People Partner (Fixed Term Contract) in Manchester

We are seeking a People Partner on a fixed term contract, providing maternity cover until August 2027. Ideally you’ll be based within a commutable distance of Liverpool or Manchester, as we’re looking for someone to support our Northern region, working with teams in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Whitehaven. You’ll be travelling regularly between these offices, with occasional visits to other Ridge offices as needed.

About The Role

Reporting to the Head of People and working with the other People Partners and wider People Advisory team, this role exists to act as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to senior leaders across the region. You’ll shape and deliver people priorities that enable business performance, support growth and create a compelling employee experience. This is a broad, senior generalist role, combining strategic partnering with hands-on delivery and leadership of a People Advisory team (People Advisor and People Coordinator). You will set strategic direction, lead operational and tactical people activity, and develop forward-looking people solutions aligned to Ridge People Strategy and values. You’ll work confidently across long-term people planning, change and transformation, and day-to-day leadership challenges, bringing clarity, insight and momentum in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

What you need to do to be effective in this role:

• Build strong, trusted relationships across the business, embedding yourself with leaders to shape and deliver people priorities aligned to the experience we want to create for our people.
• Act as a two-way conduit between the business and the People team, bringing commercial insight into people solutions and people insight into business decision-making.
• Co-design, plan and deliver people initiatives across the employee lifecycle, coordinating delivery and drawing on specialist support where appropriate.
• Lead and support change and transformation activity within the region, setting direction, managing impact and supporting leaders to navigate complexity and ambiguity.
• Own the people outcomes of acquisitions and TUPE transfers within the region, ensuring risks are anticipated, leaders are aligned and integration delivers a positive, sustainable experience for individuals.
• Own and embed core people practices across your region, including workforce planning, induction, performance development, reward and recognition, career progression and engagement action planning.
• Enable leaders and managers to take ownership of performance, careers and development by building capability and providing practical tools, coaching and guidance.
• Support the identification and development of talent, helping to create meaningful, career-defining experiences for our people.
• Partner with leaders to deliver inclusive, engaging and high-performing teams, championing diversity, equity and inclusion in both thinking and practice.
• Take ownership of people data and insight for the region, using evidence to shape decisions, anticipate trends, manage risk and drive meaningful improvement in people outcomes.
• Work closely with the ER & Integration Lead to ensure employee relations activity is well governed, with clear ownership, appropriate escalation and a strong focus on early intervention, consistency and risk management.
• Act as the senior owner for complex or high-risk employee relations matters, guiding leaders on the right outcomes and holding overall accountability for fairness, proportionality and business impact.
• Work collaboratively with the wider People team and other support functions to deliver a seamless, high-quality employee experience.
• Lead and develop the People Advisory team (People Advisor and People Coordinator), setting a strong personal example, building capability and enabling the team to do their best work.

The skills and experience you need to have for this role:

• Relationships are central to this role. We’re looking for someone who understands how people and organisations work, and who can translate insight into practical, commercially sound people solutions. Experience within the built environment, professional services or a similarly complex, project-based sector would be advantageous.
• Proven experience operating as a People / HR Business Partner in a complex, fast-paced environment, with the credibility to influence and challenge senior leaders.
• Broad and deep generalist HR experience, enabling you to shape and deliver effective people solutions across the full employee lifecycle.
• Experience supporting organisational change and transformation, including restructures, M&A, TUPE or other significant change programmes.
• Strong commercial judgement, with the ability to balance people outcomes and business performance.
• Sound employee relations capability and employment law knowledge, with a pragmatic approach that focuses on prevention, early resolution and building confident managers.
• The confidence to coach, influence and challenge leaders constructively, helping them make better people decisions.
• A progressive, agile mindset and genuine interest in evolving people practice and emerging HR trends.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity, taking ownership, setting direction and maintaining momentum in evolving situations.
• Strong analytical and digital capability, using people data and insight to inform decisions and drive improvement.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to move fluidly between listening, advising, coaching and influencing at all levels.
• A collaborative, team-oriented approach, with a willingness to share knowledge and work across boundaries to get the best outcome.
• Resilience, judgement and common sense - able to prioritise effectively, simplify where possible and focus energy on what will make the biggest difference.