HR assistant trainee

Closing date for applications: 3rd April 2026 at 11.59pm

Training bursary: Equivalent to London Living Wage

Working hours: 40 hours per week (inclusive of 1 hour lunch break per day). Working hours are agreed with line manager but may vary.

Duration: 12 months

Start date: End of April 2026

If you're excited about dance and keen to grow your HR skills within a creative organisation, we have the perfect entry-level opportunity for you!

The Place, London’s creative powerhouse for dance development, has been leading the way in dance training, creation and performance for over 50 years. In a changing landscape, their mission for the future remains steadfast: they are powering imagination through dance, championing new ideas, embracing risks and creating optimal conditions for dance artists and enthusiasts to realise their full potential.

The Place is excited to be looking for an HR assistant trainee to play a key role in supporting the organisation by providing excellent customer service, efficient systems, and first-class organisational skills.

This role is an opportunity to develop a career within HR through on-the-job learning and project work. Over the course of 12 months, you will gain experience in a key area within arts administration and will work with stakeholders across the organisation from both Arts Council and Higher Education funded departments.

Key activities

Recruitment administration

Work with the applicant tracking system to administer and coordinate recruitment activities including:

• Create opportunity pages on the Team Tailor system
• Upload content including vacancy details and job descriptions
• Post to relevant job boards
• Administrate shortlisting process
• Contact applicants, set up and organise interviews
• Support interview panels
• Book meetings rooms or set up online interviews
• Update careers pages with content and images
• Schedule work experience placements and respond to enquiries. Work with the team to build a timetable of activities.
• Undertake research for benchmarking e.g. compiling data of similar roles advertised, looking at different advertising methods

Employee administration

• Assist with staff onboarding processes including DBS disclosures; issuing starter forms; right to work checks including updating UKVI records; checking references
• Schedule induction sessions for new staff
• Assist with staff exit processes including issuing leaver forms and arranging exit interviews
• Assist HR team with the preparation of letters and contracts
• Issue and file documents via online signing platform
• Assist with digitisation of employee record system

Maintenance of records/data

• Maintain HR system / records & staff files
• Archive any leaver files as appropriate
• Update holiday records on annual leave reporting syste
• Update training records e.g. First Aid, Fire Marshalls, etc
• Assist with collation of monitoring data for internal use and external reporting for ACE, HESA, etc
• Update next of kin/emergency contact details lists

Meetings/events

• Assist with arrangements for all staff meetings
• Arrange training days as required including room booking, contacting trainers, room set up and confirming attendance
• Assist in the organisation of staff activities e.g., yoga/Pilates, classes, workshops

General

• Manage the HR inbox
• Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day Human Resources queries
• Provide secretarial support to the HR team, i.e. managing diaries, organising meetings, taking minutes

Knowledge, skills and experience

• An interest in building a career within HR or administration
• Organised and methodical working methods
• Passion for the arts and Higher Education
• Able to pay close attention to detail and work accurately
• Excellent communication skills - written and verbal
• Understands the need for discretion and confidentiality
• Willing to take initiative and problem-solve where necessary
• Ability to work as part of a team but also happy to work unsupervised
• Confident user of computers and applications including Microsoft Office

To apply

• Log in to your Creative Access account or register today to apply for this opportunity
• Upload your CV and cover letter as one document (applications without a tailored cover letter will not be accepted)
• Once submitted, you can no longer amend your application, so proof-read carefully
• Do not contact the company directly
• Please email any queries about this role to Creative Access at this address: recruit@creativeaccess.org.uk

This opportunity is open to individuals from groups that are under-represented in the creative industries. This includes, but is not limited to, individuals who identify as Black, Asian, or from other ethnically diverse backgrounds, or people of any ethnicity who belong to the following under-represented groups: disabled people, people with the characteristic of gender reassignment, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, carers and asylum seekers.

The successful candidate for this opportunity will also participate in a Creative Access support programme that sits alongside workplace training. This includes a programme of induction training, monthly masterclasses, wellbeing support, buddying / mentoring and more.