Trainee People Administrator

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Trainee People Administrator

Work location: Malvern (hybrid)

Reports to: Head of HR

Type: Full time

Who we are

Speller Metcalfe is on a mission… and it’s a simple one. We want to build a sustainable company at the forefront of construction – one that is built with a people-first approach in mind.

As a family business with over 30 years’ experience under our belts, our focus is not just getting you through the door, but developing your skills to support a long-term career with us. We’re proud of our high levels of staff retention and with staff at the very heart of our company, you’re never just a cog in the machine, but someone who can truly have an impact on how we do business.

Our background

Established in 1995 by Steve Speller and Andy Metcalfe, their vision was to develop a business at the cutting edge of construction, built upon an ethos of family values which are reflected in everything we do.

Now one of the UK’s leading regional contractors, we predominantly work across the Midlands and South West regions. With offices in Malvern and Wolverhampton, we deliver a range of public and private sector projects from £250k up to £30 million across a numbers of fields including education, healthcare, residential and leisure.

 

The job

As a People Administrator, you will play a vital role in supporting the People team and contributing to the smooth operation of people processes within our business. Reporting to the Head of People, you will provide administrative support across various people activities, contributing to the smooth running of processes and maintaining accurate records.

This is a full-time ‘blended working’ role split between home and the Malvern office with a minimum of 3 days per week in the office.

How You’ll Contribute

In this busy role, you will:

  • Manage the People team inbox, responding to queries and directing enquiries to the appropriate team member.
  • Assist with the coordination of recruitment activities, including job postings, scheduling interviews and communicating with candidates.
  • Support the onboarding of new starters, including preparing offer letters, contracts and induction materials.
  • Support pre-employment checks, including right to work documentation and reference requests.
  • Maintain and update HR databases, personnel files and employee records, ensuring information is accurate and handled confidentially
  • Support employee lifecycle processes, including changes, internal moves and leavers.
  • Prepare HR-related documents, including contract amendments, pay review letters and other correspondence as required.
  • Support payroll processing by maintaining accurate employee data, inputting changes including absence and providing monthly updates to the Finance team.
  • Assist in the administration of employee benefits programmes, including enrolment and updates to individual benefits records.
  • Support managers with employee leave requests, including holiday, sick leave, and other absences, ensuring compliance with company policies and statutory regulations.
  • Coordinate training activities, including booking training sessions, maintaining training records, and monitoring compliance with mandatory training requirements.
  • Support managers by requesting and monitoring the completion of key documents, such as return-to-work forms and probation reviews.
  • Provide general administrative support to the People team, including scheduling meetings, maintaining calendars, and handling phone and email inquiries.
  • Actively develop knowledge of HR processes, systems and policies, seeking opportunities to learn and grow within the role.
  • Demonstrates a strong interest in developing a career within HR and a willingness to undertake a Level 3 CIPD qualification.
  • Committed to completing (or currently working towards) a Level 3 CIPD qualification to support ongoing professional development.

 

Who are we looking for?

What You’ll Bring

To be successful in this role you will bring your enthusiasm and determination as well as:

Experience

  • Some previous experience in a customer-facing, people-facing or administrative role, gained through employment, an apprenticeship, or a placement.
  • Experience of communicating professionally with a range of people, both in person and via telephone or email.
  • Committed to developing a career in human resources (full training will be provided)
  • Lives within a reasonable commuting distance of the Malvern office (typically within 45 minutes) to support regular office attendance and team collaboration.
  • Comfortable using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and open to learning HR systems and new technologies
  • An interest in using modern technology, including AI, to support process improvement, communication and content creation, with a natural confidence in learning and applying new digital tools

Skills 

  • Strong organisational skills with good attention to detail and an ability to manage and prioritise tasks
  • Clear and professional communication skills, with the ability to build positive relationships and handle information sensitively
  • A proactive and flexible approach, with a willingness to learn, support others and contribute as part of a team

Core behaviours

  • Acts with honesty and integrity
  • Takes responsibility and accountability
  • Is a team player
  • Takes responsibility for upholding safety
  • Has strong morals
  • Builds and manages strong relationships
  • Strong levels of self-awareness
  • Acts with curiosity
  • Listens to understand
  • Interacts with the team and the business
  • Shows high levels of emotional intelligence
  • Is open and embraces change
  • Shows positivity
  • Is proactive
  • Shows an open mind
  • Drives for results

 

What’s in it for you?

As well as a competitive salary, increasing holiday benefits and access to private healthcare, we offer a number of other benefits for our staff.

 

Sound interesting?

Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our values, we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. Our mission has always been to encourage, develop and combine the individual talents of our staff, and we welcome and encourage staff from all backgrounds and abilities.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

If you’re interested in the role, please email your CV to careers@spellermetcalfe.com

If you don’t meet all the criteria, but are still interested in joining us, email us your CV anyway! It’s always good to hear from people who can bring their enthusiasm and desire to learn to our team.