Senior HR Business Partner in Hertford

As Senior HR Business Partner, you'll lead the operational People function at Sofa Club, acting as the most senior HR professional within the business. This is a hands‑on leadership role responsible for building scalable people practices, supporting ambitious growth plans, and ensuring the business has the right structures, processes, and support in place as we continue to expand. You'll act as a trusted advisor to managers and senior leaders, taking ownership of employee relations, recruitment, performance management, HR systems, compliance, workforce planning, and employee experience.

We're looking for someone who can balance strategic thinking with operational delivery. Someone who enjoys creating structure, improving processes, and rolling up their sleeves to make things happen. With multiple new showroom openings planned and continued business growth ahead, this role will play a critical part in shaping the future of the People function and supporting the wider business.

Key Responsibilities

• HR Leadership & Business Partnering
  • Act as the senior People lead and trusted advisor to managers and leadership teams across the business.
  • Support workforce planning and organisational growth initiatives.
  • Coach managers on people management, performance, and leadership capability.
  • Drive consistency and best practice across all people‑related activities.
  • Partner with leaders to identify opportunities, risks, and people priorities.
• Employee Relations & People Support
  • Lead all employee relations matters including disciplinaries, grievances, absence management, capability, and performance concerns.
  • Coach managers to handle people issues confidently and fairly.
  • Manage complex and sensitive situations with professionalism and sound judgement.
  • Ensure people decisions are legally compliant, commercially sound, and aligned with company values.
• Recruitment & Talent
  • Lead recruitment processes and support hiring managers across the business.
  • Build scalable recruitment frameworks and improve hiring processes.
  • Support workforce planning for new showroom openings and business growth.
  • Drive a positive candidate experience and strengthen employer brand activity.
  • Track recruitment performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Performance & Development
  • Lead and continuously improve performance management processes.
  • Support managers with performance improvement plans and development conversations.
  • Build frameworks that encourage accountability, progression, and high performance.
  • Identify talent, succession, and development opportunities across the business.
  • Support management capability through coaching and development initiatives.
• HR Operations & Compliance
  • Partner with the Legal & Compliance Director to support the implementation of company policies and employment‑related processes.
  • Provide guidance on UK employment law and HR best practice.
  • Oversee contracts, right‑to‑work checks, employee records, and HR administration.
  • Maintain high standards of compliance across all employee lifecycle activities.
  • Continuously improve processes to support a growing business.
• People Systems & Reporting
  • Own and optimise BrightHR as the central People platform.
  • Maintain accurate employee data and reporting.
  • Produce people metrics and dashboards to support decision making.
  • Use data and insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
  • Support payroll processes and people‑related reporting requirements.
• Employee Experience & Engagement
  • Support initiatives that improve engagement, retention, and employee experience.
  • Champion Sofa Club's values and culture across the business.
  • Help create an environment where people feel supported, challenged, and able to grow.
  • Partner with leaders to drive engagement and wellbeing initiatives.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone who combines strong HR fundamentals with energy, commercial awareness, and a people‑first mindset. You’ll thrive here if you:

• Have strong generalist HR experience, ideally within a growing or scaling business.
• Have experience managing employee relations cases end‑to‑end.
• Possess excellent knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Enjoy building processes, frameworks, and scalable solutions.
• Are commercially minded and understand the link between people and business performance.
• Can balance strategic thinking with operational delivery.
• Are confident influencing and challenging stakeholders at all levels.
• Have experience supporting multi‑site or retail environments (desirable).
• Are highly organised, proactive, and solutions focused.
• Want to build something rather than simply inherit it.

What You’ll Get

• Be part of a growing brand with real creative freedom and input.
• Access to a supportive and ambitious team culture.
• Opportunity to grow your career as we scale our in‑house comms function.
• Competitive salary
• 28 days Annual Leave + Bank Holidays
• Friends and Family Discount
• Enhanced Family Leave
• Life Assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Health Insurance
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• Salary Sacrifice Pension Scheme
• Quarterly Bonus Scheme