People and Culture Officer

upReach
Key information

Location: Manchester, Bristol, Newcastle, Nottingham, or London

Hours: 37.5 hours

Start date: August 2025 (we are happy to work with you and your notice period)

Duration: Permanent

Salary: £26,575 per annum if based in Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle or Bristol. £29,150 if based in London. All roles also receive a £312 yearly tax-free work-from-home allowance.

Application deadline: Monday 14th July 9 am

This application process will consist of 3 stages: Application, telephone interview and Assessment Centre (Via Zoom). Telephone interviews will take place week commencing 21st July and Assessment Centres will take place w/c 28th July. Please let us know if you will not be available during these dates.

About upReach

Do you think that your socio-economic background should determine your career prospects?

upReach s vision is of a society in which everybody has an equal opportunity to realise their full career potential. Our work is important because, currently, a student from a disadvantaged background who gains a first-class degree from a top university is less likely to secure an elite job than a more privileged student with a 2.2.

We are an award-winning charity employer working to address this issue in partnership with employers and universities. We help undergraduates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds achieve their career potential by providing an intensive programme of support that addresses socio-economic barriers to graduate employment.

To find out more about how we support our students, visit our website and read our Annual Report and Impact Report.

Role overview

upReach is seeking to hire a People and Culture Officer to provide administrative support in various areas of the charity. You will work with the Senior People and Culture Manager in areas including recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, employee relations, and a variety of HR projects such as Training, Learning and Development, EDI, and policy development.

This position would be suited to individuals who are passionate about upReach’s mission and have an understanding of the challenges facing those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Our values

upReach upholds the following values:

• Perseverance
• Integrity
• Advocacy
• Aspiration
• Proactivity

Skills

The ideal candidate will bring with them the following skills:

• Organisation
• Communication (both written and verbal)
• Collaboration
• Attention to detail
• Relationship building

Experience

To be successful in this role, you will bring with you the following experience:

• Strong organisational skills with a keen eye for detail and the ability to manage a varied workload;
• Excellent communication skills and strong written English with the ability to communicate with students, team members and partners;
• Confident with a range of technology, programmes, and tools, including experience using Google Suite. Experience using HR platforms is desirable.
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment and working independently to find solutions to problems;
• Self-motivation and an ability to work in a small team as well as independently, and work with a wide range of team members.
• Ability to engage and communicate confidently with candidates and hiring managers via phone, email, and in person.
• Previous experience working within an HR role is desirable, and if you have or are working towards a CIPD qualification, please mention it in your application.

Responsibilities

Recruitment & Onboarding

• Work with managers to refine job descriptions, post roles, and advertise vacancies effectively.
• Manage the Recruitment inbox, responding promptly and professionally to candidate queries.
• Oversee the Applied platform to facilitate end-to-end recruitment, including application tracking, interview scheduling, and assessment centre coordination.
• Provide comprehensive administrative assistance during onboarding, including preparing offer letters and contracts, conducting reference checks, and creating induction schedules.
• Coordinate equipment setup (e.g. laptops, phones) and access to key systems such as Appogee for new starters.

Offboarding

• Assist managers and employees through the offboarding process to ensure a smooth transition.
• Conduct exit interviews and summarise feedback to facilitate continuous improvement efforts.
• Manage administrative tasks for leavers, including system deactivations, final leave calculations, and equipment returns.

Operations & Systems Management

• Maintain and update employee data.
• Assist with the planning and administration of staff surveys, including setting up surveys, booking town halls, and coordinating related logistics.
• Assist in event coordination, including booking venues, transportation, and accommodations for key events such as the SSMAs, Team Day, Gala Dinner, Mental Health First Aid Training and staff induction weeks.
• Oversee the movement and tracking of all tech equipment across sites in line with onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Act as the first point of contact for general People & Culture queries, providing consistent and helpful support to all colleagues.
• Ensure employee records are accurately maintained and GDPR compliant.
• Produce HR-related reports covering recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, and employee engagement metrics (with guidance from senior colleagues).
• Work closely with the Senior People & Culture Manager to review and improve internal HR processes, aligning them with organisational goals.

We offer an opportunity for the successful candidate to study for a CIPD qualification (Level 3 or 5, dependent on skills and experience) whilst in the role.

Team Culture & Benefits:

By joining the upReach team, you will be joining a team who are dedicated to supporting you in your career journey and fostering an inclusive culture.

We offer:

• Flexible and hybrid working
• Statutory Holiday Entitlement of 25 days, plus bank holidays. This increases to 27 days 2.5 years and then to 30 days after 5 years of working with us.
• Birthday leave and volunteer leave
• Enhanced Parental Leave beyond statutory requirements for all team members.
• 3% Pension Contribution, which increases to 5% after 5 years of working with us.
• Cycle-to-work and tech buying schemes.
• Monthly socials
• Dedication to Staff Wellbeing through our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aid Training and annual wellbeing days
• Summer Hours (early Friday finishes from June to Aug)
• Personal Development Budget, activated after 6 months in the role
• The opportunity to participate in our fantastic staff networks:
  • Disability and Inclusion Network
  • Diverse Roots Network
  • Green Network
  • LGBTQ+ Network
  • Mindfulness Network
  • Parents and Carers Network
  • Socio-economic Background Network

Ready to apply?

We are passionate about making our recruitment process fair and accessible to all. All of our applications are blind screened, and our job packs are available in Braille, large text or another formats upon request. We can provide reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment application process and on the job, and we’ll always endeavour to be as accommodating as possible.

Applications close on Monday, 14th July at 9 am.

Equal Opportunities

At upReach, we value being an equal opportunities employer and do not discriminate in employment matters on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, social background or any other protected class. We celebrate and value the diverse perspectives that people from all backgrounds bring to our team. We are passionate about creating a workplace that is inclusive and reflects the diversity of communities across the UK. Diversity in the workplace creates dynamic and effective organisations and we are actively working to build a more inclusive workforce by continuously improving our recruitment, retention, and development practices. We particularly encourage applications from individuals from underrepresented groups, including Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds, those with disabilities , those who are care-experienced, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and those who are LGBTQIA+. During the application process you will be asked to fill out your diversity information, this will not affect your outcome and cannot be seen by application reviewers and interviewers. All diversity data collected is anonymous.