Canterbury, Kent | Onsite, with client visits asrequired| Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.30pm | Indicative salary £65,000–£78,000, depending on experience
As Burgess Hodgson’s HR Advisory service continues to grow, we are looking for a Senior People Partner to lead complex advisory work, build trusted retained clientrelationshipsand support the continued development of the service.
You will advise a varied client base across retained, PAYG, project and wider advisory work, balancing technical HR expertise with practical judgement, commercial awareness and clear client communication. The role will suit someone who is confident advising business owners, Boards, Directors and senior leaders, and able to help clients manage complex people matters safely, proportionately and commercially.
About the role
You will lead higher-risk advisory work and selectedretainedclient relationships, helping clients diagnosepeopleissues,prioritiserisk and agree practical actions. The role includes complex ER, senior exits, settlement strategy, TUPE,organisationalchange, people planning, client relationship leadership, qualityassuranceand mentoring.
You will also support People Partners and HR Support colleagues by providing technical guidance, case coaching, escalation support and quality assurance of advice, documentation, case notes and client communications. Alongside client delivery, you will contribute to service development, including templates, guidance, client onboarding, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
What you will be doing
- Leading complex and higher-riskretainedclient matters, including grievances, absence, capability, conduct, investigations, discrimination risk, whistleblowing, senior exits, settlement discussions, TUPE,redundancyand organisational change.
- Acting as lead adviser for selected clients and building trusted relationships with business owners, Boards,Directorsand senior leadership teams.
- Diagnosing client issues before recommending solutions, using data, stakeholder conversations, casehistoryand commercial context toidentifyrisk, rootcauseand practical priorities.
- Creating people plans, advisory roadmaps and clear next-step recommendations that balance immediate risk management with longer-term manager capability and client value.
- Explaining risk,optionsand recommendations clearly and commercially, including where a client wishes toproceedagainst advice or where legal, insurer,Directoror specialist input isrequired.
- Attending client sites where required for onboarding, relationship management, fact-finding, HR audits, training delivery, employee relations support, projectworkand management update meetings.
- Preparing client management updates, advisory reports, risk summaries, actionplansand progress reports that show progress, recommendations,responsibilitiesand value delivered.
- Taking ownership of agreed HR project work for clients, including HR audits, policy reviews, peopleplans, manager capability programmes, training delivery, organisational changesupportand wider advisory projects.
- Mentoring People Partners and HR Support colleagues, supporting quality assurance of advice, documentation, casenotesand client communications.
- Identifyingappropriate additionaladvisory, project, training, audit, handbookreviewor manager development opportunities where these would solve a genuine client need.
- Contributing to service development, including templates, guidance, client onboarding, knowledge sharing, service standards and continuous improvement.
What we are looking for
- CIPD Level 5 minimum, with CIPD Level 7 or equivalent senior HR experience highly desirable.
- Minimum of eight years’generalist HR experience, including complex ER casework, senior stakeholderadviceand practical UK employment law awareness.
- At least three years’ HR consultancy, outsourced HR, professionalservicesor multi-client advisory experience.
- Confidence advising on complex grievances, discrimination risk, whistleblowing, long-term absence, reasonable adjustments, senior exits, settlement discussions, TUPE,redundancyand organisational change.
- Strong judgement in prioritising legal, reputational, commercial and people risks, and translating complex issues into practical advice.
- Credibility advising business owners, Boards, Directors and senior leaders in a clear, balanced and commercially aware way.
- Experience supporting,mentoringor coaching other HR colleagues and contributing to consistent standards of advice and documentation.
- Commercial awareness, scopedisciplineand the confidence toidentifywhereadditionalwork would add value for the client.
- Experience designing and delivering practical HR, employee relations or manager capability training to clients or senior manager groups.
- Strong confidentiality awareness and ability to handle sensitive client and employee information appropriately.
- Experience supporting SMEs, professional servicesclientsor clients across more than one sector.
- Experience developingand deliveringpeople plans, HR audits, policy reviews, manager capability programmes, clienttrainingor wider advisory projects.
- Experience using HR software, HRIS platforms, case management systems, shared mailboxes, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, workflow trackers or document libraries.
Working pattern and salary
This is an onsite role based in Canterbury, Kent, with travel to client sites across the UK as required. The working pattern is Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.30pm. The indicative salary range is £65,000–£78,000, depending on experience.
In addition to salary, the successful candidate will receive access to Burgess Hodgson’s employee benefits package. This may include pension provision, professional development support,wellbeing-relatedbenefitsand other firm benefits, with full details confirmed as part of the recruitment process.
If you are a motivated, diligent individual looking for a new challenge, and would like to explore this exciting opportunity further, we would be delighted to hear from you.
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