HR Business Partner in Plymouth

Location: Plymouth, Devon + Hybrid Working Arrangements

Compensation: Competitive + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Drive People Transformation and Shape the Future of a Critical Defence Workforce

At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as an HR Business Partner at our Devonport Royal Dockyard site.

The role

As a HR Business Partner, you’ll play a central role in enabling cultural transformation, organisational development and people‑centred change across one of the UK’s most important defence engineering environments. This 12‑month fixed‑term opportunity places you at the forefront of a complex, high‑profile setting where your HR insight will directly support leaders, shape workforce capability and influence decision‑making that strengthens operational excellence.

Day-to-day, you’ll work closely with senior leaders, local HR teams and subject matter experts to co‑create and implement people solutions that drive performance and advance the unified people strategy.

• Manage, develop and deliver people‑focused change projects aligned with sector people plans, collaborating with leaders and HR colleagues to ensure solutions are fit for purpose.
• Analyse and problem‑solve complex business challenges, considering wider organisational implications impact.
• Use data and analytics to support decision‑making and identify priority areas for action.
• Develop and monitor KPIs to measure the effectiveness and impact of HR initiatives.
• Apply subject‑matter expertise to policies, processes and best‑practice frameworks that add value and support Babcock’s Purpose and Principles.

This role is full time, 35 hours per week and provides hybrid working arrangements with the opportunity to work from home up to 2 days per week and a minimum of 3 days in the office/onsite (subject to requirements and business needs) and may require occasional travel to other UK sites.

Essential experience of the HR Business Partner

• Proven experience operating as an HR Business Partner with strong expertise in culture, organisational change and HR best practice.
• Experience working within unionised environments and managing complex stakeholder landscapes.
• Demonstrated success delivering projects in complex, multi‑site and multi‑disciplinary settings.
• Strong project, stakeholder and relationship‑management capability, with excellent communication and influencing skills.
• Strategic and analytical mindset, able to interpret HR data, assess long‑term impacts and provide evidence‑based recommendations.

Qualifications for the HR Business Partner

• Level 7 HR qualification or equivalent experience, with Chartered CIPD membership and commitment to continued professional development.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held.

What we offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement.
• ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day’s paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity.

Babcock We’re Babcock — a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference. Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we’re building a future that lasts — not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work‑life balance. We call that lifetime engineering. Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date 17/01/2026