About this role
HR & Recruitment Officer
Up to £35,000 | Harwell Campus, Didcot | Hybrid after probation
Do you enjoy recruitment but want to broaden your experience into HR?
Would you like a role where you can support people throughout their journey, from their first application through to onboarding, probation and beyond?
We're looking for an HR & Recruitment Officer to join our People Team, combining recruitment expertise with wider HR support.
What's in it for me?
Alongside a supportive team and structured career development, you'll enjoy:
• 37.5-hour week, Monday-Friday.
• Hybrid working after successful completion of your 3-month probation
• 22 days' annual leave plus bank holidays
• An additional day off for your birthday after two years' service
• Private Medical Care or Healthcare Cash Plan after two years
• Enhanced Sick Pay depending on length of service
• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Pay depending on length of service
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee Discount Scheme
• Quarterly Core Values Champion Awards
• Annual Development & Review Process
What will I be doing?
You’ll play a key role within the People Team, supporting the employee lifecycle from recruitment and onboarding through to probation and leavers. Working closely with managers and employees across the business, you’ll help ensure our people processes run smoothly while also contributing to wider HR projects and improvements.
Your responsibilities will include:
• Managing vacancies from advertising and proactive sourcing through to screening, interviews and offers.
• Partnering with hiring managers to develop job descriptions and effective, inclusive selection processes.
• Proactively sourcing candidates using LinkedIn, CV databases, job boards and other recruitment channels.
• Coordinating interviews and maintaining clear communication with candidates and hiring managers throughout the process.
• Managing onboarding from offer acceptance through to induction, including contracts, new starter documentation and pre-employment checks.
• Coordinating new starter inductions and ensuring employees have a positive experience when joining SMS.
• Managing the administration and tracking of employee probation periods, supporting managers to complete reviews and actions within the required timescales.
• Coordinating leaver processes, including documentation, system updates and exit interviews.
• Supporting the HR Manager and wider People Team with HR projects, reporting, communications and process improvements.
• Maintaining accurate and confidential employee and recruitment records.
It's a varied role, so you'll have the opportunity to build on your recruitment experience while developing your wider HR knowledge.
What do I need to be successful?
You'll have:
• Experience managing or supporting end-to-end recruitment
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Strong organisation skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines
• Excellent attention to detail and accurate record keeping
• Experience using recruitment systems/ATS and HRIS
• The ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately
• Experience supporting onboarding, probation and leaver processes (desirable)
• A CIPD qualification or willingness to work towards one (desirable)
We're committed to making our recruitment process fair and accessible. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and will make reasonable adjustments where needed. Selection will be based on your skills, experience and suitability for the role.
What next?
If you're looking for a role that gives you the chance to use your recruitment experience while growing your HR career, we'd like to hear from you.
Apply today to take the next step.