Senior HR Business Partner in Reading

At OQC, we aren’t just theorising about the future; we’re building it. Born from a philosophy of bold innovation, we’ve successfully transitioned quantum computing from an academic dream into a commercial reality. The most exciting thing is that we’re just getting started.

You’ll play a critical role in helping OQC scale effectively by partnering with leaders across the business to strengthen leadership capability, organisational effectiveness, and team performance. Working within a fast-paced, highly technical environment, you’ll act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, using data, insight, and pragmatic judgement to drive impactful people outcomes and sustainable growth.

You will report into the Head of People and you’ll partner closely with leaders across assigned business areas to shape high‑performing teams, influence organisational change, and elevate leadership capability. This is a strategic partnering role with broad exposure across workforce planning, organisational design, employee relations, learning & development, and change management, while collaborating closely with the wider People team to deliver an exceptional employee experience.

• Partnering with senior leaders to improve organisational effectiveness, workforce planning, leadership capability, and team performance
• Coaching managers through performance management, employee relations, organisational change, and complex people challenges
• Using people data and organisational insight to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, driving pragmatic and commercially balanced solutions
• Leading strategic people initiatives, L&D and change programmes, ensuring strong stakeholder engagement and successful adoption
• Supporting organisational design and team structure planning to enable sustainable scaling across technical and specialist teams
• Influencing leadership teams to improve consistency, accountability, and maturity of people management practices across the organisation
• Collaborating with HR Operations and People team colleagues to continuously improve processes, employee experience, and organisational capability

• Significant experience in a strategic HR partnering role within a fast‑paced, scaling, and highly technical environment
• Experience working within technology, scientific, engineering, or R&D organisations
• Proven ability to partner with senior stakeholders including Heads of Function, Directors, and VP‑level leaders
• Strong experience leading organisational change, workforce planning, and organisational effectiveness initiatives
• Expertise in coaching leaders through complex employee relations, performance management, and organisational challenges
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing, and leadership coaching capabilities
• Data‑driven approach to decision making with the ability to translate insight into practical business outcomes
• Experience operating effectively in ambiguous, evolving, and high‑growth environments
• Strong understanding of employment law, organisational risk, and people policy application
• Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, and project management skills

• Exposure to global or multi‑jurisdiction employee populations
• Experience supporting organisational design and team effectiveness initiatives
• Familiarity with HR systems including HiBob, Workable, and Zinc
• Knowledge of change leadership methodologies and leadership development practices
• Experience mentoring team members, apprentices, or developing team capability
• CIPD Level 5 or above

You will join a world‑class team at the forefront of the next computational era. We offer a culture of bold innovation, the chance to work with unique lab infrastructure, and the opportunity to see your work redefine the limits of computation.