HR Officer (Employee Relations)

Our vision is for a Wilder Hampshire and Isle of Wight by 2030 – where nature is recovering, wildlife is returning, damaged ecosystems are being restored, and everyone benefits from a healthier, more resilient, natural environment. Our mission is to get more people on nature’s side and create more space for wildlife to thrive.

We are seeking an experienced HR Officer (Employee Relations) to join our HR & Volunteering team!

Together with the HR Officer (Recruitment and Operational Support) you will provide a highly competent, efficient and customer focused HR service to the Trust. 

You will be the first point of contact for all employee relations queries, applying your experience and expertise to guide managers through a broad range of issues including disciplinary, grievance, performance management, absence management, health and wellbeing.

You will support the continuous improvement of our HR practices by developing and updating policies and procedures, creating training and guidance materials to strengthen managerial capability, and driving process efficiencies through standardised templates and documentation. You will also stay up to date with changes in employment legislation, ensuring all HR practices remain legally compliant.

This is an excellent opportunity to join our small but impactful HR & Volunteering team during an exciting period of transformation. Our work is focused on enabling the Trust to become a more effective and efficient organisation, with the right people, culture, capacity, and systems in place to deliver nature’s recovery and we are investing in our HR tools and resources to ensure that we can achieve this goal. You will play a key role in making this happen. 

The successful candidate will have a CIPD Level 5 qualification or solid equivalent experience/qualifications (or working towards). They will demonstrate a strong ability to quickly establish credible working relationships with staff to deliver a professional, accurate and customer focused service. As well as the ability to work closely with a small but very busy team but also on own initiative and excellent problem-solving skills.

This is a part time position, 22.5 hours per week. We are ideally looking for someone to work these hours over five days (Monday – Friday) but are flexible. We also offer hybrid working.

This is a new role for the HR & Volunteering team, created following a reorganisation of roles and responsibilities. 

Wild About Inclusion!

As an inclusive employer we recognise that our workforce needs to better reflect the communities in which we live and work. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly those underrepresented within our sector, including people from black, Asian, minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are committed to creating a Movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and identities. 

Disability Confident.

We are proudly a Disability Confident Committed employer. The scheme is helping us recruit and retain great people to meet our workforce needs. As a member of the scheme, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this position will be offered an interview. You can request adjustments including accessible formats of this vacancy by contacting us. To be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme you must: 

• Identify as being disabled which under the Equality Act 2010 means a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial*, long term** adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and; 
• Set out how you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the person specification for the post at the application and testing stages. This is a requirement for all candidates, not just those applying under the scheme. 

(*Substantial is more than minor or trivial **Long-term means 12 months or more)

We are happy to discuss the possibilities of hybrid and flexible working

This role will be based at our office in Curdridge, however, we are happy to accommodate a hybrid working routine, and discuss a pattern of work which suits the candidate. Traditionally, office hours are Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm with an hour lunch break.

We offer a wide range of benefits including a competitive salary, generous annual leave allowance, a contributory pension scheme, life assurance, learning and development support, 24-hour access to our employee assistance programme, discounted staff travel with our corporate partners Wightlink (subject to T&Cs) and more. 

Closing date: 27 August 2025
Interviews: Week commencing 15 September 2025

Please note that we may occasionally close vacancies early when we have received enough applications that meet the required criteria.

Please do not use artificial intelligence tools to assist you to complete the application form. We may not accept applications that have been completed utilising AI tools. If you would usually use tools such as these to assist you in filling in a form, please contact us to discuss this further and understand other options.