Job Description

Ready to make a real impact? Join our multi-award-winning team!

At People Pillar, we've provided "6 million nights of calm sleep" to business owners across the UK by taking the stress out of HR (okay, that's a rough estimate, but it's probably pretty accurate!). We're a Kent-based HR consultancy with a passion for supporting small businesses nationwide.

Our team brings together 50+ years of HR expertise with the kind of friendly approach that actually works - we've supported over 100 small businesses and now we're ready to welcome another dedicated professional to the team.

Why You'll Love Working With Us:

Be part of an award-winning, rapidly growing consultancy Home-based role with occasional travel to client sites and team meetings in our Hythe, Kent office Work with diverse clients from tech startups to established SMEs (1-250 employees) Join a supportive team that believes in preventing HR disasters, not just fixing them Fast-paced environment with genuine opportunity to develop your HR and consultancy skills

What We Offer:

Competitive salary 40,000-48,000 based on experience 25 days holiday plus bank holidays + an extra day to celebrate your birthday Bonus incentives Access to Reward Gateway Ongoing training and learning opportunities We'll plant a tree to offset carbon for each team member Cuddles with Ralph and Nelly, the office dogs (not compulsory!) Genuine work-life balance and flexible working arrangements

Key Responsibilities

As a Senior HR Consultant, you'll lead client relationships and provide high-level support across the full employee lifecycle while helping clients plan ahead strategically.

Strategic Client Partnership

Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, understanding their goals and aligning HR strategies to support business growth and culture Design and deliver people plans that include workforce planning, talent development, engagement, and succession Be creative and pragmatic in supporting leaders to improve people practices, performance, and decision-making

Employee Lifecycle Leadership Oversee all key stages, including:

Workforce Planning & Recruitment Strategy - Support role design, growth plans, and selection approaches Onboarding & Integration - Create frameworks that embed values and accelerate performance Performance & Talent Development - Drive performance culture, coaching, career paths, deliver training and capability building Engagement & Retention - Implement initiatives and use data to build positive workplace cultures Employee Relations & Change Management - Navigate complex cases, conflict, restructures, and TUPE Offboarding & Exit Insights - Ensure professional exits and feed learnings back into people plans Supporting the HR Consultant team when required.

Data-Led HR Advice

Analyse workforce trends, engagement results, and HR data to influence client decision-making Produce Board-level HR reports and recommendations, drawing insights from systems like Breathe HR

System & Policy Oversight

Advise on Breathe HR use, process improvement, and digital HR tools Support or lead development of employment policies, handbooks, toolkits, and manager guidance

Project & Change Delivery

Lead or contribute to key HR projects such as restructures, TUPE, culture change, or policy overhauls Work alongside other HR Consultants to share best practices and deliver joined-up support

Business Development & Team Contribution

Build client loyalty and spot opportunities to grow with existing clients and new business.

What You'll Bring

Essential:

CIPD Level 5 qualified (or equivalent experience) - Level 7 desirable Strategic and operational HR experience Confidence working with founders, MDs, and senior leadership teams Experience with startups or SMEs - you understand the agile, fast-paced environment (desirable) Strong employment law knowledge with commercial application skills Passion for simplifying and improving HR processes Excellent communication skills - credible, warm, assertive, and good-humoured Tech-savvy (Breathe HR, Office 365, Teams, SharePoint, Canva) Thrives in agile environments - comfortable switching between strategic and hands-on work and adapting as the business grows Highly organised, diligent with strong attention to detail Friendly, proactive and professional manner with confident relationship-building skills Ability to adjust your style to fit the person in front of you Understands how a business makes money (and where HR fits in) Self-motivated with enthusiasm to learn and progress Proactive mindset - you like to think and suggest rather than wait to be told

Our Values

At People Pillar, our values are at the heart of everything we do and will guide us through our recruitment process. We believe that aligning with these principles is key to our success:

Embrace positivity and humour - Embrace challenges with a positive attitude and use humour to make tough situations more manageable. Be genuine and honest - Be human and honest in all interactions. Deliver outstanding work - Consistently aim for excellent, producing fabulous results in everything you do. Act practically and be commercial - Approach situations with practical solutions while maintaining a focus on business success.
If these values resonate with you and you tick the boxes above, we would love to hear from you!

Ready to help business owners sleep peacefully at night?

To Apply:

Please send us your CV and a short overview of why you think you would be fabulous (max one page).

Interviews may be held as applications come in, so we encourage you to get your application in early.

At People Pillar, we recognise the value of a diverse team and encourage applications from people with varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds. We want all candidates to shine in this process - please let us know if there's anything we can do to make the application process work for you.

Successful candidates must be eligible to work in the UK.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: 40,000.00-48,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Additional leave Employee discount Flexitime Referral programme Sick pay Work from home
Application question(s):

Are you based in Kent?
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Hythe, CT21 5HN