Business Manager – People Directorate in London

Business Manager – People Directorate

About the Role

We're looking for an experienced and highly organised Business Manager to provide strategic business management, programme coordination and operational support to a senior HR leadership team within a large, complex organisation.

This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of a People function, helping to coordinate major transformation initiatives, support the adoption of AI-enabled ways of working, and drive effective governance across the directorate.

This is not an HR advisory or HR Business Partner role.

Instead, the focus is on business management, project and programme coordination, governance, planning, communications and enabling senior leaders to deliver organisational priorities.

Key Responsibilities

You will

• Coordinate the delivery of key People Directorate programmes, including AI innovation and governance initiatives and wider transformation activity.
• Provide proactive business management support to the Chief People Officer, helping to prioritise work, manage workflows, coordinate meetings and ensure actions are delivered.
• Act as the central coordination point for the HR Senior Leadership Team, organising meetings, planning sessions and leadership activities.
• Manage directorate planning cycles, governance processes, reporting timetables and programme tracking.
• Produce high-quality reports, presentations, briefing papers, dashboards and management information for senior stakeholders.
• Maintain project documentation, including plans, milestones, RAID logs, action trackers and progress reports.
• Build effective relationships across the organisation to coordinate cross-functional initiatives and support organisational priorities.
• Support change, continuous improvement and service transformation across the People function.
• Coordinate a range of directorate-wide activities, including recognition initiatives, annual planning and leadership processes.

About You

We're looking for someone who has

• Experience coordinating projects, programmes or business plans within a large and complex organisation.
• Experience supporting senior leaders or executive teams through business management, governance or programme coordination.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Strong project coordination skills, including maintaining project plans, action logs, RAID logs and reporting.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience preparing reports, presentations and briefing papers for senior audiences.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret data to support decision-making.
• Confidence using Microsoft 365, Teams, Share Point and other digital collaboration tools.
• Knowledge of recognised project management methodologies such as PRINCE2, Agile, MSP or similar.
• An interest in using AI-enabled tools to improve planning, reporting and programme delivery.

Desirable

Experience in one or more of the following would be advantageous

• Organisational change, transformation or service improvement.
• Supporting executive leadership teams, business management or Chief of Staff functions.
• Higher education or another complex public sector environment.
• Performance reporting, KPIs and business intelligence.
• Digital innovation, governance or systems implementation.
• AI-enabled project or work management tools.

Relevant project management qualifications (such as PRINCE2, APM, MSP or Agile certifications) are welcomed but are not essential where equivalent experience can be demonstrated.

What You'll Bring

You’ll be proactive, collaborative and resilient, with excellent judgement and the ability to build strong relationships across a complex organisation.

You’ll enjoy bringing structure to competing priorities, improving ways of working and supporting senior leaders to deliver strategic outcomes in a fast-paced environment.

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