Group HR Advisor

The Finance For Sustainability Group is a group of social enterprises that manage and advise on impact investment projects across sport (including Sporting Assets), the environment (including Finance Earth), arts and heritage.

Finance Earth

Finance Earth is the UK's leading environmental impact investment advisor and FCA-regulated fund manager, working in partnership with a range of organisations to protect and restore the environment utilising market-based mechanisms. We design and implement bespoke financing solutions and develop high-impact investments that mobilise investment for nature, climate and communities.

We are an employee-owned social enterprise and have advised on over 100 projects, operate in more than 35 countries, and have mobilised over £100 million for environmental impact.

We are a recognised leader in the UK's emerging 'nature markets' , supporting the Government's aims to scale private investment into nature recovery in England to at least £500 million a year by 2027, and over £1 billion by 2030. We are also an experienced impact fund manager, having designed, raised and managed several impact funds to date, including Community Owned Renewable Energy ("CORE") , a £50 million fund raised in 2017 that invested in community solar farms, successfully exited in 2023 generating commercial-level returns alongside a projected £20 million in local community benefits.

Sporting Assets

Sporting Assets is the leading provider of advisory and investment management services to the sport and physical activity sector in the UK. We manage impact investment funds that provide affordable patient loans to community-based organisations delivering impact through sport and physical activity. Investors and stakeholders in our funds include Sport England, National Governing Bodies, Trusts and Foundations, and Impact Investors including the Access Foundation and Better Society Capital.

Beyond our funds, we provide business advisory services to the sector, helping organisations build capacity, develop investment cases and business plans to access funding and finance to become more sustainable and impactful. We work across the public, private, and charitable sectors, delivering practical, specialist advice backed by deep expertise.

As a social enterprise, improved social and health outcomes are at the heart of our work building resilient, sustainable, well invested community enterprises.

The Role

We are looking to recruit a full-time experienced HR Advisor to work closely with the Head of HR in providing high-quality, pragmatic people advice and support across two independent firms within the Group. This newly created role will support leaders and managers to ensure people practices are consistent, compliant and aligned with organisational values, while recognising the needs of each business within the Group.

The HR Advisor will deliver day-to-day HR support, contribute to the development and implementation of policies and frameworks, and support the Head of HR on both operational and strategic people priorities, ensuring continuous improvement of the HR function. The role requires a hands-on, collaborative approach and the ability to work effectively across both businesses.

Occasional travel to Leeds may be required.

Key Responsibilities

HR Advisory & Employee Relations

• Provide timely, accurate and pragmatic HR advice to managers and employees on a wide range of people matters, including performance management, absence, disciplinaries, grievances, capability and conduct issues.
• Support managers to apply HR policies and procedures fairly, consistently and in line with employment law and organisational values.
• Work closely with the Head of HR to manage and support employee relations cases, ensuring risks are identified and mitigated appropriately.

Talent, Performance & Development

• Support recruitment and onboarding across the Group, advising on role design, fair selection practices, conduct interviews and ensuring a consistent candidate experience.
• Advise managers on performance management processes, including objective setting, reviews, development planning and underperformance management.
• Contribute to learning and development initiatives, leadership capability building and succession planning across the Group.
• Support the effective implementation of reward, recognition and benefits frameworks.

People & Culture

• Support the Head of HR in developing and embedding culture aligned to organisational values, while respecting the distinct identities of individual companies.
• Contribute to initiatives that promote employee engagement, wellbeing, inclusion and belonging across the organisations.
• Coach and advise managers to build confidence and capability in people management.
• Support leadership teams to proactively identify and address people-related risks and opportunities.
• Promoting diversity and inclusion within the organisations.

Policies, Compliance & Best Practice

• Support the development, review and implementation of HR policies, frameworks and guidance, ensuring compliance with employment legislation and best practice.
• Monitor changes in employment law and HR best practice, working with the Head of HR to translate these into practical, proportionate guidance for the Group.
• Ensure consistent and accurate HR record-keeping and data provision across the Group in line with GDPR and internal standards.
• Support audits, data reporting and governance requirements related to people management across the Group.

Specific skills and experience

You will have a minimum of 3 years' experience working in an HR Advisor or similar HR generalist role within a fast-paced and dynamic business environment, managing multiple priorities and deadlines.

• Proven experience in an HR Advisor or similar generalist HR role, ideally supporting multiple teams, functions or entities.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law and its practical application across different organisational contexts.
• Experience supporting employee relations matters, organisational change and performance management processes
• Experience supporting recruitment across the employee lifecycle, including hiring manager support, offers and onboarding.
• Experience supporting learning and development initiatives, including performance development and capability building.
• Confident user of HR platforms and technology (HRIS, ATS, AI and related tools)
• Confidence operating in a matrix or Group structure, balancing consistency with flexibility.
• CIPD qualification (Level 5 preferred) or equivalent professional experience.

Personal attributes

• Delivers objective, pragmatic HR advice with a collaborative and approachable style.
• Exercises sound judgement and discretion when handling sensitive and confidential matters.
• Builds trusted relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders across the organisation, with the confidence to influence and challenge constructively.
• Highly organised, resilient and comfortable managing competing priorities in a changing environment.
• Strong commitment to fairness, inclusion and a positive employee experience within values-led culture.
• Detail oriented and solutions focused with a proactive mindset.
• Comfortable operating in a scaling, high-ambition environment with evolving processes and ambiguity.
• Enjoys building efficient systems and improving HR processes while supporting operational delivery.
• Uses data and HR metrics to inform decision making, including workforce planning and reward insights.
• Communicates with clarity and precision across multidisciplinary teams, both verbally and in writing, including policies, contracts and employee communications.
• Curious and eager to learn, with the ability to grasp technical concepts to support recruitment and people strategy.

We do not expect candidates to possess all of these skills and competencies, importantly what we are looking for is someone who can show how their skills and experience could be adapted to fit this profile, if/where there are gaps.

The Rewards

Our people are our business; we work hard to ensure that they have fulfilling careers and a good work-life balance. We encourage training to make sure our people are equipped to do their jobs to the best of their abilities and offer flexible working and generous holidays so that staff can both meet client expectations and personal goals.

• Base salary of up to £45,000 per annum (dependent on experience)
• Up to 10% of salary, discretionary annual bonus and discretionary Christmas bonus (up to £1,000)
• Opportunity to become a shareholder after 12 months with a potential dividend allowance
• 25 days' holiday plus English bank holiday, 2-3 days at Christmas and up to 5 additional days length of service days (pro-rata)
• Hybrid and flexible working options
• Generous training and development budgets
• Private medical insurance, Group life insurance and 3% Pension contribution
• Monthly team socials

Unfortunately, if you do not already hold a right to work in the UK or require sponsorship to continue working in the UK, we will not be able to consider your application at this time.

Finance Earth is an equal opportunities employer . click apply for full job details