People Assistant

We currently have an exciting new opportunity vacancy for 2 People Assistants to join our busy People team.

The People Assistants will be involved in supporting and assisting the People Officers in the delivery of a varied and wide-ranging set of HR processes and objectives covering all aspects of the employee life cycle. You will act as a first point of contact for the People team, providing generalist guidance and support to line managers and colleagues around a range of HR policies and processes, escalating where appropriate.

We’re looking for people who are passionate about delivering outstanding support to the whole organisation and take pride in their work, providing expert support and guidance within a fast-paced environment.

As a People Assistant you will:

• Provide support to the People Officers with key processes through the employee life cycle, including:

• End to end recruitment process, including drafting and posting adverts, arranging, and supporting with interviews and onboarding
• Advising employees on family friendly policies, including maternity, paternity, adoption and flexible working, carrying out meetings, processing paperwork and issuing relevant letters
• Carrying out exit interviews, providing feedback to People Officers and line managers as required
• Absence management of short and long-term sickness cases, through monitoring levels of and reasons for absence, carrying out first stage absence review meetings and referring complex cases to People Officers
• Assisting the People Officers with employee relations case work, including preparation of packs, arranging, drafting invite letters, and taking notes in meetings for grievance, disciplinary and capability meetings
• Assisting with logging and tracking of Occupational Health paperwork and appointments

• Liaise with People Administrators and People Admin Supervisor to ensure accurate information is provided in a timely manner to Payroll and other key stakeholders
• Update trackers and HR systems to maintain accurate data, adhering to GDPR legislation
• Contribute to the production of People team metrics and reports for stakeholders including line managers, Directors & Trustees
• Support with all general People team processes and other ad hoc tasks as required

The Package

• Permanent contract
• 40 hours per week, working 4 days on site with an option for home working one day per week
• A salary of £26,487.02 per annum
• 33 days annual leave plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family
• Cycle to work scheme
• Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym membership
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks
• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%

We are looking for someone who has:

• Experience of working in a busy, fast paced HR environment
• Knowledge and experience of various aspects of the employee life cycle, including recruitment, sickness absence, family friendly policies and processes such as maternity, paternity, adoption and flexible working
• Strong organisational skills with excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• Have excellent customer service skills, listening skills and a degree of empathy
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders
• Good literacy and numeracy skills, and confident using Microsoft Office packages, including Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams

Although not essential, the following would be desirable:

• CIPD Level 3 in People Practice, or willingness to work towards
• Experience of dealing with employee relations and performance management matters

What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?

Well, where do we start? Here goes…

We’re a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.

As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of nearly 500 permanent and 500 seasonal team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us on our exciting journey.

Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office – where else can you see critically endangered orangutans from your office window, or stroll among rare giraffes and tigers on your lunch break?