HR Administrator

Circa £29,000 + excellent benefits | Full-time or job share option available | Hybrid | Permanent

Are you a proactive and detail-driven professional with a passion for supporting people and processes? We’re looking for an HR Administrator to join our HR Operations team, providing high-quality administrative support and handling sensitive information with care and professionalism.

In this role, you’ll play a key part in delivering accurate, timely, and comprehensive HR services, working closely with both the HR Business Partners and wider People team. You’ll be instrumental in ensuring our practices align with policies, procedures, and HR best practice – helping us create a smooth and supportive experience for our employees

What you’ll be doing

• Management of electronic personnel files, the HR email inbox, SharePoint & HRIS (HiBob) ensuring accurate and up to date information.
• Provide administration support and prepare routine & accurate correspondence such as contractual changes, reference letters.
• Co-ordinate and ensure that starters/leavers/change processes are initiated and followed, providing support as required with induction and onboarding of new employees.
• Collate paperwork for the monthly payroll ensuring its accuracy and provided within the specified timeframes.
• Assist with benefits submissions, promotion of benefits and raise purchase orders for HR activities as required.
• Support the co-ordination of online DBS checks and arrangement of regular health surveillance medical appointments.
• Assist with co-ordinating and recording training activity and provide L&D admin support as required.
• Provide support on an ad hoc basis to the team in relation to collating information for project based work and broader HR activities.

What you’ll bring

Essential skills: (These are the essential skills or experience needed to succeed in this role)

• Technical Skills: A high standard of knowledge in relation to MS Office 365 and IT literacy. The ability to mail merge from Excel into Word would be highly advantageous.
• Administrative Skills: Strong organisational abilities, attention to detail, confidentiality and proficiency in managing databases and documentation.
• Interpersonal Skills: Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with others.
• Communication Skills: Effective verbal and written communication is crucial for interacting with employees, management, and external partners.

Desirable skills: (We welcome applications from candidates that do not match these skills)

• Work Experience: Experience in HR roles, such as operational HR, recruitment, payroll, and/or employee relations.
• Technical Skills: Familiarity with HR software and tools.
• HR Policies and Procedures: Understanding of HR practices and employment laws.

About you

You’re a highly organised and detail-oriented professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment. With a strong grasp of HR systems, electronic personnel files, and inbox management, you ensure everything runs smoothly and accurately behind the scenes.

Your ability to produce clear, professional correspondence and follow established processes makes you a trusted support in employee onboarding and day-to-day HR operations. You consistently handle sensitive employee information with discretion and integrity, maintaining strict confidentiality in line with data protection regulations and organisational policies - reinforcing trust across the business and safeguarding employee privacy.

Did you know...

Research tells us that men are more likely to apply to jobs if they meet only 60% of the criteria, whereas women often hesitate or don't apply unless they meet all of the criteria. This difference in application behaviour can contribute to the gender gap in career advancement and opportunities.

We know the perfect candidate doesn't exist! If you think you have what it takes but don't tick every box, we'd still encourage you to apply - it could be a perfect fit!

Perks & Benefits

Salary - Circa £29,000 (pro-rated if part time) negotiable dependent on skills & experience.

• 10% non-contributory pension
• 29 days holiday (inclusive of Christmas shutdown) + public holidays
• Group Life Assurance (equal to 3 x basic salary)
• Group Income Protection (after 2 years’ service)
• Salary Sacrifice schemes (cycle to work, home & tech scheme)
• Moneyhealth’s Financial Coaching & Wellbeing Platform
• Health Cash Plan (cash back on eligible medical treatments)
• Benenden Health Care (opt-in benefit)
• Reward & Recognition Programme
• Discounted gym membership
• Sports & Social club
• Payroll charitable giving
• Subsidised on-site restaurant
• Free on-site parking

When we work

Our standard working hours are 8:30 - 16:30 Monday - Thursday, early finish on Friday - 8:30 - 15:45 (Talk to us about flexible working if this doesn’t quite suit you – we take work-life balance seriously!)

How we work

We understand the benefits of remote and in-person collaboration, and therefore have a hybrid working model – you’ll be expected to work from our office in Thatcham at least two days per week.

We welcome applications from individuals seeking to work as part of a job share. If you are applying as part of a job share partnership, please indicate this clearly in your application and include the name of your proposed job share partner. Each applicant should submit a separate application.

We are also open to exploring job share arrangements with suitable candidates who do not yet have a partner. If you are interested in job sharing but do not currently have a partner, please mention this in your application and we will consider options during the recruitment process.

What we do

At the cutting edge of automotive research in the UK, Thatcham Research has a unique role in shaping the design of new vehicles and influencing ever higher standards of safety, security and repair. With an on-site Crash Laboratory, Repair Technology Centre and Training Academy, our research expertise is driving some of the very latest automotive developments in technology, materials and standards in this fast moving and highly technical industry.

Our active safety track site is one of the leading accredited Euro NCAP testing facilities, trialling and assessing the very latest developments in vehicle safety and assistance technologies.

Our Values

As an organisation that believes a strong set of Values are key to our organisational success and a sense of belonging for all colleagues, we ask that you understand, represent and apply our Values of Fearless, Inquisitive, Resourceful, Supportive and Trusted and demonstrate these Values throughout the recruitment process.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace which values diversity and embraces each individual's authentic self. We are proud to champion a culture where colleagues freely share their diverse perspectives, recognising that these contribute to our innovative spirit. Our journey of growth and understanding is continuous as we actively invest in diversity training, workshops, and partnerships to ensure positive change.

Beyond our membership in the Automotive 30% Club, we collaborate with various organisations to advance equity not only in gender but also across ethnicity, age, disability, social mobility, LGBTQ+ identities, experiences, and thinking. Our aspiration is to create an environment where everyone thrives, achieves, and experiences a genuine sense of belonging.

Recruitment process

We’re proud to manage our recruitment in-house and believe this direct approach enables us to give you the best possible Employee Experience we can – which starts right here, your application! We’re continuously striving to improve the candidate journey, and transparency (or communication) is a key area of focus – yes, even with salary & benefits.

What can you expect from our recruitment process?

• Regular updates on the progress / outcome of your application
• An initial telephone screening call with our Recruitment Business Partner
• First interview with the hiring manager, usually via Teams
• Second/Final interview, in-person at our office (we may give you a role specific task to present on!)
• Personalised feedback following your interview – because everyone deserves that!
• An opportunity to give us your honest feedback in a short survey on all of the above

We’re committed to removing invisible barriers. If there are any adjustments we can make to better support you, please let us know when you apply.

All applicants must have Right to Work in the UK.

If you're experiencing any issues with our career site or application from, please let us know here: [email protected]

We are proud supporters of Women in Data. Connect, engage and belong to the largest free female data community in the UK – visit: www.womenindata.co.uk to join our community.

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