People Advice Team Manager in Manchester

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Contract type: 12 month Fixed Term Contract

Location: Manchester

Salary: £42,700 to £48,000

Working Arrangements: Hybrid working – 2 days a week in office

Are you at your best when leading people, improving services and helping managers navigate people matters with confidence? This is an opportunity to shape and develop a high-quality People Advice service that delivers real value across AQA.

Purpose of the Role

As People Advice Team Manager, you'll lead a team of People Advisers who provide trusted HR advice, guidance and support to managers and colleagues. You'll play a key role in ensuring a consistent, responsive and customer-focused service, while driving continuous improvement, developing team capability and using insight to shape future service delivery. Your work will help create a positive colleague experience and support AQA's mission of enabling learners to realise their potential.

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

• Leading, coaching and developing a high-performing People Advice Team, ensuring a consistent and customer-focused service.
• Overseeing HR advice, casework and service performance, using data, KPIs and customer feedback to drive quality and continuous improvement.
• Shaping the future of the People Advice service through process improvement, operational change and the development of guidance, tools and self-service resources.

You’ll bring:

• Significant experience in HR advisory, employee relations or people services environments.
• Experience leading, developing and motivating a team.
• A strong track record of managing KPI and SLA-driven services.
• Confidence using data and insight to identify trends, solve problems and improve performance.
• Experience implementing process improvements, operational change and manager self-service solutions.

What's in It for You

• This is a fantastic opportunity to make a meaningful impact while continuing to develop your own leadership and HR expertise.
• The opportunity to lead an important people-focused service that supports colleagues across AQA.
• Exposure to a broad range of people initiatives, service improvement projects and operational change activity.
• Ongoing professional development and opportunities to grow your leadership capability.
• Flexible working arrangements that support a healthy work-life balance.
• The chance to work within a collaborative and supportive People Group committed to continuous improvement.

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At AQA, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We believe that a diverse team brings richer perspectives and drives better outcomes. Our ED&I strategy ensures that everyone—regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, or background—is valued, respected, and empowered to thrive. We actively promote inclusive language, avoid stereotypes, and strive for representation across all dimensions of diversity. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Application process

To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining your suitability for the role by 23.59 on Sunday 26 July. Interviews will take place from 04 August in our Manchester office.

Full Job Description Summary

Purpose: Lead and develop the People Advice Team, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality, consistent and efficient advisory service to managers and colleagues across the colleague lifecycle.

Support the Head of Employee Relations and People Services by contributing to the development and implementation of the People Group (PG) operating model, embedding service standards, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service quality, customer experience and effective manager self-service.

Landscape: The People Advice Team Manager manages a team of four People Advisers within PG. PG provides a range of services including: business area support, diagnosis, consultancy and delivery of people-related services and projects; operational advice and guidance to managers and colleagues; HR policy development and associated training; and joiners, movers and leavers administration and checks.

The People Advice Team Manager plays a key operational leadership role within PG, working closely with Employee Relations Specialists, People Partners, People Services and wider PG colleagues to deliver a joined-up and effective service. The postholder is accountable for ensuring clear and consistent triage, with defined escalation thresholds and minimal duplication of activity across service tiers, with straightforward /low to medium-risk casework supported through the People Advice service, complex/high-risk, precedent-setting or reputational matters led by Employee Relations Specialists (peers), and People Partners (peers) providing strategic business-facing support and challenge.

Activities:

• Team leadership and people management - Lead, coach and develop a high-performing, customer-focused People Advice Team. Set clear expectations, provide feedback and support professional development. Allocate work fairly and manage team capacity.
• Service delivery oversight - Oversee accurate, timely and consistent advice and casework, aligned to policy, employment law and risk. Maintain casework oversight, identifying themes, pressure points and support needs. Provide coaching and quality assurance to support sound decision-making. Act as an escalation point, stepping into casework where needed and escalating to Employee Relations Specialists in line with protocols. Work with Employee Relations Specialists and People Partners to ensure effective triage and joined-up stakeholder support.
• KPIs, SLAs and performance management - Develop, implement and embed KPIs and SLAs for the People Advice Team. Monitor performance against agreed standards, producing regular reports and insights. Identify trends and areas of risk or improvement, making clear, evidence-based recommendations. Use KPIs, SLAs, customer feedback and service insight to drive accountability and improvement.
• Quality assurance and continuous improvement - Conduct regular quality reviews of People Advice service activity. Identify themes, issues and opportunities to improve consistency, efficiency and customer experience. Use manager and colleague feedback to improve service delivery, resources and customer experience. Design and implement improvements that strengthen consistency, efficiency and customer experience. Embed best practice across the team and ensure learning is shared effectively. Oversee People Advice SOPs, templates and guidance to support quality standards, audit readiness and service delivery.
• People Service Desk and operating model development - Lead the review and ongoing development of the People Advice service and associated delivery model. Ensure processes and systems are user-friendly and meet customer and operational needs. Address issues and feedback, particularly during periods of change or implementation. Develop standard responses and supporting materials to promote consistency, usability and efficient handling of straightforward queries. Build manager and colleague capability through clear guidance, templates, tools and self-service resources. Use data and insight to inform recommendations on future service design. Contribute to the design and implementation of the PG operating model.
• Data, insight and reporting - Monitor and analyse service data to identify trends, risks and opportunities. Produce clear, actionable reports for the Head of Employee Relations and People Services. Use insight to drive improvement actions and inform decision-making. Support a data-led approach to managing performance and service delivery.
• Stakeholder collaboration - Build effective working relationships across PG and other key stakeholders. Work with Employee Relations Specialists and People Partners to ensure clear escalation, shared insight and joined-up support. Support managers and colleagues by ensuring the service is responsive, consistent and easy to access.
• Governance and compliance - Ensure all activity is compliant with AQA policies, employment law and regulatory requirements. Promote high standards of data protection, information security and confidentiality. Support the consistent implementation of People policies, processes and standards across the service. Contribute to PG quality and governance, including document control, process standardisation and audit preparation.

To be successful in this role, you will need:

• Knowledge and experience - CIPD Level 5 qualified (or equivalent experience). Significant HR advisory or employee relations experience. Experience leading and developing a team. Experience managing KPI and SLA-driven service delivery. Experience leading operational change, process improvement and manager self-service. Experience using data and insight to improve performance. Experience developing guidance, templates and self-service resources. Experience developing or improving SOPs and controlled documentation.
• Skills and capability - Leadership and people management: Leads, motivates and develops high-performing teams. Provides clear direction, support and constructive challenge. Builds accountability and continuous improvement. Service management and operational delivery: Manages competing priorities effectively. Oversees consistent, high-quality service delivery. Manages performance against KPIs and SLAs. Problem solving and judgement: Uses sound judgement to assess risk and make pragmatic decisions. Identifies root causes and effective solutions. Handles escalated and complex issues confidently. Continuous improvement and change: Improves processes and service delivery proactively. Leads or supports change and embeds new ways of working. Uses technology to improve efficiency. Communication and stakeholder skills: Communicates clearly, concisely and professionally. Influences and builds credibility with managers. Works collaboratively across teams. Uses feedback to improve services, resources and customer experience. Data and insight: Interprets data and translates it into insight. Uses evidence to inform recommendations and improvements.