People Business Partner (Retail)

White Stuff was established in 1985 through a simple idea. This idea grew and now we have shops and concessions in the UK and internationally, selling women’s and men’s clothing as well as beautiful accessories and homeware. Our original prints (all designed in house), intricate details and considered design touches reflect our personality and make us subtly distinctive. Our people are at the heart of our brand, constantly moving and driving us forward. We’re sociable, talented and like minded and we’re not hierarchical or political in how we do business. We encourage entrepreneurial ideas and accountability at all levels.

Who you are: An experienced HR generalist with a proven track record in managing Retail human resources and partnering with senior business stakeholders. Experience working in a retailer environment is a must. You should have good working knowledge and experience of managing ER cases and formal processes (such as structure changes, performance reviews, contract adjustments etc). You will also have a keen interest in employee engagement and be a key driver of our internal values and culture.

Primary objective of the job: As the People Business Partner for Retail, you will take responsibility for providing outstanding People support to colleagues within our Retail sector, across UK, Ireland and Germany by partnering closely with the Head of Retail, Regional and Cluster Managers and Germany Concession Managers. This role is a combination of HR generalist, delivering the core people processes and HR project management to support continuous development. The role will involve leading and developing a team.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leadership and Coaching: Supporting the Retail leadership team to succeed, by building solid, open and dynamic relationships. Building line manager capability by truly understanding stakeholder’s accountabilities and barriers and identifying creative tools and mechanisms to support the development of a high performing culture.
• Colleague Engagement: Championing colleague engagement by developing innovative ways to drive talent development and staff retention by partnering Retail to identify opportunities and keeping engagement at the heart of everything we do. Working alongside key stakeholders to ensure the communication and implementation of projects lands collaboratively and brilliantly. Be the voice of Retail by listening to colleagues and rallying relevant areas of the business to support.
• Employee Relations: Increasing the capability of your team and line managers to manage ER cases effectively, commercially and in line with our company values, through coaching, training and advising (including disciplinary, grievance, performance management etc.). Identifying common ER trends or patterns and creating proactive solutions to rectify or remedy these for the future. Ensuring a consistent approach throughout all business areas by working closely with other People team members. Identifying opportunities to enhance and evolve existing or create new policies, processes and procedures to ensure White Stuff stays a great place to work.
• Projects/Strategy/Core: Helping create and shape the Retail People Strategy to support evolution and growth. Partnering with the Retail leadership team to identify and advise on recommended organisational and change management strategies. Ensuring the core People processes (such as Pay Review/ Bonus/ Appraisals) are delivered brilliantly. Working alongside line managers and leaders to engage and take ownership of Talent Management and People Planning processes. Constantly reviewing why and how we do things to make sure they are innovative, current, fit for purpose and in line with our company values.

What you’ll need:

• 6 years operational People and ER experience – being able to effectively advise colleagues and partners on day-to-day and longer-term basis on complex People matters.
• Management experience – leading and developing an exceptional People team.
• Relationship building – being able to establish genuine and solid effective relationships that help drive business success.
• Project management – experience of effectively managing ad hoc projects as well as the annual People processes.
• Strategic foresight – the ability to translate existing strategy into operational People Plans, and to contribute towards the development of strategy.
• Creativity and collaborative working – the passion and desire to create great solutions together.
• Authenticity, resilience, adaptability, a fun and engaging outlook and a good sense of humour.

What we will offer you: As a Retail People Business Partner at White Stuff you will be entitled to an array of great benefits, some of which include:

• Hybrid working
• Annual bonus opportunity
• Up to 25 days holiday per annum, plus bank holidays
• 2 extra (paid!) days off per year to volunteer in the local community
• 50% discount
• Subsidised BUPA Dental Insurance
• Healthcare cash plan and Life Assurance
• Interest free season ticket loan
• Pension Contribution

We are committed to creating an environment where we can all be proud to work and be ourselves. Part of this commitment is being an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, and age.