Interim Senior HR Advisor in Sheffield

Great opportunity in Sheffield, hybrid working & great benefits!

About Our Client

Sheffield City Council is one of the region's largest and most values-driven employers, currently progressing through its ambitious Future Sheffield transformation programme - a multi-year modernisation designed to improve how services are delivered for the city and its communities. HR plays a pivotal role in enabling this change, supporting services as they reshape, adapt and strengthen their people practices.

What makes them stand out:

• Market-leading 19% employer pension contribution
• In-person, city-wide work including hearings, meetings and on-site discussions
• A culture grounded in integrity, collaboration and supporting people well
• Opportunities to contribute to policy development and continuous improvement within HR
• A professional, supportive HR team where your expertise is respected

Job Description

Your primary focus will be managing a high-volume employee relations caseload. You will:

• Deliver a professional, risk-based HR consultancy service, focused on ER casework (disciplinary, grievance, sickness, capability, performance etc.)
• Provide clear, expert advice to managers throughout formal processes
• Build strong working relationships with trade union colleagues and contribute to effective consultation and negotiation
• Provide accessible, user-friendly HR guidance and materials
• Use workforce insights and data to proactively highlight risks and shape solutions
• Contribute to HR policy updates and service improvement work where required

While the wider permanent HR Consultant team will lead on major restructures and organisational change programmes, the postholder may occasionally support elements of change activity, depending on service need. The day-to-day emphasis is on high volume ER casework, often complex, sensitive and time-critical.

Hybrid Working & On-Site Requirements

This role is not a traditional 3-days-per-week office-based arrangement. You will be required to attend in-person meetings, hearings and casework discussions across the city. The centrally located main office operates on a desk-booking basis and will be used only occasionally for touch-down space between meetings or for monthly team meetings. You won't typically be onsite with colleagues, so the role requires someone who is highly organised, confident managing their own diary, comfortable working independently, and able to balance travel with service-delivery demands.

The Successful Applicant

You will bring:

• Strong, proven experience in employee relations - essential
• Confidence managing high volumes of complex ER cases in a large or multifaceted organisation
• Up-to-date knowledge of employment law, HR policy and equalities obligations
• Excellent coaching, influencing and communication skills
• The ability to build effective relationships with managers, stakeholders and trade unions
• Experience in a unionised or public-sector environment (beneficial but not essential)
• The ability to interpret workforce data and apply insights to casework and decision making
• A relevant degree/HR qualification or equivalent experience

Availability: Candidates must be available within 4 weeks, with immediate starters highly desirable due to current demand.

What's on Offer

£47,181-£51,356 salary
6-month FTC with strong potential to extend
Outstanding 19% employer pension contribution
Hybrid working with city-wide travel for in-person ER meetings and hearings
Access to public-sector benefits and development opportunities