Senior HR Adviser

Actual Annual Salary: £35,692 - £38,080 (based on hours and weeks worked)

Full Time Equivalent Salary: £39,649 - £42,301 (Grade F) (based on 37 hours per week, all year round.)

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday / Term Time Only Plus INSETS and 10 additional days during school closure period

Additional Information: The role will be offered on a hybrid working basis, to include home, office and academy-based working. The successful candidate will hold a valid driving licence and have access to their own transport in order to travel to and from CLF sites, as required. The candidate must be based locally within the Southwest to be able to travel to any CLF site on any given day, sometimes at short notice, as the service requires.

Potential Start Date: 07 September 2026 (Subject to completion of pre‑employment checks)

Your opportunity to lead employee relations across a diverse education community.

Join the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) as a Senior HR Adviser and become a key part of our dynamic Central HR Team. This role is being advertised as full time, as we need to increase capacity in our team. As a trusted partner to academy leaders, you’ll play a pivotal role in supporting our diverse family of 36 academies across the South West, spanning primary, secondary, all‑through, special, alternative, and studio school settings. Serving more than 18,000 learners aged 2 to 19, CLF is committed to equity, excellence, and opportunity for all, and you’ll be instrumental in helping us create an exceptional experience for our people.

In this role, you will:

• Lead and manage a varied and complex employee relations caseload, offering expert advice on matters such as performance, conduct, attendance, and policy.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with Principals and leadership teams across multiple schools.
• Provide high-quality guidance that supports fair, consistent, and legally sound decision‑making.
• Contribute to wider HR initiatives, process improvements, and projects that enhance the effectiveness and impact of the HR service.
• Play a key role in shaping and supporting a positive people culture across the Federation.

About you:

• A strong working knowledge of HR policies, employment law, and best practice, with the ability to apply this across a wide range of employee relations activities.
• Experience in managing complex employee relations cases, including investigations, formal meetings, and organisational change processes.
• The ability to provide high-quality, pragmatic advice to Principals, Headteachers, Managers, and safeguarding leads, navigating sensitive issues with professionalism and emotional intelligence.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the confidence to build trust and credibility at all levels and work collaboratively with union representatives and external stakeholders.
• Confidence in coaching and mentoring colleagues, and in advising senior leaders on complex HR matters.
• High emotional intelligence, resilience, and a proactive, problem‑solving approach in a fast‑paced environment with competing priorities.
• CIPD membership (or working towards with indicative completion in the short term) and a commitment to ongoing professional development.
• A valid driving licence and access to transport, with the flexibility to travel to CLF sites across the South West, sometimes at short notice.

What we can offer you:

• Access to a generous pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Generous annual leave.
• A comprehensive induction and ongoing commitment to wellbeing and career progression, through a range of training, apprenticeships and in‑role/wider‑trust development opportunities.
• Well‑being support through an Employee Assistance Programme.
• Health benefits, including wellness sessions, gym discounts, and flu jabs.
• A range of generous family leave options, including above industry average occupational maternity pay.
• Additional benefits like cycle to work scheme, on‑site parking and more.

We are an equal opportunity employer and proud to serve a diverse student population and our communities. We strongly believe that representation matters and so we encourage applications from underrepresented and global majority groups including ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion. We aim to remove any barriers to employment, ensuring everyone can compete on equal terms. Job share, part‑time and flexible working opportunities will be considered. We do not offer visa sponsorship for this role. As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, we are dedicated to equity and inclusion and commit to interviewing applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria. We aim to provide an inclusive and accessible recruitment process, and support employees throughout their employment. If you have a disability, are neurodivergent, or require any adjustments to support you through the application or interview process please let us know how we can assist.