People Partner - Channel 4 News

We’re looking for an experienced People Partner to join the ITN People team. You will be primarily responsible for supporting Channel 4 News; bringing HR expertise and acting as a trusted advisor to our Managers and Senior Leaders. You will be deeply embedded in the day-to-day operations of your business areas and have a holistic view of all people-related matters. Channel 4 News is committed to challenging expectations with stories that reveal and inspire, innovatively produced, with just a touch of mischief. A passionate pursuit of the truth, a spotlight on injustice – news that’s on your side.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead managers and leaders through employee relations matters in your business areas, with support and guidance from the People Relations Manager, providing expert guidance and support, navigating complexity and ambiguity with ease, and recommending appropriate actions that promptly conclude issues.
• Build a deep understanding of your designated business areas; including their strategies, challenges, priorities, risks, and opportunities as they relate to people.
• Partner with managers and leaders as their go-to and trusted advisor; providing guidance and coaching, and exercising a balance of challenge and support.
• With support from the People Director, proactively assess and monitor team and department health across your business areas; using people metrics and insights to diagnose opportunities, make targeted recommendations, and implement appropriate solutions that improve business outcomes.
• Implement cyclical processes including Employee Engagement, Performance Development and Talent Management in your business areas; ensuring you always have a pulse on employee needs, gaps and development.
• Support managers and leaders with the identification, planning and delivery of targeted people actions.
• Be a strategic change agent to your business areas – supporting with the adoption, implementation and embedding of new processes, policies, programmes and culture initiatives.
• Work closely with the People Director; keeping them abreast of any changes in your business areas and ensuring a timely and targeted flow of information to inform their work and the broader People Strategy.
• Design, develop and deliver programmes and initiatives in conjunction with specialist teams, in line with our People Team Strategy.
• Partner with other People Partners to drive consistency in people practices and decision-making across business areas.
• Collaborate with the wider People team to maintain and continuously improve ITN’s culture and employee experience.
• Work with the Internal Communications team, where necessary, to ensure People messages are translated effectively to your business areas.
• Work with the Recruitment team to ensure timely communication of information that impacts hiring decisions or development activities for your business area.
• Work closely with the D&I Partner and L&D Partner to build and implement specific departmental plans for your business area.
• Oversee the administrative activities of the People Coordinator for the business area/s.

These are the main requirements of the role and is not an exhaustive list of duties. It is intended to reflect the nature, range, and context of the work, which will change over time.

Key Requirements

• Proven experience in a true business partnering capacity within the media industry, preferably in television news; with a track record of developing strong relationships within a fast-paced, high-profile environment.
• CIPD qualified (Level 5 or above) desirable, or equivalent professional experience.
• Broad generalist experience, with prior exposure to change management, organisational design and talent management.
• Excellent coaching skills, with demonstrable experience in coaching Managers and Leaders to build their capabilities and support, guide and develop others.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing cross-functional initiatives that are suitable for hybrid dispersed teams.
• Adept in critically assessing information, identifying risks, defining a problem statement and presenting solutions that balance the needs of our people and the business in a structured way; with an openness to challenge and adapting your approach.
• Proven experience in leading employee communications, and managing and communicating change.
• A strong sense of curiosity and a proactive driver for continuous improvement, finding new and innovative ways to improve outcomes for our people and business.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to influence stakeholders across all levels of the business.
• Ability to context shift in a fast moving and changeable environment with fantastic organisational skills and an impeccable attention to detail.
• A self-starter who loves to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Good understanding of UK employment law, compliance, GDPR and employee relations; with the ability to apply legislative principles and frameworks as necessary.
• Proven ability to work on complex ER cases.
• A strong interest in Media and television news.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do at ITN. It’s vital that our workforce reflects the diversity of both our audience and the wider society in the UK, so we actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds and communities. Reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process will be offered, if required, due to a disability or health condition. We also recognise the importance of a good work life balance, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including part-time and job shares for all our roles. Please just let us know in your application, or at any stage throughout the process, if this is something you want to explore. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer where everyone’s contribution matters. We’re committed to building a culture that reflects the audiences we serve — one where people feel included, supported, and inspired to do their best work.