People and Culture Advisor

People and Culture Advisor

Location: Bristol with hybrid working, UK

Contract: 37.5 hours per week, Permanent

Salary: £37,300 - £38,600 pa

About our Organisation   

Soil Association Certification Ltd exists to accelerate the just transition across food, farming and land use, as a global leader in sustainability certification. We deliver trusted solutions with nature, for people and planet through the certification of high integrity holistic standards. These assurance schemes cover a wide range of sectors including food, forestry, farming, landscape restoration carbon markets, beauty and wellbeing, textiles and catering.   

We are recognised and trusted by consumers and businesses around the world, operating in over 60 countries delivering FSC and PEFC certification, and you will also find the Soil Association organic symbol on over 70% of organic products in the UK.    

About the Opportunity  

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Certification People & Culture team as a People & Culture Advisor, supporting managers and colleagues across the business. Reporting to the People & Culture Manager and working closely with the wider Group People Team, you will play a key role in delivering a professional, customer-focused People service that improves colleague experience and supports organisational goals.

You will oversee and support the full employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding through to contractual changes and offboarding, ensuring processes are efficient, compliant and aligned with our values. A significant part of the role involves advising and coaching managers on employee relations matters, including absence, performance, disciplinary, grievance and wellbeing cases, helping them manage situations confidently, fairly and consistently.

You will also contribute to improving People processes and systems, analysing people data to inform decision-making and drive continuous improvement. Working collaboratively with Finance, IT & Digital, Training and the wider People team, you will help ensure our People practices support both our colleagues and the delivery of Certification’s strategic goals.

This role is based in Bristol with hybrid working (40% office-based).  

About You  

You are an experienced People generalist with strong knowledge across the full employee lifecycle. You are confident advising managers on a wide range of People matters and have hands-on experience supporting employee relations cases, including performance, disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence and redundancy processes.

You have a sound working knowledge of UK employment law and can apply it pragmatically to real workplace situations. You balance compliance with a values-led, people-centred approach, using sound judgement and discretion when handling sensitive matters.

You build effective working relationships quickly and are able to positively influence and coach managers to promote fair, consistent and inclusive people management practices. You are organised, able to manage competing priorities, and comfortable working both independently and collaboratively as part of a team.

You are naturally customer-focused, approachable and professional, with excellent listening and communication skills. You are motivated to continuously improve People processes and systems and are confident using data to inform decisions.

A CIPD Level 5 qualification is desirable, but we welcome applications from candidates who have developed equivalent knowledge and expertise through relevant experience.  

Our Benefits

We offer a range of financial and lifestyle benefits to all our employees, including:   

• 27 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days with length of service plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time)  

• Pension scheme with ethical investment options and employer contribution increasing with length of service  

• Free membership of the Soil Association and discounts on organic produce  

• Volunteer days to give back to the local community or support green initiatives  

• Family friendly policies and flexible working   

• Cycle to work scheme  

• Sociable and engaging workplace of professionals that share a passion for healthy, sustainable lifestyle and produce  

  

To Apply  

Click ‘apply now’ to submit your application form. Please note we look at applications on arrival and reserve the right to close this vacancy early.    

Please check your junk/spam folder if you do not receive a confirmation email upon submitting your application. All candidates will subsequently receive an email to confirm whether they have made it through to interview stage.    

For any queries, please contact recruitment@soilassociation.org    

Please note we do not accept CVs or Cover Letters.   

We know the value of diversity in nature and want it in our organisation. We recognise that diverse backgrounds and experiences will bring a fresh perspective to our work. If you're not sure about applying, please get in touch with us for a chat.    

Thank you for your interest in supporting our work at the Soil Association.