Senior People Officer

As Senior People Officer, you'll play a key role in delivering a high-quality People service across SSAFA. This is a blended role, combining employee relations advice and case support with hands-on responsibility for wellbeing, employee engagement and inclusion. Working closely with managers and colleagues across the organisation, you will help to resolve people matters fairly across the full employee lifecycle, while also developing initiatives that strengthen employee experience and organisational culture.

This is not a specialist employee relations role, nor is it solely an employee engagement role.

We are looking for someone who is motivated by both aspects and is keen to broaden their experience across:

• Employee engagement, wellbeing and inclusion initiatives, from shaping ideas through to delivery and evaluation
• Employee relations advice and case management, with support to continue developing your knowledge and confidence
• Building relationships, influencing stakeholders and coaching managers
• Organisational change, culture activity and cross-organisational people projects
• Policy development, internal communications and continuous improvement

Based at SSAFA's Central Office in London, the role offers flexibility to work remotely in line with organisational needs. However, you must be willing and able to travel to the office at short notice when required.

About the team

You'll join a collaborative and supportive People & Organisational Development team that is passionate about delivering an excellent service and continuously improving the employee experience. We value partnership, professionalism, compassion and inclusion, working together to help colleagues and managers thrive. In this role, you'll work closely with:

• Learning & Organisational Development
• People Systems & Operations
• Leaders and managers
• Project and change teams
• Internal Communications and other corporate functions

This cross-organisational exposure will give you valuable insight into how different teams work together to support SSAFA's mission.

About you

You are someone who enjoys building relationships, listening to colleagues and turning feedback or ideas into practical improvements. You are comfortable working collaboratively across teams, communicating with different audiences and helping to create an inclusive and engaging employee experience. You will bring sound judgement, empathy and curiosity, and be able to manage changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

We're looking for someone who:

• Has experience in a generalist HR, employee engagement, wellbeing, inclusion, or related people-focused role and is ready for the next step in their career.
• Can demonstrate experience of contributing to or delivering engagement, wellbeing, inclusion, culture or employee experience initiatives.
• Has a sound understanding of HR practice and employment law, with the willingness and ability to develop further practical experience in employee relations and case management.
• Can build trusted relationships, adapt their communication style and work collaboratively with colleagues, managers and stakeholders at different levels.
• Can organise and deliver activity, manage multiple priorities and follow through from idea to implementation.
• Is curious, proactive and committed to improving the employee experience, and is comfortable suggesting new approaches and encouraging participation.

You do not need to be an employee relations expert to apply. However, you must have a sound understanding of HR practice and employment law and be willing to develop your employee relations experience. Likewise, candidates with a stronger ER background should be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in engagement, wellbeing and inclusion work.

We will assess candidates across both employee relations and engagement to reflect the balanced nature of the role. We are interested in your transferable experience, your understanding of good people practice and employment law, and your willingness to learn.

About SSAFA

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is a trusted source of support for the Armed Forces community in their time of need. In 2024 our trained teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 53,000 people, including veterans, serving personnel (regulars and reserves) and their families.

SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person and their family, any time they need us and in any way they need us

Diversity and Inclusion at SSAFA

SSAFA exists to support a diverse range of beneficiaries within the armed forces community, and we believe diversity within our teams is key to ensuring we can deliver our services effectively. We thrive on differences and believe it is critical to our success as a worldwide charity. SSAFA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We therefore encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.

SSAFA is committed to using the Disclosure & Barring Service to ensure we, as an employer, safeguard those we serve.

No agencies please. Any unsolicited submissions from agencies will be accepted as a direct application from the candidate and no fees will be payable.