Are you looking for a rewarding role within an intersectional feminist organisation? We have an incredible opportunity for a Senior People & Culture Advisor to join Solace Women’s Aid.
Solace exists to end the harm done through gender-based violence. We work to prevent violence and abuse and provide services to meet the individual needs of survivors, particularly women and children.
Our core values reflect our history and were developed in consultation with staff and service users. Feminism and intersectionality are key to our work, and we are committed to the principles of being survivor-led, trauma-informed, empowering, diverse, anti-racist and anti-discriminatory.
About the Service
We are on an ambitious journey to strengthen and modernise our People & Culture function, moving beyond traditional HR support to build a proactive, inclusive and high-performing culture across the organisation.
Alongside supporting the day-to-day realities of a complex frontline charity, we are leading a broad programme of improvement and transformation across people systems, workforce planning, leadership capability, employee experience, organisational development and service delivery.
About the Role
This is a varied, hands-on role for someone who enjoys being at the heart of a busy People function: providing pragmatic advice to managers, helping to resolve employee relations issues early and effectively, and making sure the people processes behind the scenes run smoothly and consistently.
You’ll be a key first point of contact for managers dealing with people matters, providing advice across areas including performance, probation, absence and wellbeing, conduct, disciplinary matters and flexible working.
You’ll help managers navigate issues confidently and proportionately, coaching them to build their own capability while recognising when more complex matters need to be escalated.
You will also play an important role in the day-to-day running of our People operations. You’ll oversee the quality and accuracy of contractual documentation, help ensure our HR systems and processes work effectively, and work closely with our People & Culture Coordinators to provide a responsive and efficient service to colleagues.
About You
You’ll ideally bring:
• CIPD Level 5 or equivalent experience
• Strong experience providing HR advice and managing employee relations casework
• Good working knowledge of UK employment law
• Experience of performance, absence, conduct and grievance matters
• Confidence reviewing contracts and other employment documentation
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• A proactive, organised approach and the ability to manage multiple priorities at once.
Experience within a charity, public sector or other values-led organisation would be an advantage, as would experience supporting organisational change or transformation.
Additional Information
This is a hybrid job role. The postholder will work a minimum of two days per week at our Head Office and the remainder remote working.
What we can offer you
We provide a comprehensive benefits package to all our employees, including:
- Flexible working
- Focus on learning and development (internal career progression and training)
- Generous holiday entitlement
- Employer pension contribution
- Family-friendly leave and enhanced maternity pay
- Access to Inclusion Networks
- Daily clinical debriefing
- Two paid wellbeing days
- Employee Assistance Programme providing free 24/7 support and advice
- Employee Benefits Platform offering staff discounts, benefits, and savings
- Flow & Restore yoga classes
- Meditation sessions
- Cycle to Work Scheme
How to apply
Please submit your CV and Supporting Statement through the recruitment portal. When applying for this role, kindly highlight in your Supporting Statement how your values, knowledge, transferable skills, and experience align with each point within the following sections of the Job Profile Document:
- Values, Behaviours & Competencies
- Knowledge, Experience and Skills
Solace Women's Aid values diversity, promotes equity, and challenges discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from candidates of diverse cultures, abilities, perspectives, and lived experiences.
We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay, and benefits. Our Inclusion Networks support staff with protected characteristics and offer inclusive spaces to connect.
We anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as needed and support employees who acquire a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work.
This service is run by women for women and is therefore restricted to female applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1. Section 7(2)(e) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 applies. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
As part of safer recruitment practices, we carry out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and right to work in the UK checks.
No agencies
Thank you!
Help build the operational backbone of a multi-award winning charity that's ready to grow further, with a clear path to becoming our COO.
For seven years, one exceptional leader has held impact, organisational development and much of YUAF's operations, building the processes, funder relationships and team support that became part of the spine of how we grew. As they move on, we're not just replacing them. We're rethinking and widening the role.
This post exists to hold the organisation steady and take operational responsibility off the Chief Executive's plate, freeing her to focus on strategy, key donors and the funding pipeline.
What you'll hold
You'll report to the Chief Executive and sit on the Senior Management Team, owning income generation, impact and evidence, business planning, governance, performance management and the systems underneath them all. You'll line-manage four people: the Pathways Lead, Marketing Lead, Project Manager and Futures Lead.
Where the role is going
From month seven, this role is intended to move to full time with deeper ownership of income and strategy. As YUAF grows, and subject to income generation, we want this post to develop into our Chief Operating Officer role. We'd rather appoint someone who outgrows this description than someone who fits it exactly.
How you'll start
The first six months are a settling period at 30 hours per week. You'll learn how the organisation actually works, get embedded in the culture, and understand the programmes by spending real time with young people and the people who deliver them.
You'll build relationships across the team, with funders and with partners, and by month three, we want people to naturally come to you as a trusted point of contact.
We also want you to look at YUAF with fresh eyes. Where are the gaps? What's held together by one person's memory alone? Where does delivery quality drop, and why? What would make life easier for the staff doing the hardest work? Bring us both the diagnosis and the solutions.
The timing is on your side: November to February is our quietest season, when the Studio Bus is largely off the road. Delivery picks up again in March 2027, so the role builds in stages rather than coming to you all at once.
How to apply
In addition to providing your CV and cover letter, it is a requirement of the application process that you complete our Head of Operations Questionnaire. A link for this can be found on the attached job description.
Note
We recognise that AI is a useful tool, however, we will be assessing applications, cover letters and running through AI to ensure that it was written by yourself as part of our shortlisting process. So please take the time to write your own application, this is a serious role that requires critical and independent thinking.
The application includes 6 written questions of up to 300 words each. Allow approximately one hour.
Please see the link for the questionnaire: https://forms.gle/rLw6wYLTxpoHy58g7
Registered Charity
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YUAF's mission is to empower the lives of young people by strengthening well-being and building opportunities, through creativity and culture.
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