HR Advisor (FTC)

We are looking for an HR Advisor to join our team in Frating, Colchester. This role is offered as a fixed term contract until August 2027, and will support our Distribution and Finance Services Division.  

The role 

Reporting to the HR Business Partner, you’ll work with managers and employees across Distribution & Finance Services, getting to know the business areas in depth so that you can offer thoughtful, practical HR advice. You’ll also support managers to build their confidence in handling people matters and applying HR policies and practices effectively. 

In this busy and varied role, you’ll support a community of over 400 colleagues across the full employee lifecycle. Acting as a first point of contact for managers, you’ll get involved in everything from talent management, reward and employee relations to coaching and guiding managers and colleagues on topics such as wellbeing. 

You’ll play an important role throughout someone’s time with us – from welcoming new starters and partnering with our Learning & Development team to help people learn and grow, to supporting family leave and career progression. 

This could be a great next step if you’re looking to progress your career in HR. You might already be working as an HR Advisor, or you could be an experienced HR Administrator or Coordinator with a strong grounding in generalist HR who is ready to take on more responsibility and develop your advisory skills. 

How we work in HR  

Our HR team works closely with the business. We understand the commercial context, priorities and challenges our teams face, and use that insight to focus our expertise where it can make the greatest difference. We help move our business and teams forward, while creating the conditions for colleagues to do their best work. 

How you work is just as important as what you deliver. We’re looking for people who build trust, use insight to make better decisions, and continually learn and improve. They connect early, challenge constructively and focus on what matters most. 

In this role, that looks like... 

• Building strong, credible relationships with managers and colleagues, becoming a trusted first point of contact for day-to-day HR support. 

• Taking a pragmatic approach to people matters, using sound judgement and insight to help managers make confident decisions. 

• Collaborating with colleagues across HR and the wider business, while confidently balancing competing priorities in a busy environment. 

What you’ll bring 

Essential criteria: 

• Experience of working within a generalist HR environment, for example as an HR Administrator, HR Coordinator or HR Advisor.  

• Experience of supporting managers and/or HR colleagues with a range of people matters, with an interest in developing your confidence in providing advice directly.  

• Exposure to employee relations matters such as absence management, disciplinaries, grievances or family leave. You don’t need to have managed these independently, but should have a good understanding of the processes involved.  

• A good grounding in employment law and HR best practice, with the motivation to continue developing your knowledge.  

• Experience of working with unions, or within an environment where unions are recognised.  

• Familiarity with HR systems and maintaining accurate employee data.  

• The ability to build positive working relationships with colleagues across different areas and levels of a business.  

• A proactive approach and genuine motivation to develop your HR career and grow into an advisory role.  

• Strong organisation skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a busy environment.  

Preferred criteria: 

• CIPD qualification, or currently working towards one, would be a plus.  

Application instructions  

Please apply with your CV and Cover Letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 23:59 on Tuesday 27th October 2026.  

AI  

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.   

We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.  

Disability Confident  

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview. 

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.  

Salary 

Up to £35,000 depending on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.  

Hybrid working 

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you’ll work from our Frating office 3 days per week, with occasional travel to our London office (Embassy Gardens). 

Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:

Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated. The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art. 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.

The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these here.

You can contact the company’s Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address. 

Further information on data protection and your rights can be found here.
 

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