HR Officer – AR

Job Details

Job Description

Job Title: HR Officer
Reference: LALE4025
Service: HR Operations – Adults, Children’s, Corporate, Place and Schools
Grade: 9
Reports to: HR Business Partner
Location: Delamere House (with travel across Cheshire East as required)
DBS: Not required

Role Purpose

To provide a professional, operational HR service to managers, employees and schools, with a particular focus on employee relations casework and job evaluation. The postholder will support the consistent application of HR policies and procedures, ensuring employees are managed fairly, lawfully and in line with Council and school requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Employee Relations and Casework

  • Manage and advise on a full range of employee relations casework, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, attendance management and dignity at work matters.
  • Attend formal hearings and meetings as the professional HR adviser, ensuring legal compliance, good practice and consistency.
  • Support managers to resolve people management issues effectively and at the earliest appropriate stage.

HR Advice and Operational Support

  • Provide clear, practical HR advice to managers and schools on the interpretation and application of HR policies, procedures and terms and conditions of employment.
  • Support recruitment and selection activity, ensuring fair and consistent processes are followed.
  • Deliver specialist HR support across services and schools, applying policies consistently and appropriately.

Job Evaluation

  • Undertake job evaluations in line with the Council’s job evaluation scheme.
  • Analyse job descriptions and role information to ensure roles are graded fairly and consistently.
  • Support job evaluation appeals and ensure decisions are evidence-based and defensible.

Policy and Process Support

  • Contribute to the drafting and review of HR policies, procedures and processes to reflect current legislation and good practice.
  • Support the communication and implementation of policy and procedural changes across services and schools.

Workforce Information and Data

  • Analyse workforce information and provide accurate HR data to support management decision-making.
  • Respond to requests for management information, including workforce trends and basic financial implications (e.g. early retirement).

Consultation and Engagement

  • Support employee relations and consultation processes, including attendance at Joint Consultative and Negotiating Panels (JCNPs) and related meetings.
  • Contribute to maintaining positive and constructive working relationships with employees and trade union representatives.

Training and Awareness

  • Support the delivery of HR briefings and guidance to managers and employees to promote good people management practice.

General

  • Represent the HR Service on internal working groups as required.
  • Undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade and responsibilities of the role.
  • Travel to different locations within Cheshire East as required to meet service needs.

Person Specification
Essential Requirements

Qualifications

  • Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD).

Experience

  • Post-qualification experience working in an HR role providing advice and guidance across a range of HR activities.
  • Demonstrable experience of managing employee relations casework.
  • Experience of undertaking or supporting job evaluation activity.

Knowledge

  • Sound knowledge of HR policies, procedures and processes.
  • Good understanding of employment law, case law and ACAS guidance.
  • Knowledge of job evaluation methodologies.

Skills and Abilities

  • Ability to provide clear, practical HR advice to managers.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including report writing.
  • Ability to analyse information and apply professional judgement.
  • Ability to build effective working relationships with managers, employees and stakeholders.
  • Competent use of Microsoft Office and HR systems.

Other Requirements

  • Ability to attend and advise at formal hearings.
  • Ability to organise and prioritise workload and, where required, check the work of others.

Role Summary

This is an operational HR Officer role focused on employee relations casework and job evaluation, supporting managers and schools to manage employees fairly, consistently and in line with policy and employment law.