Senior HR Business Partner (UK) - Product R&D (PI) Team in Bristol

Department: EU HR

Location: Keynsham, UK

Reporting to: EU HRD

Scope: UK Product R&D team (PI/R&D-related functions), working closely with EU/HQ stakeholders

Working Language: English (mandatory)

Mission: As the HRBP for the UK R&D organisation, you will be responsible for building and strengthening the UK local HR operations and compensation & benefits (C&B) capability, partnering with business leaders to drive organisation and talent outcomes, and owning hiring delivery for critical R&D roles. Through data-driven and mechanism-based approaches, you will improve delivery and collaboration, reduce employee relations and compliance risks, and support stable business growth.

Key Responsibilities

• UK Local HR Operations + Compensation & Benefits (C&B) (Must-have)
  • Strong hands-on knowledge of UK local C&B and employment practices: able to independently work with payroll/benefits providers and manage payroll execution, payroll changes, pension (auto-enrolment), sick pay (SSP and any enhanced sick pay if applicable), holidays and leave rules and operations.
  • Establish and improve the minimum viable UK local policies and governance framework (policy definitions, approval paths, exception handling and documentation) to reduce case-by-case negotiation and repeated disputes.
  • Align with Finance/Legal on benefits costs, contract term impacts and employment risks to ensure controllable and compliant operations.
• Understanding of R&D Organisation & Business Partnering (Able to “Speak R&D”)
  • Understand the product R&D delivery lifecycle (requirements/planning → design → development → testing → release → iteration) and common R&D roles and ways of working (PM/PO/Dev/QA/Tech Lead/Architect, etc.).
  • Able to have business-level discussions with R&D leaders on organisation structure, capability gaps, productivity, delivery cadence, risks and countermeasures.
  • Support workforce planning for the R&D team: critical role prioritisation, headcount pacing, capability gaps and hiring strategy (aligned with EU HRD).
• Hiring Delivery (R&D Hiring Delivery)
  • Own hiring delivery for critical R&D roles: role scoping/capability alignment, sourcing strategy (referrals/agency/direct), funnel management and execution cadence.
  • Drive interviewer calibration and interview quality (scorecards, feedback SLAs, decision mechanisms) to reduce delays and mis-hires.
  • Participate in key interviews and provide input on leveling/compensation recommendations (aligned with EU HRD/Finance), and drive offer issuance and acceptance.
  • Ensure pre-boarding readiness (notice period tracking, onboarding materials, onboarding plan) and post-joining probation objectives setup and follow-through.
• Performance & Talent Management
  • Drive probation objective setting and reviews, performance goal setting, performance reviews and calibration to ensure compliance and usable outcomes.
  • Lead talent reviews, retention plans, succession and development plans, and ensure performance outcomes are applied (development/rewards/improvement/PIP/exits).
• Employee Relations & Compliance (ER & Compliance)
  • Independently manage complex ER cases for the UK R&D team, including disciplinary/grievance, long-term sickness management, performance improvement (PIP), non-renewal/termination, etc.
  • Partner with external counsel to ensure documentation, evidence and processes are legally compliant and executable; control dispute risks.
• People Analytics & HR Systems (People Analytics & HRIS)
  • Build basic people dashboards for the R&D team (hiring funnel, attrition, performance distribution, ER risk, etc.) to support leadership decision-making.
  • Participate in HRIS rollout and process digitisation to improve data accuracy, compliance traceability and operational efficiency.
• Cross-functional / Cross-regional Collaboration Support
  • Support the rollout of collaboration mechanisms for key projects: working agreements, RACI/escalation paths, retrospectives, etc.
  • Act as a neutral facilitator to drive conflict convergence and faster decision-making (not making business decisions on behalf of leaders, but ensuring mechanisms run effectively).

Requirements (Must-have)

• 6–10+ years of HRBP / HR Generalist experience, with hands-on UK local HR operations and C&B implementation experience (able to independently manage payroll/benefits/pension/sick pay topics).
• Experience supporting product/R&D/engineering/technical teams; understand R&D organisation and delivery ways of working; able to engage deeply with R&D leaders and provide actionable solutions.
• Proven hiring delivery capability: able to manage R&D hiring funnel, drive interviewer decisions, and support leveling and offer closure.
• Strong ER capability: able to independently handle complex scenarios such as disciplinary/grievance/sickness/PIP/termination.
• Strong influencing and communication skills: able to drive leader decisions and execution using “facts + options + impact.”
• Strong project management and cross-functional collaboration capability.
• Strong data mindset: able to use metrics to drive management and retrospectives.
• Fluent English (written and spoken).

Nice to have

• Experience building UK local HR policy foundation from 0 to 1.
• Vendor management experience (payroll, benefits, legal counsel, recruitment suppliers).
• HRIS implementation / process digitisation experience.
• Experience working with agencies, building talent pipelines, and driving employer branding.