HR Business Partner

An established organisation is seeking an experienced HR Business Partner to join on a temporary basis of 3-6 months.

This role offers the opportunity to work closely with senior leaders and operational managers, helping shape people strategy, improve organisational performance and deliver effective HR solutions. There is possibility of going permanent for the right person.

Working in partnership with business leaders and the wider HR function, you will provide strategic advice and hands‑on support across the full employee lifecycle. You will play an important role in driving organisational change, strengthening management capability and ensuring people practices support business objectives.

• Provide strategic HR advice, challenge existing approaches constructively and recommend practical, commercially focused solutions.

• Promote a positive and inclusive working environment that supports employee engagement, wellbeing, fairness and respect.

• Oversee performance management processes, including objective setting, annual reviews, performance calibration and improvement planning.

• Support succession planning and talent development to strengthen leadership capability and build internal talent pipelines.

• Advise managers on employee relations matters, including disciplinary and grievance procedures, absence management, redundancies and organisational design.

• Analyse workforce data and HR metrics to evaluate people initiatives, identify trends and provide meaningful insights to senior stakeholders.

• Review employee engagement feedback and work with managers to develop and implement improvement plans.

• Support the development, implementation and consistent application of HR policies, procedures and governance arrangements.

• Identify underlying workforce issues and develop evidence-based solutions to improve employee experience and organisational effectiveness.

• Keep HR processes and policies under review, incorporating relevant employment trends and opportunities for continuous improvement.

• Advise on workforce planning, recruitment requirements, promotions, reward and wider resourcing strategies.

• Support attraction, retention, early-career development and the progression of high‑potential employees, with a focus on inclusion and business needs.

• Ensure employee relations cases are accurately documented, with appropriate records of advice, decisions and outcomes.

• Coach and support line managers through complex employee relations matters, encouraging consistent decision‑making and constructive engagement with trade unions and employee representatives where appropriate.

• Work collaboratively with relevant internal teams on serious conduct and behavioural matters.

• Support, coach and develop members of the HR team where required.

You will be an experienced HR professional with broad operational HR knowledge and the ability to balance strategic priorities with practical, day‑to‑day business needs.

You will ideally bring:

• Experience in an HR Business Partner or similar role, preferably within a multi‑site, operational or contracting environment.

• Strong knowledge of employee relations, including the management of complex cases and organisational change.

• Experience contributing to HR policy development, process improvement and people‑related projects.

• A commercially aware approach, with the ability to align people solutions with wider business objectives.

• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills, with the confidence to influence and advise stakeholders at different levels.

• The ability to challenge constructively, identify opportunities for improvement and promote consistent HR practices.

• A proactive approach, high professional standards and the ability to support the development of others.

• CIPD membership or a relevant professional qualification, alongside a commitment to continued learning and development.

• Hybrid working