Senior People Business Partner in Preston

At Places for People, we hire People, not numbers! We value experience and track record, but we are more interested in hiring someone who embodies our People Promises – doing the right thing, being enthusiastic and motivated to grow, believing in community spirit, being respectful and enjoying their work. As the UK's leading social enterprise, we are dedicated to creating inclusive and thriving communities for both our customers and employees.

We are looking to recruit a Senior People Business Partner on an initial fixed-term contract until August 2027. As a Senior People Business Partner, you will play a pivotal role in enabling our Group Support Functions (e.g. IT, Finance, Risk, Assurance, Legal, HR) to deliver against our strategic ambitions. Partnering directly with the Group Support Services Executive and Senior Leadership Teams, you will operate as a trusted advisor and critical friend, shaping and delivering people strategies that drive business performance.

This is a high-impact, fast-paced role, requiring an experienced HR professional who can quickly build credibility, navigate complexity, and work independently with minimal direction. Your role will involve translating business strategy into clear, actionable people plans, providing the right balance of insight and challenge to shape decision making. You will enhance leadership and management capabilities as well as specialist skills that are future-proof.

You will oversee the talent management process which includes succession planning and talent assessment, ensuring line managers engage in talent decisions and communicate development needs transparently, creating strong internal pipelines and addressing gaps. Additionally, you will devise and deliver comprehensive workforce plans, aligning skillsets, quantities, locations, and timelines with operating models. Collaboration with colleagues in Centres of Expertise will be vital to implement initiatives and achieve collective success.

You will drive employee engagement, leading active plans to address survey feedback. Strategic data management will be key for business success, driving effective action planning and analysis. You will likely lead on complex change programmes (including TUPE, restructures, business integrations) and will ensure change is delivered effectively, with strong engagement, risk management and legal compliance. You will be aligned to one of our key offices (Preston or London), with regular travel between sites and occasional wider business travel. At Places for People, we are committed to a safe working environment so a basic DBS check is mandatory.

More About You

• Substantial senior HR generalist or business partnering experience within a fast-paced complex matrix environment with multiple senior stakeholders.
• The ability to establish credibility quickly with Group Exec and SLT to enable successful influencing and challenge.
• A proven track record of delivering business improvement through effective partnering, with a real drive for continuous improvement and sustainable change.
• Strong commercial acumen, familiar with understanding a P&L and using data-driven insight to make commercial decisions to improve performance.
• Experience leading large-scale, complex change and transformation programmes.
• Deep knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice and either hold a CIPD Level 7 qualification or have significant equivalent experience.

Benefits

• Competitive salary, with a salary review yearly
• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Excellent holiday package – up to 35 days annual leave (including bank holidays) with the option to buy or sell leave
• Cashback plan for healthcare costs – up to £500 saving per year
• Annual bonus
• Car allowance/Company Car
• Training and development
• Extra perks including huge discounts and offers from shops, cinemas and much more

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including DBS checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities.

Armed Forces

We are proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant. Places for People will guarantee an interview for any candidate who is serving or has formerly served in the Armed Forces, as a reservist, armed forces veteran (including the wounded, injured and sick), cadet instructor and military spouse/partner and who meets the essential criteria for the vacancy.

Disability Confident

We are proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme certified as Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a vacancy will be guaranteed an interview.

Neurodivergent

Neurodiverse individuals have highly valuable skills, and we recognise that a traditional interview process sometimes works against them and doesn’t allow them to self-advocate. Neurodiverse applicants who meet the criteria for a vacancy will be guaranteed an interview.