The British Academy
HR Assistant
The British Academy
The British Academy – the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences – is seeking an HR Assistant to join our HR Team, providing key administrative and project support across the whole employee lifecycle. This is a fixed-term role until 31 December 2026.
The role
The HR Assistant works closely with the other five members of the HR Team to provide a range of HR services across The British Academy (180 staff). The HR Team is a friendly team, part of the Academy’s Resources Directorate comprising HR, Finance, IT, Facilities and Venue Sales & Marketing services. We take great pride in supporting our colleagues in the Academy, as HR generalists and through our overarching People Strategy, which has been successful in recognising and reinforcing the structures, policies and procedures we have in place. Key to this success has been our engagement with staff.
A core duty of the HR Assistant role is supporting the onboarding process, from the preparation of offer documentation, references, and contracts to administering Cezanne, our HR Management System. You will have a keen attention to detail and be an effective communicator to allow you to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring new starters are set up for success.
This role often works to competing deadlines, and so a proactive approach to time management, in terms of planning, prioritisation and demonstrating resilience when faced with adversity, is essential.
You will also be supporting day-to-day operational recruitment, including helping line managers with scheduling interviews, booking rooms for in-person interviews, organising calls for remote interviews, and providing excellent support on interview days, ensuring a high standard of stakeholder engagement. This is a key opportunity to establish relationships and make an early positive impact.
You will also contribute to performance, learning and development activities by supporting the Employee Relations and Development workstream, such as booking rooms and emailing participants enrolled in training.
About the Academy
The British Academy is the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences, established by Royal Charter in 1902. We mobilise these disciplines to understand the world and shape a brighter future. Today’s complex challenges can only be resolved by deepening our insight into people, culture, and societies. With a Fellowship of around 1,700 leading national and international academics, the Academy invests in researchers and projects across the UK and overseas, engages the public with fresh thinking and debates, and brings together scholars, government, business, and civil society to influence policy.
The Academy currently has five directorates: Communications & Marketing, Development, Policy, Research, and Resources, plus a small Governance & Fellowship Team. We have increased staffing in the last 12 months and expect to continue to grow this year.
Working at the Academy
Our Senior Management Team has worked with staff to foster a culture of collaboration, respect, and empathy in which all contributions are recognised as we work towards our common goals. Our people strategy and working practices focus on building strengths and sharing insights, with learning & development, wellbeing, and equality, diversity & inclusion at the centre of how we operate as an organisation. Investing in our staff and encouraging a healthy work/life balance is central to our success as we move forward and continue to grow. Click here to find out more about the British Academy, including our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement.
Terms and conditions
The British Academy is based at 10–11, Carlton House Terrace, St James Park, London, SW1 – a Grade 1 listed building. We offer a competitive benefits package, including a 35-hour working week, 34 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays, a subsidised canteen and an excellent occupational pension.
For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the Apply button.
Closing date: Noon on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds in line with our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment, promoting equal opportunity, and addressing under-representation. We will make reasonable adjustments to support disabled job applicants and offer an interview to those meeting the minimum selection criteria.
