical HR activity and help managers build the skills and confidence to handle people matters themselves.

 Key Responsibilities

• Work closely with our external employment advice partner, making sure the advice services receive is consistent with Aurora's policies and approach.
• Advise on and support complex, sensitive and safeguarding-related ER cases that have been escalated by our external advice partner.
• Use dashboard, case data and feedback to develop training for service managers on how to manage their people and handle ER cases, so that risk is dealt with appropriately and consistently in line with Aurora's values.
• Support our People transformation activity, contributing to projects and initiatives designed to improve the overall employee experience across the Group.
• Work with the rest of the People team and wider stakeholders to deliver cyclical HR activities.
• Be an ambassador for the People Team at Aurora, champion all people related activities across the organisation.

 What We're Looking For

You will have:

• Broad operational HR experience, including handling complex and high-risk ER cases.
• Strong knowledge of employment law and the ACAS Code of Practice.
• Experience coaching and constructively challenging managers so they can resolve issues themselves.
• Sound judgement, with the ability to assess risk and know when a case needs your direct involvement.
• Experience of working alongside an external HR or employment law advice provider.
• Experience of contributing to HR transformation or change projects.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills, and comfort using data to inform your advice.
• Ability to create and build trust-based relationships quickly
• CIPD Level 5 or equivalent experience.
• Experience of safeguarding-related ER cases.

Experience within education, care, healthcare or another regulated environment would be advantageous.

You will need to work effectively from home and travel occasionally to Aurora services, which may include overnight stays.

 How to apply

For candidates who have not worked in this sector before, please be aware that, for regulatory reasons, our application process is more detailed and thorough than in many other sectors.

Please complete the online application form in full, including all employment and education details, and provide a personal statement that makes us keen to speak to you.

If you need any assistance or would like further information, please contact Stephen in the Aurora Group Recruitment Team at Stephen.Hughes@theauroragroup.co.uk.

 Important

• Successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment safeguarding checks, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.
• The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The Aurora Group is therefore permitted to ask applicants to declare convictions and cautions, including those considered spent, unless protected under the DBS filtering rules.
• The Aurora Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and young adults in our care. We are a Disability Confident and equal opportunities employer.
• This advert may be taken down without prior notice if the position is filled.

Candidates who are shortlisted may be subject to an online search.