People Advisor (Employee Relations Specialist)

At Bidwells, our people are at the heart of everything we do. As we continue to grow, we're looking for an experienced and commercially minded People Advisor with a strong employee relations background to join our People Team in Cambridge. This is a fantastic opportunity for a people professional who enjoys building trusted relationships, coaching managers through complex people matters and making a genuine impact on employee experience.

You'll work closely with leaders across the business, helping them navigate a wide range of employee relations issues while driving initiatives that support wellbeing, inclusion and engagement.

Bidwells is one of the UK's leading property consultancies, known for helping shape some of the country's most innovative places and communities. Behind our success is a collaborative and people-focused culture where individuals are empowered to contribute, challenge the status quo and continuously improve the way we work. With around 600 employees located across the UK, our People Team plays a vital role in supporting colleagues from Inverness to Bristol and everywhere in between.

Joining our People Team means becoming part of a supportive, forward-thinking environment where you'll have the opportunity to influence business decisions, improve processes and help create a workplace where people can thrive, do their best work and build exceptional careers.

As a trusted advisor to managers across the business, you'll:

• Lead and support a broad range of employee relations casework, from performance and capability matters through to disciplinary and grievance processes.
• Coach and develop managers to build confidence in handling people matters effectively and consistently.
• Provide expert guidance on HR policies, employment law and best practice.
• Support absence management, family leave cases and flexible working arrangements.
• Play a key role in wellbeing, mental health and inclusion initiatives across the firm.
• Help improve employee engagement, retention and overall employee experience.
• Review and enhance people policies, ensuring compliance with changing legislation.
• Support wider People Team projects, process improvements and business change initiatives.

We're looking for someone who combines strong technical HR expertise with a practical, people-first approach. Ideally you'll bring:

• Proven experience managing a wide range of employee relations cases in a similar environment.
• Confidence coaching managers through performance management, difficult conversations and complex ER matters.
• Up-to-date knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience supporting family leave and flexible working cases.
• A continuous improvement mindset, with examples of improving processes and ways of working.
• The ability to balance commercial priorities with positive employee outcomes.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• CIPD qualifications are welcomed but what matters most is your ability to provide pragmatic, credible advice and build trust across the organisation.

We recognise and reward talent with generous salary and group bonus scheme. As a Real Living Wage employer, we’re committed to fair pay that reflects the true cost of living. Comprehensive benefits include up to 8% matched pension, 28 days holiday (+ bank holidays) as a minimum, along with your birthday off work, a wellness day, paid sabbaticals, private medical cover, medicash plan, lifestyle discounts and perks, and more.

We value your well-being and offer agile working to support it. Bidwells is dedicated to fostering a truly inclusive culture of belonging, where everyone can thrive and succeed as their true and authentic selves at every level. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and positively encourage applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of race, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, age, sexual orientation, transgender status, religion or belief.