People Administrator (HR Administrator) in Edinburgh

Join our People team as a People Administrator and you'll be right at the heart of the action: the first point of contact for colleagues across our stores and a key support to our People Partner. Every query you resolve and every process you keep running smoothly has a direct, real-world impact on our colleagues' working lives and, in turn, on the customers they serve. Based at our Central Support Office in Lasswade, this is a hybrid role (3:2, work from home and the office in a pattern that suits you, with the option to come in more often if you prefer).

The Role

• You'll own the day-to-day administration for our People team, acting as the first line of support on our ticket desk and shared inboxes (triaging, resolving and escalating queries to the right specialist).
• You'll get involved across the full employee lifecycle: recruitment and onboarding, learning and development, compliance, payroll support and People (HR) systems: a great grounding if you're looking to build a broader career in HR/People.

What You'll Be Doing

• Act as first-line support on the People team ticket desk and shared email inboxes: reviewing, resolving and escalating queries as needed.
• Support the full recruitment process: system administration, issuing onboarding letters/contracts and candidate communication.
• Support onboarding: Coordinating system credentials/equipment for new starters.
• Support Learning & Development with LMS queries/admin and arranging external training.
• Provide ad hoc support to Payroll with query resolution and system support.
• Support the People Operations team with administration across the employee relations lifecycle.
• Check and track compliance documentation, including Right to Work checks, so records stay accurate and up to date.
• Co-manage People service desk queries through to resolution, escalating where required.
• Handle People (HR) systems administration: creating posts, new starter onboarding and contract changes.
• Provide general People team admin: expense claims, travel and purchase order bookings and personnel file maintenance.
• Get involved in project work across the wider People strategy.
• Use Microsoft Office daily: spreadsheets, calendar management, Teams and letter creation.

About You

• Experienced administrator with confident, clear communication skills.
• Adapts well to change and shifting priorities while hitting deadlines.
• Curious mindset with a genuine appetite for learning.
• Proactive about spotting and driving process improvements.
• A great listener who asks the right questions to get to the root of an issue and tailors their approach to the audience.
• Self-aware, open to feedback and comfortable owning and learning from mistakes.
• Lives our values: one team getting better every day, bringing a smile, living and breathing gardens, and making it work for our customers.

What We Offer

• Holiday — 33 days' annual leave per year.
• Discount — generous, uncapped colleague discount: 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our Food Halls.
• Hybrid working — a mix of office and home working to support your work-life balance.
• Pension — company-contributed enhanced Group Pension Plan.
• Season ticket loans — spread the cost of travel, interest-free.
• Stream — access earnings ahead of payday, save for the future and get financial advice.
• Retail Trust — confidential support, a Virtual GP, free counselling and discounted retail rewards.
• Dobbies Academy — eLearning and development programmes to keep growing your career.
• Study assistance — funded courses and qualifications.
• A collaborative office space - a wellbeing room, learning resources and a book swap.
• Invitations to our annual company conference, summer and Christmas social events.

Ready to make a real difference to our colleagues and customers? Apply today and further your career in People/HR with Dobbies.