People and Culture Business Partner

People and Culture Business Partner

Department: Operations - People & Culture

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Solihull

The People & Culture Business Partner provides strategic People & Culture support to business leaders across assigned Hub(s), enabling the delivery of Group People & Culture priorities alongside local business objectives.

The role partners with leaders to drive organisational effectiveness, workforce capability, employee engagement, performance, culture, and change. Acting as the primary People & Culture contact for their Hub(s), the P&C Business Partner works closely with People Support and Centres of Expertise to deliver a consistent, high-quality colleague experience aligned with Sumer's People & Culture strategy and "One Sumer" ways of working.

Strategic People Partnering

• Partner with Hub leadership teams to deliver the People & Culture agenda, supporting organisational effectiveness, workforce planning, talent management, succession planning, performance, reward, engagement, wellbeing, DEI, employee relations, and change.
• Translate Group People & Culture strategy into practical Hub-level plans that support business priorities.
• Provide trusted coaching and advice to leaders, building leadership capability and enabling effective people decisions.
• Balance strategic partnership with operational support to ensure successful delivery of People & Culture initiatives.

Organisational Development and Change

• Support organisational design, workforce planning, and talent development activities that strengthen capability and support business growth.
• Partner with leaders to plan and deliver change initiatives, ensuring effective communication, engagement, and adoption.
• Champion colleague engagement and cultural alignment, reinforcing "One Sumer" behaviours across the Hub(s).

Employee Relations and Risk Management

• Provide guidance on complex employee relations matters, escalating significant or high-risk cases where appropriate.
• Ensure people decisions are fair, consistent, legally compliant, and aligned with Group policies and values.
• Identify emerging people risks and work proactively with leaders to implement effective solutions.

Collaboration and Delivery

• Work closely with People Support and Centres of Expertise to deliver joined‑up People & Culture services and a consistent colleague experience.
• Contribute to Group People & Culture projects and initiatives, ensuring successful local implementation.
• Build strong relationships across the wider People & Culture community, sharing knowledge and promoting best practice.

People Insight and Continuous Improvement

• Use people data and insight to identify trends, inform decision‑making, and support continuous improvement.
• Monitor key people metrics to help leaders improve organisational performance and employee outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, improve consistency, and enhance the effectiveness of People & Culture delivery.

Success in the Role Will Look Like

• Hub People & Culture priorities are delivered effectively and aligned with Group strategy.
• Leaders feel well supported, confident, and accountable in managing their people.
• Workforce planning, talent development, and succession activities strengthen organisational capability.
• Colleague engagement, culture, and performance continue to improve across supported Hub(s).
• Employee relations issues are managed proactively, consistently, and with appropriate risk management.
• People Support, Centres of Expertise, and Business Partners operate as one integrated People & Culture function.
• People data is used effectively to inform decisions, improve outcomes, and drive continuous improvement.
• "One Sumer" culture and ways of working are consistently embedded across the Hub(s).

• Proven experience operating as an HR or People Business Partner within a complex, multi-site or fast-paced organisation.
• Strong generalist HR knowledge across employee relations, organisational development, talent management, performance, reward, engagement, and change.
• Commercially aware, with the ability to align people priorities to business outcomes.
• Strong coaching,…