Job Purpose:
To support the delivery of an effective, efficient and responsive HR service across Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and its wholly owned subsidiary, Middlemarch Environmental Ltd.
Working closely with the HR Manager and alongside another HR & Payroll Assistant, the postholder will provide generalist HR support across the employee lifecycle, with particular responsibility for payroll, recruitment, onboarding, employee administration and HR systems.
The postholder will deliver accurate and timely operational support to employees and managers, maintain high-quality HR and payroll records, and contribute proactively to the continuous improvement of HR systems, processes and services across both organisations.
Closing Date:
Monday 7th September 9am
Accountable to:
HR Manager
Location:
Brandon Marsh Nature Centre, Coventry, with regular travel to Middlemarch Head Office (Triumph House, CV5 9AZ), and occasionally throughout the county or further afield.
We work on an agile working frame which requires 20% of the working week to be in the office, and 80% working from home.
Salary:
Grade 2a (£24,479 to £28,582 dependent on experience)
Liaison with:
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Middlemarch Environmental staff, Senior Management Teams, Directors Including Neds & CEO, Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, recruitment agencies, health and wealth management team, payroll, external HR consultants and external systems providers.
Hours:
Full time hours (35) on a 12-month FTC maternity cover
Start date: Monday 28th September 2026
Key Responsibilities:
1. Payroll
- Support the monthly payroll processes for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Middlemarch Environmental Ltd from end to end, liaising with internal colleagues and external payroll providers to ensure payroll is accurate, compliant and completed within the required timescales.
- Collate, check and process all relevant payroll information, including new starters, leavers, contractual changes, absences, family leave, overtime, TOIL and other pay adjustments.
- Run and review monthly TOIL and overtime reports, investigating discrepancies and ensuring that accurate information is submitted for payroll processing.
- Calculate holiday pay, outstanding annual leave and other holiday-related adjustments when required.
- Produce and issue payroll-related documentation, including payslips, P45s and relevant employee correspondence, within the required timescales.
- Act as the first point of contact for employee and manager payroll queries, resolving queries promptly and escalating complex matters where appropriate.
- Maintain accurate and confidential payroll records in accordance with UK GDPR, data protection legislation and organisational retention requirements.
- Complete appropriate payroll checks and reconciliations, escalating any discrepancies or potential errors before payroll is finalised.
2. Recruitment and Selection
- Coordinate and deliver a professional and inclusive end-to-end recruitment service for the Trust and Middlemarch, ensuring a positive experience for candidates and recruiting managers.
- Support managers to prepare job descriptions, person specifications, recruitment packs, selection criteria and interview materials.
- Prepare and place job advertisements using appropriate recruitment platforms, social media, external agencies and recruitment partners.
- Coordinate the administration of recruitment campaigns, including managing applications, arranging interviews and maintaining timely communication with candidates.
- Support managers with shortlisting, interviews and other selection activities, ensuring processes are fair, consistent and compliant with organisational procedures and employment legislation.
- Maintain accurate recruitment records and ensure that all stages of the recruitment and selection process are completed and appropriately documented.
3. Pre-employment and Onboarding
- Prepare and issue conditional offers, offer letters, contracts of employment and other new-starter documentation, ensuring that documents are approved, signed and returned promptly.
- Complete and record all required pre-employment checks, including right-to-work checks, employment references and Disclosure and Barring Service checks where applicable.
- Liaise with recruiting managers and relevant internal teams to coordinate IT access, equipment, system access and other arrangements required for the employee’s start date.
- Coordinate the induction and onboarding process, ensuring new employees receive the necessary information, support and organisational introductions.
- Ensure new-starter information is accurately recorded on the relevant HR and payroll systems.
- Coordinate the probation process, including issuing reminders to managers, maintaining accurate records and preparing confirmation or extension correspondence.
4. Offboarding
- Coordinate the administration of employee departures, including resignations, retirements, dismissals and the expiry of fixed-term contracts.
- Prepare and issue relevant correspondence, calculate outstanding annual leave and ensure HR and payroll systems are updated accurately and promptly.
- Liaise with employees, line managers, IT and other relevant colleagues to support the return of organisational property and the closure of system access.
- Arrange and conduct exit interviews, identifying relevant themes and providing appropriate feedback and management information to the Senior Management Team.
- Maintain accurate and confidential leaver records in accordance with data protection and document-retention requirements.
5. Contractual Changes and Absence Administration
- Coordinate and process contractual changes, including changes to hours, salary, role, working arrangements and employment status, ensuring that appropriate approval has been obtained.
- Prepare and issue contractual variation letters and ensure that HR and payroll systems and employee records are updated accurately.
- Coordinate the administration of flexible working requests in accordance with organisational procedures and statutory requirements.
- Respond to annual leave queries and complete annual leave calculations and adjustments where required.
- Maintain accurate sickness absence records and support managers with the administration of sickness absence procedures, including issuing correspondence and monitoring required review points, and ensuring payroll is up to date.
- Administer maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, neonatal care and other family-related leave, ensuring that employees and managers receive accurate and timely information, and ensuring payroll and relevant teams are updated.
6. HR Systems and Management Information
- Act as the internal system expert for the HR and payroll systems used by the Trust and Middlemarch, including Breathe HR and Sage, ensuring the systems are used effectively and consistently.
- Maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date employee records across all relevant systems.
- Produce monthly and ad hoc HR management information for the Trust and Middlemarch, including information relating to headcount, recruitment, absence, turnover and other relevant workforce measures.
- Review HR data regularly, identify discrepancies and take appropriate action to improve data accuracy and integrity.
- Provide guidance and training to managers and colleagues on the effective use of HR systems, appropriate to their responsibilities and access permissions.
- Maintain the HR SharePoint site, ensuring that information, templates and guidance are accurate, current and appropriately organised.
- Support the continued development and improvement of HR systems, processes and reporting arrangements.
7. General HR Support
- Monitor and manage the HR and payroll inboxes, ensuring queries are acknowledged, allocated and responded to within appropriate timescales.
- Coordinate the preparation and distribution of the HR newsletter and other HR communications.
- Provide managers and employees with accurate first-line guidance on HR policies, procedures and routine employment matters, referring complex or sensitive cases to the HR Manager where appropriate.
- Support the review, implementation and communication of HR policies, procedures and guidance.
- Contribute to HR projects and service-improvement initiatives as required.
8. Organisational Responsibilities
For more information and person specification please refer to the job description which is available to download below.
