Strategic People Business Partner in Newton-le-Willows

At Speedy, we are transforming the way we partner with our people and our business. We are looking for a commercially focused, strategically minded People Business Partner to join our People team and play a key role in influencing business performance across a significant operational area supporting approximately 535 colleagues across three Managing Director business areas. This is a high-impact role for an experienced HR professional who thrives in complex, fast-paced environments and can operate credibly at senior leadership level.

You will work in partnership with Managing Directors and senior leadership teams to influence decision-making, shape organisational direction, and drive meaningful people and business outcomes.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Head of People Partnering, you will sit as a key member of divisional leadership teams, providing strategic people expertise that supports operational delivery, organisational effectiveness, and long-term business growth. This role requires more than operational HR support. We are looking for someone who can challenge constructively, build credibility with senior stakeholders, and influence leaders to think differently about people, performance, engagement, capability, and organisational change.

You will lead and support strategic initiatives across workforce planning, organisational design, talent, engagement, leadership capability, and transformation programmes, ensuring the People agenda is fully aligned to business priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with Managing Directors and senior leaders to shape and deliver divisional people strategies aligned to wider business objectives.
• Act as a trusted advisor and strategic coach to senior stakeholders, influencing decision-making and leadership approaches across complex people and business challenges.
• Lead and support large-scale change and transformation initiatives, including organisational redesign, restructures, cultural change, and workforce planning activity.
• Build robust business cases to support strategic people initiatives, using workforce data, commercial insight, and organisational trends to drive decision-making.
• Provide commercially focused guidance across all areas of employee relations, organisational development, engagement, performance, and talent management.
• Analyse workforce and people metrics to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, supporting proactive business planning.
• Develop leadership capability through coaching, challenge, and strategic partnering.
• Support succession planning, talent development, retention strategies, and early careers initiatives to strengthen future capability.
• Drive consistency, continuous improvement, and sustainable people solutions across the business.
• Support leaders in creating high-performing, inclusive, and engaged teams that deliver operational excellence.

What We’re Looking For

Essential Experience & Capability

• Proven experience operating as a senior People Business Partner within a complex, fast-paced organisation.
• Demonstrable experience influencing Managing Directors or senior leaders to change their approach to a people or business issue, with the ability to build credibility, challenge constructively, and drive positive outcomes.
• Experience leading or supporting complex business change initiatives, including developing business cases, influencing stakeholders, and driving implementation through to delivery.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to align people strategies to operational and business priorities.
• Experience supporting large, multi-site operational populations, ideally within engineering, construction, manufacturing, logistics, industrial, or service‑led environments.
• Strong capability across employee relations, organisational design, workforce planning, talent management, and leadership coaching.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship‑building skills with the confidence to operate at senior leadership level.
• Strong analytical capability with experience using workforce data and insight to support strategic decisions.
• Resilient, pragmatic, and solutions‑focused approach.

Desirable

• CIPD qualified (or equivalent experience).
• Experience within operational or field‑based environments.
• Exposure to early careers programmes, succession planning, and leadership development initiatives.
• Experience supporting transformation within a unionised or operationally complex environment.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Hybrid and flexible working from day one.
• 9‑day fortnight option to support work‑life balance.
• Opportunity to work directly with senior leadership teams and shape strategic direction.
• Ongoing development through our Career Line of Sight programme.
• A genuine opportunity to influence change and make a measurable impact across the business.

Speedy Hire reserves the right to close vacancies earlier than the advertised closing date should we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We therefore encourage early applications. Some roles within The Speedy Group UK&I may require DBS, credit, or security clearance checks. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in all its forms. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and do the best work of their career.