HR Business Partner in Nottingham

This job is with Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community.

About the job

Can you build strong relationships with senior leaders to shape and implement strategic HR solutions? Do you support and challenge leaders to drive performance, capability, and engagement across teams? Have you delivered HR policies and led change initiatives that improve outcomes and add value for money? If so, we'd love to hear from you!

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) helps keep Britain moving, safely and sustainably. We do this by helping people through a lifetime of safe and sustainable journeys, helping them keep their vehicles safe to drive, and protecting them from unsafe drivers and vehicles. We're working hard to:

• Make roads safer
• Improve services for our customers
• Make road transport greener and healthier
• Harness the potential of technology and data
• Grow and level up the economy

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King's birthday.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about what it's like working at DVSA.

Job description

Are you ready to shape the future of our workforce? As an HR Business Partner, you'll work side by side with senior leaders to deliver impactful, strategic HR solutions. You'll drive performance, boost engagement, and help create a culture where people thrive. From influencing policy to leading change, you'll play a key role in delivering real value for colleagues and customers. If you're passionate about making a difference through people, we want to hear from you.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren't limited to:

• Working with partner managers to develop and monitor plans to deliver business objectives through their people, applying People Directorate models and plans where appropriate.
• Developing innovative, timely and cost-effective solutions, and ensuring that business requirements are incorporated into People Directorate initiatives.
• Informing the business of key People Directorate messages, initiatives, and policies so that these are understood in a timely way, and managers ensure fair and consistent practice across their teams.
• Coaching and supporting business managers to lead and facilitate change, enabling them to implement change using appropriate skills, models, tools, and techniques.
• Working with senior leaders to develop HR interventions and strategies to improve organisational performance, capability and skills and create a high-performance workplace.
• Analysing, interpreting, and monitoring management information, providing senior managers with meaningful insight and advice to address business problems and provide recommendations that facilitate continuous improvement.
• Building productive relationships and engaging with stakeholders, both internally and externally, to ensure strong partnerships, creating a high performing and well-respected Agency.
• Working with colleagues across the People Directorate to provide a professional consultancy model to best support DVSA and our customers.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Experience of advising, coaching, and supporting managers on HR policies and processes to deliver effective business outcomes with an effective approach to risk.
• Experience of implementing people initiatives, translating business requirements into people plans and supporting the business through change.
• Experience of interpreting data, and using evidence-based insight to influence stakeholders.
• Sound knowledge of employment legislation.

Additional Information

You will already have Chartered CIPD membership or be willing to work towards attaining this level of membership within 18 months in post.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week. Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week. This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation. Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,241, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency contributes £12,816 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King's birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified, applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's skills, and potential fit within our organisation. The selection process for this role will be:

• Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement.
• Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience - you will be asked to provide a CV and personal statement.

The sift will take place week commencing 15 June 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours - Seeing the Big Picture, Working Together, Developing Self and Others, Communicating and Influencing.

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation to assess the Behaviours Seeing Big Picture and Communicating and Influencing. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place week commencing 13th July 2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for.

During your application, you should indicate which location(s) you wish to be considered for and, if successful, you will be placed on an individual list of candidates for each location.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD).

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

Further information on nationality requirements.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact: Name: Helen Woods Email: helen.woods@dvsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team Email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk