HR and Payroll Assistant

Part time, Permanent contract. 16hrs (2 x days) per week. Either Wed/Thurs, or Thurs/Fri

Role will be based onsite at our Willows Farm Day Nursery (AL4 0PF)

We are a privately owned group of farm-based day nurseries, providing children with unique opportunities to learn through nature, animals and outdoor experiences every day. Our settings are built around creating exceptional experiences for children, families and, just as importantly, our team.

Our culture is built on kindness, support, collaboration and respect. We believe that when our people feel valued, listened to and supported, they are empowered to do their very best work.

We're passionate about developing our teams, recognising success, promoting wellbeing and creating opportunities for people to grow. We don't see HR as simply policies and paperwork-we see it as creating a workplace where people genuinely love coming to work.

We're now looking for a Culture & HR Support professional to join our People & Wellbeing Team. Working directly alongside our Director of People & Wellbeing, this is an exciting opportunity for someone studying HR or looking to build a career in People Management to gain invaluable hands on experience across every aspect of HR.

This is far more than an administration role-you'll play an important part in supporting our people, strengthening our culture and helping our nurseries continue to thrive.

About the Role

You'll support the Director of People & Wellbeing across a wide range of HR and payroll activities, helping ensure our people receive the very best support throughout their employment journey.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing day to day administrative support to the People & Wellbeing function.
• Assisting with the monthly payroll process, including collating payroll information and ensuring data is accurate.
• Supporting the administration of employee benefits and wellbeing initiatives.
• Preparing contracts, letters, HR documentation and employee correspondence.
• Maintaining accurate employee records and HR systems.
• Supporting recruitment, onboarding and pre employment compliance.
• Assisting managers with HR administration and people related queries.
• Helping ensure compliance with employment legislation and company policies.
• Carrying out HR compliance audits across our nursery settings.
• Supporting absence management administration and reporting.
• Producing HR reports and analysing people data.
• Assisting with employee engagement, recognition and culture initiatives.
• Supporting a variety of exciting HR projects across the business.
• Providing excellent confidential administrative support across all areas of HR.

About You

We're looking for someone who is passionate about people and wants to develop a career in Human Resources.

You'll ideally be:

• Studying towards a CIPD qualification or a degree in Human Resources (or recently qualified).
• Passionate about creating positive workplace cultures.
• Organised with exceptional attention to detail.
• A confident communicator with excellent written and verbal skills.
• Professional, approachable and trustworthy.
• Able to manage confidential information with discretion.
• Comfortable prioritising multiple tasks and working independently.
• Keen to learn, develop and take on new challenges.

Although not essential, we'd love to hear from candidates with experience or knowledge of:

• HR administration.
• Payroll processes.
• Employee benefits administration.
• HR systems.
• Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Word.

Full training will be provided on our payroll systems and internal processes. What You'll Gain

This is an excellent opportunity to gain practical HR experience across the full employee lifecycle while working within a supportive, experienced People Team.

Working directly alongside our Director of People & Wellbeing, you'll gain exposure to:

• Employee relations.
• Payroll.
• Recruitment and onboarding.
• HR compliance.
• Reward and recognition.
• Organisational culture.
• HR projects.
• Leadership support.

No two days are the same, making this an ideal opportunity for someone looking to build a long term career in HR.

We offer an attractive salary and benefits package including:

• 50% off childcare (including Holiday Camp) - from day one with us!
• Wellbeing ambassadors in all our settings, to look after your health and wellbeing
• Free lunches and drinks every day for our staff
• WPA "NHS Top up" - including a 24/7 helpline, access to private doctors appointments, money back on healthcare expenses
• Tastecard for all permanent staff - Offering up to 50% off various restaurants, cafes, take aways, cinema tickets & days out.
• Free family annual pass into Willows Farm (worth £600 per year!)
• 28 days annual holiday, increasing with service up to 33 days
• Refer a friend bonus up to £500 per referral - no limit on the number of referrals you can make!
• An open door management policy across all of our settings - You should always feel like you can come and talk to us.
• Access to training courses, and ongoing progression and development opportunities
• Regular staff/team outings and celebrations - let your hair down, you deserve it!
• Free staff uniform - comfortable polo shirts, and a coat for outdoors!
• Enhanced NEST Pension scheme for all staff - for a comfortable future retirement!
• Monthly staff lotteries and employee of the month - it could be you!
• Length of service awards and gifts - recognising your loyalty!
• Staff awards ceremony - with prizes worth up to £500!
• Staff summer bbq, and Christmas party
• Extra little "thank you" gifts for Valentines, Easter, Staff appreciation day, Christmas and other special annual days!
• Relocation packages - If you fancy a change of scenery
• Cycle to work scheme - we will help you buy your new bike!
• Free parking

Farm Day Nurseries are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Safer recruitment practice and pre employment checks will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. This post is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.