HR Advisor (Pontefract)

Virtual coffee chats available - book yours today to find out more about this exciting opportunity! About the role Joining Pontefract Academies Trust as a HR Advisor, you will be the named HR contact for employee relations for our Pontefract schools. Your work will be varied, meaningful and firmly rooted in supporting schools to do the right thing for their people. You will support a full range of employee relation (ER) matters including disciplinary, grievance, attendance, probation and capability cases, helping leaders manage issues confidently, fairly and compassionately. Working closely with the People Business Partner and Central People Team, you will ensure HR processes, documentation and systems are accurate, compliant and delivered on time. While employee relations is the core focus, you will also contribute to wider HR operations when needed, including recruitment support, onboarding, payroll coordination and HR administration. About you You’ll be a confident HR generalist who: Is a strong HR generalist with a background ideally in education or a similarly complex setting Has experience providing first‑line HR and ER advice to managers Is comfortable supporting ER cases end‑to‑end Understands employment legislation and applies it pragmatically Communicates calmly and professionally, even in challenging situations Is organised, proactive and able to manage competing priorities Builds strong relationships and takes a solutions‑focused approach You will hold CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent) or be willing to work towards it. CIPD Level 7 and education sector experience are desirable but not essential. What you can expect from us A welcoming, supportive People Team Meaningful work with real impact in schools Strong professional support from central HR functions A collaborative culture focused on learning and continuous improvement We are confident that new colleagues joining our Trust feel welcomed, supported and proud to work with us from day one.