People Officer

Supporting people, strengthening culture, and ensuring a compliant and effective workplace. We are looking for an experienced and proactive People Officer to join our People Team and provide high-quality HR advice, employee relations advisory support and compliance expertise across the Trust. Please note that this role requires demonstrable experience of providing HR advice and managing employee relations activity. Applications should clearly evidence experience against the criteria in the job description. Working closely with managers and colleagues, you will manage a range of employee relations cases, support effective absence and performance management, and ensure HR policies and processes are applied consistently and fairly. You will play a key role in maintaining accurate workforce records, supporting safeguarding and compliance requirements, and contributing to continuous improvement across our People service. This is an excellent opportunity for an HR professional who enjoys building strong relationships, solving problems and making a positive impact on the employee experience. You will bring sound knowledge of HR practice, strong organisational skills and the confidence to provide trusted advice and guidance to managers at all levels. Join us and help create a workplace where our people can thrive. Why Join UKAT? We are committed to supporting the wellbeing, development and success of our staff. As part of our team, you will benefit from:

• Benenden Healthcare membership.
• Free access to wellbeing, health and counselling services.
• Free on-site parking and discounted electric vehicle charging.
• Access to our on-site gym facilities.
• Staff Thrive Days in addition to scheduled professional development days.
• Tailored professional learning pathways and trust-wide career opportunities via the UKAT Institute.
• Eye care and hearing care vouchers.
• Free annual flu vaccinations.
• Relocation packages for eligible candidates.
• Interest-free loans and travel loans.
• Excellent transport links, with London and the wider South East within easy reach, or you may benefit from the cycle to work scheme with UKAT.
UKAT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All appointments are subject to enhanced DBS and safeguarding checks., The University of Kent Academies Trust would like all candidates to answer specific questions for the personal statement section. For reference, here is a preview of the questions/headings: 1. Employee Relations Experience Please describe your experience of managing employee relations cases (for example disciplinary, grievance, capability or attendance matters). What was your role in these cases and what level of advice or support did you provide to managers? 2. Providing HR Advice to Managers Tell us about a time when you provided advice to a manager on a sensitive people matter. What was the situation, what advice did you provide, and what was the outcome? 3. Understanding of Fair and Consistent HR Practice How do you ensure that HR advice and decisions are fair, consistent and aligned with organisational policies? Please provide an example. 4. Managing Complex or Sensitive Situations Describe a challenging employee relations issue you have supported with. How did you balance supporting the employee, advising the manager and managing organisational risk? 5. Absence Management Experience Please outline your experience of supporting absence management processes, including any involvement with occupational health referrals, adjustments or return-to-work processes. 6. HR Systems and Data Accuracy Describe your experience of maintaining HR records or using HR systems. How have you ensured data accuracy, confidentiality and compliance? 7. Policy Interpretation and Implementation Give an example of when you have supported the implementation or application of an HR policy. How did you help managers or employees understand the requirements? 8. Compliance and Audit Readiness This role supports workforce compliance, including maintaining accurate records and supporting audit activity. Describe any experience you have of compliance checks, audits, safeguarding records or regulatory requirements. 9. Prioritising a Varied HR Workload This role involves managing competing priorities, including employee relations cases, manager queries, compliance tasks and reporting requirements. Please describe how you have managed a busy and changing workload. 10. Motivation and Level of Role What interests you about this People Officer role, and what experience do you have that demonstrates you are ready to provide professional HR advice rather than purely administrative support?