Senior HR Business Partner

HR, Manchester / Northampton / London / Birmingham

Term type: Contract

Duration: 12-18 month FTC

Team: HR

Location: Manchester / Northampton / London / Birmingham

Role

As HR Business Partner, you will own and deliver the People strategy for your designated business area, partnering with senior leaders, Partners and line managers to translate commercial priorities into pragmatic people strategies. You will operate as a trusted adviser and constructive challenger, improving organisational effectiveness, leadership capability, engagement and performance, while ensuring robust people risk management and consistent application of employment practice across the firm. This role sits within HR Advisory, working in close partnership with specialist People teams including Performance & Talent Development, Talent Acquisition, Reward/Benefits, HR Operations, and Responsible Business. Level of role is subject to experience, skills and knowledge.

Key accountabilities

• Strategic business partnering & leadership influence: Lead the development and delivery of the People Plan for your client group, aligned to business strategy, growth objectives and operating model. Provide high-impact coaching to leaders and managers to strengthen decision making, accountability, and people leadership standards. Act as a visible role model for inclusive leadership, collaboration and continuous improvement across the People Directorate and the wider firm.
• Commercial and data-led insight: Build a deep understanding of the business and its “commercial levers” to deliver a pragmatic, outcomes-focused HR service. Use data, analytics and workforce insights to identify trends, diagnose issues and influence decisions (e.g., retention risks, performance patterns, resourcing needs). Create and maintain People Plans and regular reporting that translate metrics into actionable insight and measurable interventions. Leverage technology/AI appropriately to improve reporting, insight generation and service efficiency. Drive a coherent approach across the business area to talent identification, development and succession, working closely with Performance & Talent Development and Talent Acquisition/emerging talent. Strengthen and drive performance management practice (goal setting, reviews, feedback, development planning), ensuring high standards and robust documentation. Support leaders to build sustainable pipelines and capability for future needs, balancing immediate delivery with long-term talent requirements. Interpret employee engagement survey data to identify key themes and translate insights into targeted, measurable action plans that improve engagement and organisational performance.
• Reward, pay & promotions: Lead and shape the people elements of annual pay review and promotion cycles for your business area, ensuring fairness, equity and alignment to talent priorities. Provide constructive challenge and guidance to leaders to maintain consistency, manage risk and uphold the integrity of decision making.
• Employee relations, risk & policy application: Act as the escalation point for complex employee relations matters, supporting managers through sensitive cases (disciplinary, grievance, performance improvement, conflict). Make sound judgement on when and how to escalate to the Employee Relations specialist team, ensuring appropriate handling of higher-risk matters. Support compliance with employment law and firm policies; contribute to maintaining high quality, consistent HR policy and guidance, keeping practice current as legislation and business needs evolve. Lead the people workstream on business change initiatives, including organisation design, restructuring, role clarity, team effectiveness and adoption planning. Act as a change agent and influencer, driving continuous improvement in service delivery, employee experience and manager capability. Work collaboratively across the People Directorate to identify improvements, simplify processes and enhance the employee lifecycle experience. Lead/support on key projects as required.
• Responsible Business / DEI: Identify inclusion, equity and engagement opportunities and collaborate with Responsible Business and key stakeholders to develop practical action plans that close gaps and strengthen culture.
• People leadership (line management): Lead and develop your direct report(s), setting clear priorities, providing coaching, and ensuring high performance and a consistent approach across the advisory team. Work closely with fellow HRBPs to share best practice, align ways of working and ensure consistent standards across the firm. Collaborate with Business Services and other Business Partners to deliver outstanding service to stakeholders.

Skills, experience and qualifications

• Significant HR experience operating as an HR Business Partner (or equivalent) in a complex, fast-paced environment.
• CIPD Chartered membership or demonstrable equivalent senior HRBP experience.
• Strong experience with HR data/analytics: interpreting trends, building insight and presenting clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrable capability in complex ER, including investigations and formal processes, with confident judgement and high emotional intelligence.
• Proven ability to build trust quickly, influence senior stakeholders and deliver outcomes through others.
• Strong commercial acumen and resilience; able to balance competing priorities and make sound decisions under pressure.
• Track record of supporting organisational change and translating business needs into pragmatic people solutions.
• Excellent stakeholder communication skills: listens actively, adapts style, and delivers clear and constructive messages.
• Strong systems, AI and digital confidence, including data analysis and presentation.
• Experience of leading HR projects in areas such as organisation design, service improvement, operating model change, or strategic workforce initiatives.
• Sound understanding of risk and compliance, particularly within regulated environments; able to interpret and apply relevant legislation and ensure organisational adherence to regulatory requirements.
• Experience in professional services, ideally with multi-site and/or international exposure.
• Coaching/mentoring qualification (or significant applied coaching experience).

Ways of working / behavioural expectations

• Strategic and practical: can switch from long-term planning to immediate problem solving while staying outcome focused.
• Constructive challenge: confident to question, influence and hold leaders to account in a partnership environment setting the appropriate tone.
• Collaborative and inclusive: partners effectively across People specialisms and business services to deliver a seamless service, leading by example.
• Continuous improvement mindset: positively and actively seeks smarter ways of working and better employee/manager experiences, generating and driving solutions.
• High integrity and discretion: handles sensitive matters with professionalism, fairness and confidentiality.

Benefits

We offer a competitive remuneration system and an outstanding benefits package. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Equal opportunities

Our approach to our people is underpinned by our commitment to diversity, inclusion and well-being. We aim to build a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and talents, and a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognising and nurturing talent, and has a strong sense of community between colleagues. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long-term conditions. We have adopted a proactive approach to employing disabled people and developing their abilities. If you meet the essential criteria, we will invite you to interview. We support individuals with disability or long-term conditions and can provide the application in an accessible format if requested.