Location
London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide. At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver impartial journalism in a polarised world. In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing. Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. With no fixed path, you’ll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere. Build a newsworthy career at the FT.

The People Services Advisor is a trusted partner to managers and employees, delivering expert advice across the employee lifecycle while helping to continuously improve the way People Services operates. This role combines strong employee relations knowledge with a passion for operational excellence, technology and innovation. Working as part of a global People Services team, the People Services Advisor will use data, digital tools and AI-enabled solutions to simplify processes, improve the employee experience and support managers to make informed people decisions.

The role is suited to an experienced HR professional who enjoys solving problems, finding opportunities for improvement and working in a collaborative, fast-paced environment. Alongside providing high-quality operational support and advice, the successful candidate will actively contribute to the evolution of our People function through continuous improvement, automation and scalable ways of working.

Key Responsibilities
Employee Relations & People Advice
Provide pragmatic, commercially focused advice and guidance to managers and employees across the full employee lifecycle. Lead and support a broad range of employee relations matters including disciplinary, grievance, capability, performance, absence management, flexible working and family leave. Coach and support managers to build confidence and capability in handling people issues effectively and consistently. Ensure People policies and practices are applied fairly, consistently and in line with current employment legislation. Manage probation processes, ensuring managers and employees receive timely guidance and support. Conduct consultations relating to parental leave, adoption, shared parental leave and other statutory leave arrangements.

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
Deliver an outstanding employee and manager experience by working collaboratively with People Operations, Payroll and People Systems teams. Find opportunities to simplify, standardise and improve People processes across the employee lifecycle. Challenge inefficient ways of working and implement practical, scalable improvements. Contribute to the development of global People Services standards, ensuring consistency, quality and compliance. Promote a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging innovation and sharing guidelines across the People team.

Digital, Automation & AI
Champion the use of digital tools, automation and AI to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of People Services. Identify repetitive or manual activities that could be streamlined through workflow automation, AI or enhanced self-service. Work with the People Systems team to test, implement and embed new technologies and process improvements. Use AI responsibly to enhance drafting, knowledge management, reporting and operational effectiveness while maintaining appropriate governance, confidentiality and data security. Stay informed about emerging HR technologies and recommend innovative solutions that add new value to employees, managers and the wider People team.

Data & Insight
Use people data and operational metrics to identify trends, risks and opportunities. Produce meaningful insights that support informed business decisions and continuous improvement. Implement service performance and recommend actions to improve quality, efficiency and the employee experience. Work with the People Systems team to ensure accurate and meaningful management information is available to support decision making.

Projects & Change
Lead or contribute to global People initiatives including organisational change, reward, benefits, wellbeing, policy development, process redesign and HR technology projects. Support the delivery of the FT People Strategy and wider organisational priorities. Develop and manage project plans, engaging partners and ensuring successful delivery against agreed turning points. Build solid relationships across the business, developing a detailed understanding of operational challenges and finding opportunities to improve the employee experience.

Stakeholder Management
Build trusted relationships with managers and leaders across the business, providing balanced and commercially focused advice. Influence decision making through credible recommendations, sound judgement and evidence-based insight. Work collaboratively with colleagues across the global People team to deliver an integrated and consistent service. Promote diversity, inclusion and belonging through everyday interactions, advice and project work.

Experience
Demonstrable experience operating as a People Advisor or HR Advisor within a generalist HR environment. Solid experience managing a broad range of employee relations cases from initial advice through to resolution. Experience identifying and implementing process improvements within HR or People Services. Experience managing projects or contributing to cross-functional change initiatives. Experience working within a global or multinational organisation is desirable. Experience using Workday or another enterprise HRIS and supporting HR technology implementations or process automation initiatives is advantageous.

About you
Excellent understanding of UK employment legislation and its practical application within a commercial organisation. Strong commercial judgement with the confidence to influence and challenge constructively. Strong digital capability with confidence using HR technology, AI tools and data to improve outcomes. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate information into practical recommendations. Highly organised with the ability to prioritise competing demands and work effectively under pressure. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong relationship-building and collaborator management skills. Collaborative, adaptable and committed to delivering an exceptional employee experience. High levels of integrity, discretion and professionalism when handling confidential information. A proactive, curious and continuous improvement mentality. Familiarity with AI-enabled workplace technologies and their practical application within HR is desirable.

Qualifications
CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 qualification (or equivalent experience) is desirable.