People Advisor (Fixed Term – Maternity Cover)

12- 18 months contract

We’re looking for an experienced People Advisor to join a well‑established organisation close to Chesterfield, providing maternity cover within a busy and supportive People & Culture team. Working in a fast‑paced, technical manufacturing environment, you’ll play a central role in supporting managers and employees while ensuring people practices remain consistent, compliant, and aligned with the organisations values.

About the Role

This is a hands‑on, varied advisory role where you’ll work closely with leaders across the business. You’ll take ownership of employee relations matters, provide clear and pragmatic guidance, and help build people capability at every level. Alongside day‑to‑day advisory work, you’ll contribute to wider talent, engagement, and development initiatives that support a high‑performing culture.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for managers on disciplinary, grievance, performance, and absence matters

• Manage ER cases from start to finish, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes

• Coach and support managers to strengthen their confidence and capability in handling people issues

• Support talent and development activity, including succession planning and performance improvement processes

• Work with leaders to identify high‑potential employees and contribute to development planning

• Support and deliver people initiatives that enhance engagement, wellbeing, and organisational effectiveness

• Lead small improvement projects and recommend enhancements to policies, processes, and people tools

About You

You’ll thrive in a role that blends operational HR support with opportunities to influence and improve how people are managed across the organisation. Your approach will be calm, pragmatic, and solutions‑focused, with the ability to build trust quickly across different teams and sites.

We’re looking for someone with:

• Proven experience as an HR Advisor or HR Generalist with responsibility for ER casework

• A strong track record of coaching and developing managers

• Experience supporting performance cycles, talent reviews, or succession planning

• Evidence of delivering HR initiatives that improved engagement or streamlined processes

• Experience working across multi‑site or international environments

• Excellent communication skills and the confidence to influence at all levels

This role also offers exposure to business partnering activity, making it an excellent opportunity for an HR professional ready to take the next step toward a more strategic HR Business Partnering position.

Hybrid working