Oxford Archaeology
People and Culture Assistant - Oxford
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Salary: £28,320-£30,013
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Flexibility: Hybrid working, minimum 2 days per week in the office (see benefits)
Background
Oxford Archaeology is one of the largest independent archaeological consultancies in Europe, and also an educational charity. We employ around 500 people across three regional offices, and across numerous archaeological sites. Our scale, and joint venture with Cotswold Archaeology, allows us to compete in tenders for high-profile projects such as High Speed 2, the new Sizewell C reactor, and the Lower Thames Crossing project.
We are looking for an administrator to work across the HR and L&D departments, supporting all areas of People and Culture. We need someone with a genuine interest in building a career in HR and/or L&D.
This position is vital to the smooth running of these departments, and is the first step of re-assessing what is required to support this function. As the function develops, there may be the need for the successful candidate to take on a more specialised focus within either HR or L&D, depending on organisational needs and individual strengths.
Responsibilities
OA is still developing capability in People and Culture, and it is understood that one person cannot do all that is listed below. As a result, there will continue to be a requirement for HR and L&D to work closely together as a team, sharing responsibilities and dividing activities in a way that is effective, sustainable and rewarding. This will require flexibility, communication, honesty about workload and priorities, and the flexibility from all including management to adapt. We already work this way, so this job will require you to be comfortable with this flexible way of working. You will not be expected to manage everything listed below on your own. Rather, this description reflects the administrative requirements within the department and should be viewed as the range of opportunities available within the role, rather than a list of expectations for one individual alone.
Employee Lifecycle Support
- Recruitment; posting of job advertisements, processing of applications, support to hiring managers and to candidates, tracking of candidate progress, interview coordination, related letters and e-mails.
- Pre-employment; Right to Work checks, reference checks, letters of appointment and contracts, tracking of readiness to join, coordination of process pre-start (IT, start date etc.), induction scheduling.
- Induction and on-boarding; scheduling start dates, involvement in delivery of inductions, tracking of completion of initial on-boarding, probation tracking.
- Learning and Development operations; organisation, communications and logistics for training days, administrative aspects of monitoring the training schemes, assistance in preparation and organisation of new and existing training materials.
- Engagement and people-facing; some presence at/in-person support to training days, and employee-facing initiatives (engagement and wellbeing).
- Communications; monitoring the shared inboxes for L&D and HR, replying to routine queries, assistance in preparation of input to OA internal publications.
- Performance management; support to line management, tracking, documentation and filing.
- Employee relations; documentation, arrangement of meetings, note taking/transcriptions from meetings.
- Exit; provision of exit documents, tracking exit requirements, communications.
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On-going in support
- Data and compliance; maintain employee and learning records (including organisation of ERP and LMS), assist in audits and monitoring compliance.
- On-going admin; administration of timesheets, preparation of standard reports, scheduling meetings/interviews, some meeting preparation (documentation), general admin support including front door/post/department resources.
- Project work; there are likely to be opportunities to get involved in longer-term projects.
- Continuous improvement; always challenge constructively to help improve the way we work, identify and escalate issues.
Experience
We are interested in a wide range of experience, placing a strong emphasis on hiring someone who will fit well with the team in terms of approach and personality. Possible background:
- Experienced administrators within this area of work.
- Early career administrators with an interest in building experience in this area of work.
- Individuals with other relevant previous experience, transferable skills, or relevant study (including graduates).
Essential
Knowledge and Skills
- Software knowledge and skills (Microsoft 365 and Office applications), and an ability to demonstrate the ability to create reports and spreadsheets.
- A proven ability to organise and manage tasks effectively, with strong attention to detail and the ability to produce accurate work. This may have been developed through administrative experience, academic study or other relevant activities.
- Management of different priorities, and a willingness to discuss priorities.
- Good communication skills, both written and in person, and an evident enjoyment of working with people.
Desirable
- CIPD Level 3.
- Experience of ERP and LMS systems.
- Advanced Microsoft 365/Office skills (pivot tables, lookups etc.)
Behaviours
- Inclusion: within People and Culture it is important that we lead the way in making OA celebrate differences and get the best out of everyone. This should be reflected in your behaviour at all times.
- Learning: willingness to learn, and understanding that we can always learn and that hard work will deliver results and be appreciated. Learning requires adaptability, which means being prepared to try things out, be open to failure, and to be prepared to change as required.
- Leadership: at OA we are all expected to lead in a manner appropriate to our position. In this role this requires thoughtful work, critical thinking, an ability to speak up and to be proactive.
- Professionalism: an ability to behave responsibly, observe confidentiality requirements, policy and procedure. Must be reliable and accountable. There must be performance focus and a willingness to commit to delivery of high quality work. This also includes teamwork and collaboration.
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Employee Benefits
- Competitive, constantly benchmarked, salary.
- A discretionary bonus scheme linked to OA’s yearly financial performance
- A company pension scheme with 6% employer contributions. Employees with 10 years of employment or in project management roles gaining access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), which is one of the few remaining defined benefit schemes in the UK.
- Continued professional development is strongly encouraged through a very supportive approach to further training and education, attendance of and contribution to conferences, and involvement with academic institutions.
- Generous annual leave with; 21 days (depending on years of service) plus 3 concessionary days at Christmas (company shut-down between Christmas and New Year), plus Bank Holidays (total 32 days).
- A generous hybrid working policy is in place, dependant on role, and a considerate approach is taken to flexible and part-time working where appropriate to the role, individuals’ personal circumstances, and the needs of the business.
- Comprehensive care for employee welfare through a number of policies, including: the AXA Health Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) Premier, generous paid sick leave and a network of mental health first aiders.
- Cycle to work scheme.
- Free DSE eye test with a voucher towards VDU-only glasses (via Specsavers) where required.
If you would like to join a respected and established organisation, please apply by completing an application form:
Closing Date: Thursday 1st October 2026
There will be an initial online meeting for up to 30 minutes, giving us the opportunity to get to know each other and for you to learn more about the role. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to a longer online interview.
The final stage will involve meeting the team in person. Depending on the recruitment process, this may be after an offer has been made, or as part of the final selection stage (which may involve a small number of candidates).
For any further information please contact the HR Team at hr@oxfordarchaeology.com
Oxford Archaeology is an Equal Opportunities employer. All applications are judged on the relevant skills and experience of the candidate, and not by gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, belief, age, nationality (other than where work permits may be required), or ethnicity. You must meet the requirements to live and work in the UK by UK Visas and Immigration.
Registered Charity No. 285627; Company Registration No. 1618597
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