HR Manager (13 Months Fixed-Term Contract)

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Contract Type: 13 Months Fixed-Term Contract with an approximate start date of May 2026

Working Hours: Full Time – open to considering flexible working options including part-time hours

Location: Vauxhall, London (Hybrid Post Probation)

Closing Date: 4th January 2026

About Walker Books: Walker Books UK is part of the vibrant international Group that includes Candlewick Press, Holiday House and Peachtree in the USA and Walker Books Australia. Renowned for its truly original publishing and outstanding quality, the Walker Books Group is home to a wide range of children's and young adult books.

About the Role: This is an exciting opportunity to join our busy HR team of 3 on a 13-month fixed term contract. This role is incredibly varied and no two days will be the same! In this role you will take responsibility for co-ordinating the day-to-day processes and procedures for the HR department, with support from our part-time HR Assistant. You will also have the opportunity to assist the Global HR Director with larger strategic projects both locally in the UK and across our Group companies, while supporting and providing all employees of Walker Books UK with high quality employment support and service.

Key responsibilities:

• Recruitment and Onboarding: Advising and assisting managers during the recruitment process, sourcing candidates and managing recruitment partners, co-ordinating and shortlisting candidates, assisting with the creation of interview questions and tasks, interviewing alongside managers when needed, providing feedback to candidates, creating offer letters, contracts of employment and joining information for new starters, regularly reviewing the induction programme and documents to ensure they are engaging and up to date.
• Payroll and Benefits Administration: Work in partnership with finance to manage the payroll for approximately 135 employees, including entering absence, contract and salary changes, pension deductions etc. and cross checking any variables against the previous months. Creating, checking and uploading the monthly pension data, assisting the Global HR Director with annual review of the benefits providers, any administration relating to pensions or benefits, including liaising directly with providers, yearly submission of salary survey data.
• HR Compliance: Remaining up to date on employment legislation changes, including advising and updating Company policy and/or documents where required, assisting the Global HR Director with the review of all company policies, assisting the Global HR Director with the review of all HR processes, templates, forms and day to day functionality of the department, assisting the facilities team and Global HR Director in reviewing and implementing Health and Safety requirements across the company.
• Absence management: Providing advice and support to managers and individuals during periods of absence, administering parental leave calculations, administering bank holiday and pro-rated holiday calculations, responding to and supporting any disciplinary and grievance, performance or capability issues.
• Employee Engagement: Assisting with the internal training programme, creation of workbooks, slides and presenting, answering all staff queries, general support and advice, arranging pension and finance talks annually, awareness and organisation of any staff well-being or social activities, including our annual festive party.
• Employee Relations: Assisting line managers with probation and performance related issues, managing with any absence management cases, assisting with investigations, grievances and disciplinaries, note taking as and when required, project managing an office move for all UK employees, supporting with DEI projects and initiatives, effective line management of HR Assistant, including development, performance reviews, assessing and managing workloads, overview and recruitment assistance of any work experience, temps or freelancers, producing reports from our HR database as and when required, arranging first aid and fire warden training alongside the Facilities Manager, check in with Department Heads regularly.

Please note the above is not an exhaustive list and does not necessarily include all the duties the job holder may have to perform. This job description may be amended to meet changing needs of the business.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven relevant depth of experience as a Senior HR Advisor or HR Manager.
• All-round generalist HR experience including recruitment and selection, performance management and employee relations.
• Ability to communicate effectively with employees at all levels of seniority in a professional and positive manner.
• Strong knowledge and experience of the application of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Strong experience and knowledge of managing PAYE or payroll including compensation and benefits administration.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft packages including intermediate capability for excel.
• Exceptional attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Professional approach to HR, applying discretion and maintaining confidentiality.
• Experience managing projects end to end, delivering on deadlines and KPIs.
• Experience of building and maintaining positive working relationships across functions and with external stakeholders.
• Clear and effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong numeracy skills to carry out complex calculations and analyse large amounts of numerical data.
• Solutions-focused, pragmatic approach.
• Experience of an HR Information System/database.
• Experience of administering maternity and family leave.
• Highly proactive approach to work, demonstrating autonomy and initiative.

We offer:

• A supportive working environment where all voices are respected and creativity is not hierarchical.
• Hybrid work (at least two days in the office per week) once you have successfully passed probation.
• 22 days annual leave per year plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (with annual leave increasing with length of service up to 27 days).
• Enhanced Pension Scheme.
• Health Insurance and Health Cash Plan.
• Life Assurance.
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay.
• Access to an Employee Assistance Programme.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Plus, other great benefits!

Equal Opportunity: All children deserve to see themselves, their families, and their communities represented in the books they read. As children’s book publishers, it is our goal to ensure that the books and content we publish authentically and joyfully reflect the world around us. As an employer, we are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive working environment where everyone is included, valued, and empowered to do their best and most creative work. As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome candidates from all backgrounds without regard to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, sex, or any other characteristic protected by law and those not yet protected by law.

If you have any queries about this role or require any reasonable adjustments for your application or throughout the recruitment process, please let our team know by contacting us at recruitment@walker.co.uk.

Please note we reserve the right to close vacancies before the closing date where we have received sufficient applications. We recommend submitting your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Human Resources

Industries: Book and Periodical Publishing