People Services Advisor

Contract: Fixed Term or Secondment until 31st March 2025 
Working Hours: 37 hours per week 
Salary: £33,366 – £36,124 pa
Location: Service HQ / Hybrid 

Closing Date: Sunday 17th August 2025 
 
*We are open to discuss working arrangements including flexibility over hours and location, however the expectation is that, as a hybrid role your work will be balanced between home and Services facilities, and you will be expected to attend the Service premises for at least 3 days of a 5-day working week.     
 
This role is a fixed-term opportunity and could be fulfilled as an internal secondment. If the role is extended (or made permanent), the extension or permanent position may be offered to the successful applicant ahead of any further recruitment process. 
 
Whilst the role will primarily support the People Partnering team, you will also act as a shared resource to support work for our HR Support, Recruitment, L&D and Employment, Policy and Practice team, as required, in line with the needs of the business.  
 
The ideal candidate 
 
We are looking for a talented individual looking to develop and progress within the field of HR / People Services. As an internal candidate, you will already have knowledge of Essex County Fire & Rescue Services, and People Services policies and processes.  
 
You will be a strong HR administrator, and someone looking to expand your knowledge and depth of involvement in People Services / HR activities by taking an active involvement in the policy implementation and people practices.  
 
You will be curious, and able to advise policy and process implementation with an open risk appetite, looking to support and empower our managers. You will have an eye for process improvement, and how to spot productivity and efficiency improvements, as well as be able to produce initial reports and identify trends.  
 
What You Will Be Working On

• Note-taking in investigations
• Arranging meetings under policy (including hearings, investigation meetings, Attendance Review Meetings (ARMs))
• Supporting managers with admin preparations for meetings (including hearings, investigation meetings, ARM meetings)
• First line (e.g. virtual) support for Stage 1 Attendance Review Meetings
• Managing the employee and manager feedback process, including developing reporting and initial trend identification
• Supporting the exit interview process
• Productivity & efficiency / process improvements
• First-level Policy / process queries, including managing the People Partner inbox
• Be available to support HR Support, Employment, Policy and Practice, Recruitment and Learning and Development teams at peak times

Eligibility 

• Experience of working in People Services / HR
• Experience of working within Essex County Fire & Rescue Service
• If you are an internal candidate, you must have discussed your application with your line manager and confirmed with them there are no outstanding issues of conduct or performance, and that they will be able to release you for this secondment opportunity.

This will be verified prior to shortlisting.

How to apply

You will be required to submit a CV detailing a minimum of five years employment and / or education history, along with a supporting statement of no more than 750 words that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria detailed in the Person Specification.

You may submit this either as a word document, pdf, or an mp3 (voice note) or mp4 (video), however the word count of your supporting statement should not exceed 750 words no matter which format you choose to present your application.  
 
You may attach separate documents (such as qualifications) should you wish. Your CV and additional documents will be referred to in shortlisting to confirm eligibility (e.g., your current role and any existing qualifications). 
 
Assessment and selection:  
  
The assessment and selection approach will be:  
 
Stage 1 
Application & shortlisting (assessment of your supporting statement will be made against the essential criteria) – 18th August 2025
  
Stage 2 
Role specific panel interview and in-tray exercise 
 
The interviews are currently planned for: 27th August 2025 and 29th August 2025 
 
Should you wish to have an informal discussion with regards to the role, please contact Amy Kattenhorn on 07790 922441 or amy.kattenhorn@essex-fire.gov.uk  
 
Assessments will be made against positive indicators taken from the Person Specification, the Code of Ethics and the NFCC Leadership Framework.   
  
You can find the NFCC Leadership Framework here: NFCC_Leadership_Framework_Final.pdf (nationalfirechiefs.org.uk)   
  
And guidance around the Code of Ethics here: Core Code of Ethics England Guidance May 21 V0.pdf (ukfrs.com)
 
Our Culture and Benefits 
 
Here at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service we are committed to prioritising and promoting the wellbeing of our employees.  
 
You can find out more about our benefits at https://www.essex-fire.gov.uk/recruitment/benefits 
 
Important Information for Firefighter Pension Scheme Pensioners 
 
If you are currently in receipt of a pension from the Firefighter Pension Scheme, please note that taking up this role may affect your pension. Under pension abatement rules, if your earnings in this role, when combined with your pension, exceed your pre-retirement salary (adjusted for inflation), your pension may be reduced. 
 
For further guidance, please contact our Pensions team on 01376 576799 or email mailbox.pensions@essex-fire.gov.uk. 
 
Safeguarding 
 
Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. 
 
It is our policy to require all applicants for employment to disclose if you are currently being investigated by any regulatory body or have any decisions or sanctions pending or in progress in respect of your suitability to work for the Service. 
 
You agree to inform the Service within 24 hours if you are subsequently investigated by any agency or organisation in relation to concerns about your behaviour towards children, young people or vulnerable adults. 
 
The information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential and will be considered only in relation to the appointment for which you are applying. 
 
This role will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.  
 
Disability Confident 
We are an equal opportunities, Disability Confident, employer who welcomes applications from everyone and values diversity in our workplace. A commitment to promoting diversity and developing a work environment where all staff are treated with dignity and respect is central to our recruitment process and all applications will be considered solely on merit.

As part of our offer to support all our candidates to perform to the best of their abilities during our recruitment and selection processes and we would like to let you know about a couple of support options you can access, should you wish to, including our employee forums, who are keen and willing to support all of our potential colleagues.

Our employee forums and partners include:

Asian Fire Services Association (AFSA), BEING (our LGBTQ+ employee support network), Christian Fellowship, Ethnic Minority Forum, Men’s Forum, and our Women’s Forum. In addition, we also have a female firefighters operational group. 

Further to the above, the Service has a Digital Accessibility Inclusion Group (DAIG) that supports all colleagues to improve their digital skills and provides additional support and guidance to colleagues with neurodivergent strengths and struggles as a result of dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, dyspraxia etc. We want everyone to thrive at work, and so we encourage and enable people to access digital tools to help them perform at your best. The DAIG is a group of colleagues from across the Service that unite to support others as a result of their lived experience and desire to make a difference.

They support people with a range of visible and invisible disabilities to identify and access digital workplace adjustments and solutions and may be able to assist with your application too. 

Should you wish to discuss support, or access further information, from one of these groups, please contact Equality.Diversity@essex-fire.gov.uk  

You are also able to raise any queries or requests for support, including any adjustments you may require, at any stage of the process by email to recruitment@essex-fire.gov.uk 

You can find out more about Essex County Fire & Rescue Service via www.essex-fire.gov.uk and about our vacancies and application processes via www.essex-fire.gov.uk/join-essex-fire