Job Description

About The Role

Are you an experienced HR professional?

with a genuine enthusiasm for Employee Relations?

Do you thrive in collaborative environments?

and are driven to deliver forward-thinking, people-first ER practices?

With over

1,500

staff across multiple campuses, our Group offers you the opportunity to make a real impact as an

Employee Relations (ER) Advisorwithin our People Services team.

What will I be doing?

Work with both ER Partners and HR Business Partners to provide support across the organisation. Advise staff and managers on ER matters with empathy and insight. Assess risks and offer practical, best-practice solutions. Foster a culture of fairness, clarity, and consistency. Analyse data to inform strategies and update policies to ensure compliance with current laws and best practices.
You will primarily be based at our

Canterbury campus

, and will manage a wide range of ER cases including grievance, disciplinary, capability and absence management. As our ER specialist you will apply case law to update policies and procedures, ensuring best practices. Staying curious and up-to-date with evolving HR trends is key.

Alongside our priority of excellent student experience, we also focus on our employees. Here are just some of our benefits when working for the East Kent Colleges Group:

Competitive salary and holiday entitlement. Generous pension scheme -

18% employer contribution.

Access to 100's of online discounts via our Rewards Scheme (Inc. Restaurant, Grocery, Retail, Gym, Holidays) Access to cycle to work, car leasing and tech purchasing schemes. Being part of a company with a Eco-Sustainability focus of being Net-Zero. Time off for your child's first day at school, moving home and for interviews. My 10 Days initiative - bid for up-to 10 days off work to pursue voluntary work. Being part of Community Days and Annual Staff Celebration Day.

About You

We are looking for someone who has a passion for

Employee Relations (ER), and want to use their knowledge and experience to ensure we at EKC Group are the best we can be at supporting our staff to maximise their potential.

You will bring:

An understanding of employment law. Excellent organisational skills. Exceptional accuracy and attention to detail. Strong communication skills. Work well under pressure. Have strong time management skills.
No need to spend time updating your CV, just click

apply

and complete our short application form. You can save your progress as you go, and we'll review all applications and get back to all candidates after the closing date.

If you are interested in an informal chat about the role, or have any queries, please email us on

jobs@ekcgroup.ac.uk

About Us

Outstanding Ofsted Provider

East Kent Colleges Group is an Ofsted Outstanding rated provider. It is proud to be the first General Further Education college organisation in the country to have received the Outstanding grade against each of the strands under the new Ofsted inspection framework. An inclusive provider, our colleagues place our students and the communities we serve at the heart of everything they do across EKC Group and this is illustrated in our 'Strong' skills grading by Ofsted.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and we ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities for upholding these principles.



As a designated establishment, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore have an obligation to carry out checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults. These checks include conviction/caution self-declaration, Enhanced DBS check and obtaining sufficient referencing.



It is a criminal offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so.



If you are successful in being shortlisted to interview, your suitability to work with children and vulnerable adults will be explored as part of the interview process.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

East Kent Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all members of our communities. We are particularly keen to increase the diversity of our staff body and encourage applications from candidates where there is underrepresentation in our workforce.



We are proud to hold the

Positive About Disability Award

and are a

Disability Confident Employer

. This confirms our commitment to interviewing all applicants who declare that they have a disability and who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification. With any successful candidate, we will explore any reasonable adjustments to a role due to a health needs or disability.



Similarly, we have a commitment to

Care Leavers (Care Covenant Pledge)

and to current or previous

Armed Forces personnel (Armed Forces Covenant Pledge)

with a commitment to interview applicants who meet the positions essential criteria and who have declared this on their application.



We welcome applications from anyone wishing to work flexibly and those considering a return to work from a career break.



We do not engage with agencies for permanent staff and have an in-house recruitment team.