UNISON Head Office HR Administrator

About this Role

Are you a detail-oriented, organised, and people-focused professional looking for an exciting opportunity in human resources? We have an opening for an experienced HR Administrator at UNISON.

About this job
As an HR Administrator, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring smooth HR operations and providing essential support to our employees. If you possess excellent organisational and interpersonal skills, have a passion for HR, and can work under your own initiative as well as part of a shared service team, we want to hear from you!

As an HR Administrator, you will be responsible for assisting with a wide range of HR processes and ensuring the smooth running of our HR department. You will support our HR team in various areas, including recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, benefits administration, and general HR operations in a transactional, shared services environment. We are currently modernising our HR / recruitment operations and processes, and this is a great time join us to be part of the change, gain valuable experience in a human resources, shared service function and contribute to the overall success of UNISON.

Key Responsibilities

– Respond to standard employee and manager questions and enquiries regarding HR policies and procedures.

– Maintain accurate staff data in our HR Information System (Resource Link), resolving queries from employees and the wider business.

– Support employee relations initiatives by assisting with grievance and disciplinary meetings.

– Administer employee benefits programs, including childcare, retirement plans, and leave management.

– Prepare and issue recruitment and contractual documentation, ensuring accuracy and compliance, advising managers on required processes.

– Manage a varied workload effectively, escalating complex issues to the relevant HR Officer or line manager.

– Take full ownership of queries through to resolution, keeping relevant stakeholders informed throughout.

– Follow internal and external procedures, using judgment to escalate when appropriate.

– Challenge non-standard transactional requests, taking corrective action or escalating to a manager or HR team colleague as needed.

– Accurately process HR documentation, ensuring all required approvals are in place before implementing changes.

– Support the ongoing review and enhancement of HR processes to deliver a customer-focused, high-value service.

– Maintain confidentiality at all times and ensure compliance with GDPR.

The full summary of duties and skills required for each role can be found below in the Job Description and Person Specification.

About you

Proven experience in an HR administrative role, ideally within a shared service environment.

Strong knowledge of HR processes, procedures, and best practices.

Able to manage competing priorities and meet tight deadlines.

Strong attention to detail with accurate data entry skills.

Comfortable communicating with a wide range of stakeholders, both internal and external.

A proactive and flexible approach, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities.

Sound understanding of UK employment law and GDPR.

Familiarity with HRIS’s and other employee lifecycle systems.

Confident using Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel (intermediate level).

Able to demonstrate discretion and maintain confidentiality at all times

Further information

How to apply

If you are ready to take the next step in your HR career and join a dynamic team, we invite you to apply for the HR Administrator position at UNISON by downloading the application form below.

Please note that only general application forms will be accepted.

The completed application form along with the monitoring form should be sent to [email protected], quoting the correct ref: ORD/81AT.

Please save your documents as your full name, job applying for and department

Completed application forms must be received by no later than 5pm 26 September 2025

Interview date to be confirmed.

UNISON is a dynamic, progressive union, committed to equality. We encourage men and women of all ages, black and minority ethnic groups, disabled people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to work with us.

About UNISON
UNISON is the UK’s leading public services trade union, with over 1.3 million members working in the public sector, private, voluntary and community sectors and in the energy services. We employ approximately 1,200 staff, with around 370 at our national centre in Euston in central London and the remainder in our 12 regions across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

UNISON is a dynamic, progressive union, committed to equality. We encourage men and women of all ages, Black and minority ethnic groups, disabled people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to work with us.