Senior Employee Relations Advisor

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South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good'.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone's potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I'm going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you'll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

Are you ready for your next exciting and rewarding opportunity in People and Organisational Development? Are you a CIPD-qualified professional with extensive experience in HR and organisational development? If so, this could be the ideal next step in your career.

We are embarking on a transformational journey to reshape our People and Organisational Development function, aiming to deliver a proactive, customer-focused service that meets the evolving needs of our organisation. As a Senior Employee Relations Advisor, you will join a team of passionate and committed colleagues, playing a key role in delivering high-quality educational and operational employee relations support. This work will be guided by our values and behaviours framework and rooted in a 'Just and Restorative Learning' culture.

In this role, you will manage a complex caseload covering a wide range of employee relations matters. You will ensure that all work aligns with current legislation, best practice, case law, and local policies. As the subject matter expert in employee relations, you will provide high-quality advice and support to enable early resolution of workplace issues, while understanding organisational risks and offering practical solutions.

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance to managers on policies and procedures related to absence management, disciplinary action, grievances, performance management, and more.
• Coach and support managers to build confidence and capability in handling employee relations matters.
• Collaborate effectively with employees, managers, senior leaders, and directorate teams.
• Contribute to policy development and deliver training sessions for new managers.
• Communicate clearly and professionally, ensuring timely and effective engagement across all levels of the organisation.

What We Are Looking For

• Associate CIPD membership with substantial HR generalist experience.
• A person-centred, solution-oriented approach with sound judgement and the ability to professionally challenge when needed.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• A commitment to delivering a high-quality, inclusive HR service that makes a real difference to front-line care.

We are committed to flexible working and are happy to discuss how you may wish to structure your hours. However, physical attendance at the workplace for a minimum of three days per week is required.

Working for our organisation

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich. By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description for further information regarding the key duties and main responsibilities of this role.

Person specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Graduate CIPD or equivalent demonstrable career path, skills and experience
• Evidence of continued professional development within an ER environment

Experience

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable experience of providing a wide range of operational employee relations services to staff at all levels
• Demonstrable experience of designing and facilitating management training/briefing sessions on HR policies and procedures and management of staff
• Able to review and update HR policies and procedures in line with changes to employment law, Trust values and/or case law as required
• Understanding and experience of job evaluation processes

Desirable criteria

• Trained and experience of the AFC job evaluation processes and principles. Trained AFC Job Matcher

Knowledge / Skills

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable knowledge of working at a senior HR/ER level within a complex unionised environment
• Up to date knowledge of employment law, ACAS Codes of Good Practice and their practical application in a unionised environment
• Good communication and inter-personal skills with the ability to influence and negotiate with managers and staff to enable the provision of an effective and efficient ER service within the Trust
• Ability to analyse and problem solve from complex information and communicate with managers and staff to assist in determining informed decisions
• Familiar with electronic HR reporting and recording systems and producing reports as required

Desirable criteria

• Working within the NHS
• AFC Job Evaluation Training
• Coaching or mediation Knowledge and skill
• Understanding and Familiarity with ESR/ Track-It or Trac

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity

Please note:

• That all applications for this post will need to be made online
• That you read and understand the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That we are a smoke-free Trust

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion , Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe'

Helpful Resource: How to Use TRAC for Job Applications
If you're preparing to apply for a role, this guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to use TRAC effectively throughout the application process: Using TRAC to apply

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Documents to download

• Job description and person specification (PDF, 440.6KB)
• SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Happy to Talk Flexible Working (PDF, 680.1KB)