Senior HR Business Partner in Farnborough

Explore is an adventure travel expert focused on sustainable, small group holidays which create stories to tell for a lifetime. From classic group tours and family adventures, to walking, wildlife and cycling trips. With around 100 countries to choose from, our customers explore the world with us. Join us on our journey, creating extraordinary travel experiences for all. Sustainability has always been at the heart of what we do, as has the ethos of continual improvement. A trusted brand – B Corp certified and a Feefo Platinum Service Award holder, we pride ourselves on doing the right thing, by our people, our customers, and the planet.

This role is based in Farnborough, Hampshire with 2 days per week in the office. Our office is within walking distance of the train station and has free parking. This is a full-time position, however work life balance is important to us and so we are open to discussion on flexible working patterns (minimum 4 days per week). Full-time salary: £60,000 - £65,000 p.a. Fixed term contract (maternity cover) for 12 months. It is essential that you are available for an immediate, or short notice (no more than one month) start.

About the role: At Explore, being Better Than Yesterday isn’t just a value written on the wall; it’s at the heart of everything we do. As our Senior HR Business Partner, you’ll need to embody the ethos of being Better Than Yesterday, and become a guardian of applying it to everything we do. We’re looking for someone with a solid background in generalist HR and experience in proposing, implementing and overseeing varied people initiatives. This role is standalone within Explore, but will be supported by a shared service HR team, and you’ll be expected to provide strategic input to the wider HR agenda, based on Explore’s needs.

Your overarching responsibility as Explore’s Senior HRBP will be to coach and support our leadership team to make strategic, people focused decisions whilst upholding our status as a B Corp employer, keenly focused on our impact on the planet and the communities our business interacts with. As this is a maternity cover role, you’ll be picking up a number of existing projects, but you’ll also need to be able to build relationships quickly to support with any new initiatives or challenges which may come up. This isn’t a role for a wallflower, it is a role for someone who likes to think outside of a traditional HR box. We respect the rule book but we don’t rely on it, preferring flexibility, creative thinking, empathy and common sense.

Key responsibilities:

• Partner with the Managing Director and senior leadership team to deliver the People Plan, HR strategy and budget objectives.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment and talent attraction activities across the business.
• Drive our Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and colleague experience, ensuring our culture and values are reflected throughout the employee lifecycle.
• Enhance and promote our employer brand, bringing creativity and fresh thinking to colleague engagement initiatives.
• Act as a trusted advisor during organisational change, influencing stakeholders and supporting the implementation of group-wide initiatives.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders across the business and wider group, managing multiple priorities and perspectives.
• Champion learning and development, leading key programmes including Future Leaders, line manager development and performance check-ins.
• Foster a culture of coaching, continuous feedback and professional growth for colleagues at all levels.
• Lead Global HR support for teams in Australia and North America, ensuring compliance, engagement and an exceptional colleague experience.
• Support our B Corp journey, embedding sustainability goals, driving colleague engagement and helping shape future People initiatives.
• Lead and develop our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion agenda, using data and insight to drive meaningful progress.
• Chair and develop our Culture Champs network, acting as a key link between colleagues and leadership to strengthen organisational culture.
• Be a visible and approachable people leader, proactively supporting colleagues and resolving issues early.
• Own internal people communications, celebrating successes, presenting at company updates and keeping colleagues informed and engaged.

Am I the right person?

We are looking for your application to demonstrate:

Essential

• Solid experience of working as a HR Business Partner, with background in generalist HR.
• A growth mindset and great "be better than yesterday" attitude.
• Experience in working side by side with senior executives, managing different mindsets and approaches.
• Experience in implementing strategic initiatives.
• Self-starter, able to work independently.
• A creative thinker, able to problem solve and support others to do the same.
• Flexible mindset, able to work at pace and adapt to change.
• Experience in talent development, delivering in house training in various formats and adopting a coaching approach.
• Comfortable and confident presenting to large groups, in person or online.
• Evidence of working as a champion of creating and sustaining a great company culture.
• Available for an immediate, or short notice (no more than one month) start.

Desirable

• Experience of working for a purpose led brand, ideally within the B Corp community.
• A passion for travel, connection and experience (this doesn’t necessarily mean you've travelled the world!).
• Experience of working in a group environment.
• Experience working with a hybrid team.
• Experience of international HR (specifically Australia and North America).

We aim to be better than yesterday and our values will be close to your heart. We're committed to creating diverse and inclusive experiences for customers and colleagues alike. We believe that diversity is to be celebrated; life would be dreary and change would be slow if we all thought the same way. Diversity and travel go hand in hand, and we thrive on creating connection and sharing authentic local experiences across the globe with likeminded customers from all walks of life, ranging from age 7 to 90+. We're big fans of using AI, however, when answering the application questions, please make sure your responses genuinely reflect your own experiences, thoughts and achievements so we can get to know the person behind the application.