Senior People & Culture Business Partner in Oxford

The Dot Group is made up of a group of market leading businesses comprised of Global Student Accommodation, Yugo, Student.com, and Kinetic Capital. Together, they operate in more than 180 leading educational cities across 35 countries. Yugo is the trusted name for student housing, globally. Every day we connect young people to opportunities and students to amazing spaces. Here at Yugo, we like to do things differently. It's about people, planet, and passion.

As the Senior People Partner for UK and Ireland, you will execute the People and Culture strategy, ensuring alignment with Yugo’s mission and values across the region. Acting as a subject matter expert across HR operations, you will provide guidance and oversight across the employee lifecycle, ensuring consistency, compliance, and effective delivery without direct ownership of end-to-end processes. Partnering closely with leaders and teams, you will provide expert guidance on people initiatives, foster employee engagement, develop talent and capability, and support the integration of People & Culture across the UK and Ireland to enable business growth. This role will work closely with the Talent and People Partnering team as well as the People Services team, ensuring strong alignment between strategic intent and operational delivery. With a clear focus on regional compliance and cultural alignment, you will act as a trusted advisor, supporting leaders to make informed decisions and strengthen overall operational effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with leaders across UK and Ireland to align P&C strategies with business objectives.
• Act as a trusted advisor on organisational design, workforce planning, and complex employee relations matters.
• Provide expert guidance on the application of P&C policies and frameworks, ensuring consistency and quality of decision-making.
• Support the localisation and embedding of global P&C initiatives, ensuring relevance and adoption across the region.
• Lead and support change initiatives, coaching leaders to navigate organisational shifts effectively.
• Reinforce Yugo’s culture and values through leadership alignment, communication, and consistent application of people practices.

Mobilisation, TUPE and Transitions

• Lead the people workstream for mobilisations, demobilisations, and operational transitions across UK & Ireland.
• Provide expert guidance on TUPE processes, ensuring compliance, risk mitigation, and a consistent employee experience.
• Support due diligence activities, including review of employee data, terms and conditions, and associated risks.
• Partner with operational and legal stakeholders to manage consultation processes, communications, and transition timelines.
• Ensure effective integration of employees into Yugo structures, aligning ways of working, policies, and culture.
• Act as a senior point of oversight during transitions, ensuring coordination between People Partnering, People Services, and operational teams.

Employee Experience and Performance Support

• Support leaders in driving performance management outcomes, including calibration, development planning, and capability building.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition and People Services to ensure effective delivery of hiring and onboarding processes (without direct ownership).
• Identify workforce risks and capability gaps, providing recommendations to strengthen organisational effectiveness.
• Contribute to global processes such as performance cycles and engagement surveys, ensuring regional alignment and quality of execution.

Employee Experience, Engagement and Culture

• Drive engagement and culture initiatives in partnership with regional leaders and global teams, ensuring alignment with Yugo’s values.
• Use engagement data and feedback to inform targeted actions that improve employee experience and retention.
• Act as a senior point of escalation for complex or sensitive people matters, ensuring balanced and commercially sound outcomes.
• Build strong in-business presence through regular site engagement, strengthening relationships and insight into operational challenges.
• Support the development of the People Partnering capability through coaching, guidance, and role-modelling best practice.

Governance, Risk and Operational Effectiveness

• Ensure consistent and compliant application of employment practices across UK & Ireland, working closely with People Services and external advisors where required.
• Lead complex employee relations cases and investigations, ensuring risk is managed appropriately.
• Translate people data and trends into clear insights and actions for business leaders.
• Provide input into workforce planning and cost considerations, ensuring alignment with business priorities (without direct budget ownership).
• Strengthen ways of working between People Partnering, Talent Acquisition, and People Services to improve clarity, accountability, and delivery.

Key Performance Indicators

• Effective delivery of mobilisations, TUPE transfers, and transitions with minimal disruption and strong compliance.
• Clear alignment between People & Culture priorities and business outcomes across UK & Ireland.
• Improved employee engagement and delivery of targeted action plans.
• Increased retention of key talent and reduced unwanted turnover.
• Positive stakeholder feedback on quality and impact of People Partnering support.
• Effective management and resolution of employee relations cases.

What else?

This job description serves as a guide. Additional projects and tasks may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the business. The role requires flexibility requiring travel and time spent in the business and in our residences with leaders and their teams. The Yugo team is a force for good, our mission is to harness this passion to deliver an extraordinary living experience that supports the transition to and from student life.

Requirements

Experience and Knowledge

• Essential: Significant experience in a senior HR or People Partner role within a multinational fast paced organisation.
• Strong understanding of regional employment laws and practices across United Kingdom and Ireland.
• Proven experience in leading complex acquisition and integration programmes, change management and organisational development initiatives.
• Demonstrable experience in driving employee engagement and DEI initiatives.
• Proven track record in managing complex employee relations cases and investigations.
• Experience in supporting talent development, including succession planning and leadership development.
• Proficiency in HRIS systems and data analysis.

• Desirable: Master’s degree in HR, Psychology, or a related field.
• Experience within the student accommodation, hospitality, or similar industries.
• Familiarity with employer branding and talent acquisition strategies.

Key Skills & Capabilities

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Cultural Champion: Proven ability to foster a high-performance and inclusive culture.
• Relationship Builder: Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders across all levels of the organisation.
• Adaptability: Comfortable navigating cultural nuances and complexities.
• Problem Solver: Skilled at analysing issues, providing sound advice, and delivering effective solutions.
• Leadership: Proven ability to lead and influence teams to achieve organisational objectives.
• Data-Driven: Adept at using workforce analytics to inform decisions and drive continuous improvement.

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer the following benefits: Cycle to work scheme, Life insurance, Medical, Pension, 25 days annual leave.