Senior HR Business Partner Product R&D; PI Team

Job Title:

Senior HR Business Partner (UK) – Product R&D (PI) Team

Department: EU HR

Location:

Keynsham, UK

Reporting to: EU HRD

Scope: UK Product R&D team (PI/R&D-related functions), working closely with EU/HQ stakeholders

As the HRBP for the UK R&D organisation, you will be responsible for building and strengthening the UK local HR operations and compensation & benefits (C&B) capability, partnering with business leaders to drive organisation and talent outcomes, and owning hiring delivery for critical R&D roles. Through data-driven and mechanism-based approaches, you will improve delivery and collaboration, reduce employee relations and compliance risks, and support stable business growth.

1) UK Local HR Operations + Compensation & Benefits (C&B) (Must-have)

• Strong hands‑on knowledge of UK local C&B and employment practices: able to independently work with payroll/benefits providers and manage payroll execution, payroll changes, pension (auto‑enrolment), sick pay (SSP and any enhanced sick pay if applicable), holidays and leave rules and operations
• Establish and improve the minimum viable UK local policies and governance framework (policy definitions, approval paths, exception handling and documentation) to reduce case‑by‑case negotiation and repeated disputes
• Align with Finance/Legal on benefits costs, contract term impacts and employment risks to ensure controllable and compliant operations

2) Understanding of R&D Organisation & Business Partnering (Able to “Speak R&D”)

• Understand the product R&D delivery lifecycle (requirements/planning → design → development → testing → release → iteration) and common R&D roles and ways of working (PM/PO/Dev/QA/Tech Lead/Architect, etc.)
• Able to have business‑level discussions with R&D leaders on organisation structure, capability gaps, productivity, delivery cadence, risks and countermeasures
• Support workforce planning for the R&D team: critical role prioritisation, headcount pacing, capability gaps and hiring strategy (aligned with EU HRD)

3) Hiring Delivery (R&D Hiring Delivery)

• Own hiring delivery for critical R&D roles: role scoping/capability alignment, sourcing strategy (referrals/agency/direct), funnel management and execution cadence
• Drive interviewer calibration and interview quality (scorecards, feedback SLAs, decision mechanisms) to reduce delays and mis‑hires
• Participate in key interviews and provide input on leveling/compensation recommendations (aligned with EU HRD/Finance), and drive offer issuance and acceptance
• Ensure pre‑boarding readiness (notice period tracking, onboarding materials, onboarding plan) and post‑joining probation objectives setup and follow‑through

4) Performance & Talent Management

• Drive probation objective setting and reviews, performance goal setting, performance reviews and calibration to ensure compliance and usable outcomes
• Lead talent reviews, retention plans, succession and development plans, and ensure performance outcomes are applied (development/rewards/improvement/PIP/exits)

5) Employee Relations & Compliance (ER & Compliance)

• Independently manage complex ER cases for the UK R&D team, including disciplinary/grievance, long‑term sickness management, performance
• Partner with external counsel to ensure documentation, evidence and processes are legally compliant and executable; control dispute risks

6) People Analytics & HR Systems (People Analytics & HRIS)

• Build basic people dashboards for the R&D team (hiring funnel, attrition, performance distribution, ER risk, etc.) to support leadership decision‑making
• Participate in HRIS rollout and process digitisation to improve data accuracy, compliance traceability and operational efficiency

7) Cross‑functional / Cross‑regional Collaboration Support

• Support the rollout of collaboration mechanisms for key projects: working
• Act as a neutral facilitator to drive conflict convergence and faster decision‑making (not making business decisions on behalf of leaders, but ensuring mechanisms run effectively)

• 6–10+ years of HRBP / HR Generalist experience, with hands‑on UK local HR operations and C&B implementation experience (able to independently manage…