Derby Graduate 2025 - People (HR) Team

at  PKF Smith Cooper

Location: Derby
Contract: Full-time (37.5 hours per week)
Salary: Competitive
Are you ready to embark on an exciting journey in the dynamic world of HR and start your path toward becoming an experienced HR professional?
Join Insider Media’s Midlands 2023 Young Professional Team of the Year winners for a fantastic opportunity at our Derby office!
Get ready to make a significant impact. As a crucial member of our dynamic People team, you’ll be at the heart of our firm’s exciting growth journey. With ambitious plans set by our Partners, we’re on the lookout for someone exceptional to join us. Each day brings new adventures and opportunities, from supporting recruitment efforts to shaping innovative policies that drive our success. Plus, you’ll get to travel across all our Midlands offices, adding a touch of adventure to your role.
The ideal candidate is someone with a relevant degree, customer service experience, and confident in engaging and communicating with new people.

Your skills and qualities:

• Any degree at 2:1 or above, with a strong academic record at A Level and GCSE
• A genuine interest in pursuing a career in HR
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking abilities
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal
• Attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality work
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team and adapt to changing priorities
• Although a driving licence and car isn’t a requirement, it will be highly beneficial as you will need to travel to our different offices
• No prior HR experience required

• Assist in preparing and maintaining People documents, such as letters and policies, whilst maintaining attention to detail and accuracy
• Help maintain accurate and up-to-date team member records, ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations
• Support the People team in addressing employee queries and issues, maintaining a high level of professionalism and confidentiality
• Assist in organising training sessions, workshops, and learning activities for team members
• Collaborate with People team to manage employee benefits enrolment, changes, and related enquiries
• Contribute to the development and implementation of People policies and procedures
• Participate in various People projects and initiatives, providing support and contributing ideas
• Assist the Recruitment Executive with the end-to-end recruitment process, including scheduling interviews and initial candidate assessments

Your skills and qualities:

• Any degree at 2:1 or above, with a strong academic record at A Level and GCSE
• A genuine interest in pursuing a career in HR
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking abilities
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal
• Attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high-quality work
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team and adapt to changing priorities
• Although a driving licence and car isn’t a requirement, it will be highly beneficial as you will need to travel to our different offices
• No prior HR experience required.

Why PKF Smith Cooper?
PKF Smith Cooper is the 12th largest accounting firm by UK fee income (Accountancy Age Top 50+50) and a member of global network PKF International. Through PKF, we operate in unison with member firms in 150 countries to share ideas, expertise and specialist resources for the benefit of our team and clients.
Our team of award-winning accountants and business advisors plan to double the size of our company within the next 5 years. As a fast-growing firm and accredited ICAEW and ACCA Approved Training Employer, we are passionate about developing ‘homegrown talent’ and can help you achieve your potential through our comprehensive training, development and progression programme.
We aim to equip every graduate with the skills to become a future leader – our very own managing partner started at PKF Smith Cooper as a graduate, so who knows what you could achieve through our graduate scheme!
What’s in it for you?

Our benefits package has been shaped by our values and our people. Here are some of the perks you can expect as part of Team PKF Smith Cooper:

• A working environment that empowers you to perform at your best through our flexible working policy (subject to manager discretion) and dress for your diary scheme.
• Time to do what matters to you – 25 days annual leave plus statutory bank holidays, the chance to purchase additional annual leave and your birthday off, on us.
• Prize draws 4 times a year to reward those who embrace our company values – win a spa day, AirPods or even a trip to Paris!
• A busy social calendar of team events, office activities and committees. From our monthly book club and Mental Health Committee to our legendary summer parties, there are lots of opportunities to get to know people away from your desk.
• Life doesn’t stop at the end of the working day and neither do our benefits. We offer life assurance, healthcare cashback and discounts on gym memberships and popular retailers including Tesco, River Island and Booking.com.
• Free personal finance and mortgage advice from our financial planning experts.
• Travel the world with PKF One Week More, which allows you to extend your holiday with a week of working abroad, and secondment opportunities in PKF offices worldwide.

How to apply
Apply now if you believe you have what we are looking for! Even if you do not tick 100% of the boxes, we encourage you to apply.
If you have any questions, please contact a member of the People team by emailing recruitment@pkfsmithcooper.com or calling 01332 332021.
Work in recruitment? We only accept CVs from our partnered agencies and any unsolicited CVs will be ignored. If you would like to partner with us in the future, get in touch with our People team via the contact details above