4 HR assistant jobs in Milton Keynes

National Trust
Director of People
Salary: £140,000 per annum
Closing Date: Monday 5th October 2026
Location: Flexible, with regular travel across the UK - including to our Swindon and London offices

At the National Trust, we care for nature, beauty and history for everyone, for ever. As we embark on the next phase of our 2035 strategy, we’re seeking a Director of People who will help build the leadership, culture, capability and organisational effectiveness needed to deliver lasting impact for people and nature across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Behind our purpose sits one of the UK's largest and most complex people-led organisations, bringing together more than 14,000 staff and 45,000 volunteers who care for and champion our extraordinary places. The Director of People will join our Executive team and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our organisation, influencing organisational strategy and leading the people agenda at the highest level. Working alongside Executive colleagues, you’ll ensure we have the culture, leadership, capability and workforce needed to deliver our ambitions to restore nature, increase access to nature, beauty and history and inspire more people to care and take action for generations to come.

As Director of People, you will lead a broad portfolio spanning People Services, People Partnering and Development, People Engagement and Volunteering, Business Services and Legal Services. You will play a critical role in shaping organisational culture, supporting strategic decision-making and ensuring that our staff and volunteers can contribute with confidence, purpose and impact.

This is a role for a values-driven and influential leader who combines strategic vision with practical delivery, bringing people together to navigate complexity, embrace change and build an organisation that is inclusive, resilient and ready for the future.

We welcome applications from candidates who have gained the following experience through a range of sectors, disciplines and career paths, and who can bring diverse perspectives to this important leadership role.

• Executive or director-level leadership experience within a significant and complex organisation.
• Deep expertise across people strategy, organisational development, culture, workforce planning and employee relations.
• A track record of leading large-scale organisational change and transformation.
• Experience of influencing Boards, executive teams and senior stakeholders on strategic people matters.
• The ability to inspire, develop and lead high-performing teams through complexity and change.
• Strong commercial and organisational awareness, coupled with sound financial judgement.
• A genuine commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, with experience of creating environments where people can thrive.
• An affinity with purpose-led organisations and a belief in the role people play in delivering meaningful societal impact.

The National Trust’s commitment is “For everyone, for ever.” Bringing that promise to life starts with the people that work here. It means building teams with a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. It means creating an inclusive environment where everyone is able to thrive. Our positions are open to all, and we welcome applications from all backgrounds to support our ambitions of reflecting the communities we serve and ending unequal access. 

There is flexibility regarding your contractual place of work. However, you will need to be able to travel regularly to our Swindon and London offices. Our hybrid working policy means you can balance office and home working with site visits and meetings at other National Trust places. We’ll talk about this in more detail at interview, but you should expect to be at a National Trust site for 40–60% of your working week.

To learn more about this opportunity, please visit our microsite, where you'll find the candidate pack, further information about the role and details of how to apply. Contact details for any additional queries can also be found there.

SCIE Vision

We are committed to building a society which enables people who draw on social care to live fulfilling lives.

At the SCIE, we are driven by our values:

· Progressive – always learning and developing.

· Inclusive – working together for equality, diversity, and fairness.

· Credible – evidence-based, robust, and reliable.

· Transparent – open and honest.

· Committed - focused on making a difference to people’s lives.

The role

A senior People & Culture leadership opportunity with the autonomy to shape people strategy.

Reporting to the Director of People, Finance and Corporate Resources, you’ll work closely with the SLT and Board, providing leadership across organisational development, workforce planning, talent, EDI, engagement, wellbeing, reward, change and employee relations.

You’ll also line manage the People & Culture Assistant, while influencing people practice across the organisation.

We’re looking for a credible, experienced leader who brings strategic thinking, sound judgement and the confidence to navigate complexity, challenge constructively and turn insight into practical action.

If you’re looking for a role you can genuinely make your own, we’d love to hear from you.

What we offer in return:

We offer excellent staff benefits including a competitive salary and homeworking allowance. We provide an employer pension contribution above the statutory minimum, an award-winning employee assistance programme, and an attractive holiday package which rises with length of service. Benefits of working for SCIE can be found here Work for the Social Care Institute for Excellence - SCIE

If you would like to access the application form in a different format or if would like any assistance that might help improve your experience while completing the application, please contact us.

About Us

Roots HR is a dynamic and growing HR consultancy specialising in providing tailored, pragmatic human resources solutions to social sector employers, including charities. We believe in the power of HR to transform the social sector, and we are looking for an experienced Senior HR Consultant to join our small but dedicated team.

We are founded on the belief that social sector organisations of all sizes should have access to high quality, practical and affordable human resources services. We recognise the challenges for such organisations and develop our services to meet the needs of the social sector, in terms of culture, risk and scale. We deliver those services on a more than profit basis to meet our social purpose.

Our market leading COMPLY service is in high demand, and we are now seeking to grow our team with the appointment of an HR Consultant who will provide comprehensive and pragmatic HR advice, documentation, and compliance support to clients by phone, Teams / Zoom and email.

Position Overview
Our market-leading COMPLY service is in high demand. We are now looking for a Senior HR Consultant to coordinate its day-to-day delivery, provide technical leadership to the HR Consultants delivering the service and maintain an active portfolio of consultancy work.

This is a hands-on senior role for an accomplished HR practitioner who combines strong employment law and employee relations expertise with sound judgement, excellent client care and the ability to coach and develop others. You will coordinate workloads, oversee case management, maintain service standards and act as the first point of escalation for complex HR and service-delivery matters.

What you will do

• Coordinate the day-to-day operation of the HR Advice Service, ensuring client enquiries are handled promptly, professionally and in line with agreed service standards
• Oversee ongoing casework, deadlines, service levels, capacity and risk, escalating major concerns to the Head of Service Delivery
• Provide technical oversight, quality assurance and practical support on complex employee relations casework and HR documentation
• Allocate and prioritise work fairly across consultants and associates, monitoring utilisation, billable time and project scheduling
• Lead monthly one-to-ones and support the wellbeing, performance, capability and development of team members
• Maintain your own client portfolio, providing pragmatic advice and producing high-quality contracts, policies, reports, letters and case-management documentation
• Support client relationships, identify recurring needs and use feedback to improve systems, processes and service delivery
• Contribute to proposals, scoping discussions, tenders, webinars, articles, newsletters and other business-development activity.

The successful candidate will, along with other essential criteria:

• Be qualified to Chartered MCIPD level or as a minimum hold a level 7 qualification in HR
• Have extensive experience of delivering robust generalist HR advice and guidance, including advising and coaching line managers and advising to a successful conclusion on a broad range of complex employee relations issues
• Social sector experience or exposure, gained through employment, volunteering or governance role(s) with extensive and broad operational delivery of robust generalist HR advice and guidance
• Bring strong quality-assurance and technical-review skills across HR casework and documentation
• Have experience of managing client relationships and resolving service-delivery issues
• Have excellent communication skills and be extremely skilled in influencing at all levels
• Have excellent written skills, able to produce high-quality reports and other documentation
• Be passionate about human resources and committed to updating their knowledge on a frequent basis
• Ideally, you will bring experience of leading or coordinating a team.

In return for your skills and commitment we can offer you:

• A wide range of interesting and demanding work in a sector where HR effectiveness impacts on the life of the community
• A friendly, team-oriented, supportive and trusting work environment
• Coaching and support in consultancy skills and practices
• Partnering internally with experienced and supportive colleagues.

To apply: Submit your CV and cover letter using our online system by no later than 11.59pm on Sunday 4 October 2026.

Roots HR CIC is an equal opportunities employer welcoming application from all sections of the community. Continued eligibility to work in the UK is required.

Strictly no contact from agencies please.

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