Senior HR Business Partner - Transformation and ER

Contract type: 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Hours: 37.5/week

Location: Birmingham, Leeds or London

WFH policy: Employees are required to attend the office 2 days/week

Flexible working
:
Variety of flexible work patterns subject to line manager discretion e.g. Compressed 9-day fortnight.

Reports to: Chief People Officer

Deadline

Note:

We reserve the right to close the advert before the advertised deadline if there are a high volume of applications.

To operate at a senior level within the HR function to drive the transformation and professionalisation of Employee Relations (ER) case management, strengthen core HR operational standards, and support the procurement and implementation of a new HRIS (potentially including payroll transformation and outsourced payroll provision).

The role will work alongside the existing Head of HR Business Partnering at an equivalent level, providing strategic leadership across ER development and HR capability uplift. While not the direct line manager of the HR Business Partner team, the role will provide functional (dotted-line) leadership on ER standards, professional practice, and capability development, embedding consistent, high-quality “brilliant basics” across the function.

• Lead the design and implementation of a professionalised ER case management framework, including governance, documentation standards, risk controls, quality assurance, and reporting.
• Develop and embed standardised ER toolkits, templates, guidance, and training to ensure consistency, compliance, and high-quality case handling.
• Provide functional (dotted-line) leadership to HR Business Partners on ER practice, setting expectations for quality, consistency, and timeliness.
• Coach and develop HR colleagues to strengthen capability, judgement, and confidence in managing complex and high-risk ER cases.
• Partner with senior leaders to advise on complex people matters, organisational change, restructures, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Support the end-to-end procurement and implementation of a new HRIS, working closely with the Manager of People Operations (dotted-line collaboration) to define requirements, support vendor selection, and embed effective processes.
• Contribute to the evaluation and selection of payroll solutions, including potential outsourced payroll provision, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and operational resilience.
• Embed “brilliant basics” across HR operations, including policy clarity, data integrity, process consistency, case tracking, and service standards.
• Strengthen people data reporting and ER trend analysis to enable data-driven decision-making and early risk identification.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships with Finance, IT, Procurement, and Legal to support successful transformation outcomes.

• Advanced ER expertise:
  Ability to manage and advise on complex, sensitive, and high-risk employee relations matters with sound judgement and commercial awareness.
• Strategic transformation capability:
  Skilled in diagnosing systemic issues and designing scalable, sustainable people processes and frameworks.
• Influencing at peer and senior level:
  Ability to provide constructive challenge and guidance at Head-of level and below.
• Coaching and capability building:
  Demonstrated ability to uplift professional standards and performance through structured development and mentoring.
• Systems and process orientation:
  Strong ability to translate business needs into HRIS requirements and improved operational workflows.
• Commercial and risk awareness:
  Balances legal, financial, reputational, and cultural considerations in decision-making.
• Data literacy:
  Ability to interpret ER trends and people metrics to inform strategic interventions.

• Significant senior HR experience operating at Business Partner level within a complex organisation.
• Proven experience transforming ER case management frameworks and embedding governance and quality standards.
• Experience contributing to HRIS procurement and implementation projects; exposure to payroll transformation and/or outsourced payroll provision is desirable.
• Strong and current knowledge of…