HR Specialist
Runs the day-to-day people operations — policies, records, employee relations and the practical support that keeps people working well.
What the role involves
- Advise managers and employees on policies, benefits and employment matters
- Administer onboarding, records, contracts and the employee lifecycle
- Handle employee relations cases with care and consistency
- Maintain accurate people records and handle sensitive data responsibly
- Support engagement, absence and performance processes
Core skills
- Employee Relations (level 4/5)
- Employment Law & Policy Application (level 4/5)
- HRIS & People Data Management (level 4/5)
- Onboarding & Offboarding (level 3/5)
- Confidentiality & Data Handling (level 4/5)
- Policy Documentation (level 3/5)
Preferred skills
- Compensation & Benefits Administration
- Workplace Investigations
- Employee Engagement Measurement
Tools
Experience expected
1-4 years in HR operations, people administration or employee relations
Projects that prove the role
- Onboarding programme that improved new-joiner experience measurably
- Policy refresh that clarified ambiguous cases
- Employee records cleanup that removed a real compliance risk
Evidence to collect
- A policy you wrote that people actually understood
- An employee relations case you handled and documented
- Evidence of confidential handling done correctly
What the interview covers
- A difficult employee conversation you handled
- A policy gap you found and closed
- Keeping sensitive data safe in a small team
- A case where you had to say no to a manager
How the role progresses
- HR Assistant
- HR Specialist
- Senior HR Specialist
- HR Manager
- HR Director
Certifications that carry weight
- SHRM-CP (SHRM Certified Professional)
- SHRM-SCP
- CIPD Level 5
- PHRi
Related roles
- hr-business-partner
- people-operations-specialist
- recruiter
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