HR Business partner – 12 month FTC
Posted Today by Oakleaf Partnership
£65,000 Per year
Undetermined
Hybrid
Birkenhead, Merseyside
Summary: The HR Business Partner role is a 12-month fixed-term contract based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, focusing on providing strategic HR support during a period of organizational change. The position requires collaboration with senior leaders to implement people-focused solutions that enhance customer experiences and operational efficiency. The ideal candidate will have experience in a unionized environment and a strong background in HR generalist functions. This role offers a hybrid working arrangement with an ASAP start date.
Key Responsibilities:
- Act as a trusted HR Business Partner to senior stakeholders across designated service areas, providing embedded business partnering and aligning to organisational objectives
- Provide hands-on support across a full generalist remit, using people data, dashboards and KPIs to identify trends, diagnose issues and recommend targeted interventions to improve service, performance and culture
- Lead and support change programmes, organisational development initiatives, and organisational design reviews, including workforce planning and headcount management
- Manage complex employee relations casework, including high-volume absence, disciplinary and performance cases
- Work effectively within a unionised environment, supporting union relationship management and formal consultation processes
- Lead recruitment activity within service areas, including briefing, attraction, assessment, selection and candidate experience
- Drive wellbeing initiatives and delivery across allocated service areas
- Lead colleague engagement activity, including employee voice initiatives and follow-through actions
- Embed organisational values, behaviours and frameworks at an operational level
- Monitor and improve employee engagement and satisfaction, including closing the loop on engagement or happiness index actions
- Own and improve customer satisfaction from a people perspective, embedding a culture of customer excellence
- Support the rollout of People/HR initiatives at service level, particularly across engagement, leadership and customer excellence
- Collaborate with the wider People team to ensure consistent and high-quality delivery of HR services
- Embed within the business to understand operational challenges and deliver practical, commercially focused solutions
Key Skills:
- Proven experience as an HR Business Partner / Senior HR Generalist
- Strong background in unionised environments
- Experience delivering change programmes
- Ability to manage a high volume of ER cases, particularly absence management
- Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and gain buy-in
- Hands-on, pragmatic approach
- Experience within housing, manufacturing, or similar operational sectors (desirable)
- Experience in organisations undergoing transformation or growth (desirable)
- CIPD qualification (or equivalent) (desirable)
Salary (Rate): £65000 yearly
City: Birkenhead
Country: United Kingdom
Working Arrangements: hybrid
IR35 Status: undetermined
Seniority Level: undetermined
Industry: HR
HR Business Partner – 12 month FTC
- £55,000 – £65,000
- 12 month FTC – Possibility to go permanent
- Hybrid – 2 days on site
- ASAP start
- Merseyside
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced HR Business Partner (Generalist) to join our People team on an interim basis during a period of organisational change and increased operational demand.
This is a key role supporting a complex, unionised environment, where you will partner closely with leaders to deliver pragmatic, people-focused solutions. You will play a critical part in embedding within the business, building strong relationships, and driving HR initiatives that support both immediate and long-term goals.
The role will partner directly with the Chief Customer Officer, supporting key service areas including Contact Centre, Neighbourhoods, Income and Communities. A core focus of the role is improving the customer journey and outcomes through effective people strategies, making this an excellent opportunity for individuals with transferable experience from customer-centric environments such as sales or retail.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as a trusted HR Business Partner to senior stakeholders across designated service areas, providing embedded business partnering and aligning to organisational objectives
- Provide hands-on support across a full generalist remit, using people data, dashboards and KPIs to identify trends, diagnose issues and recommend targeted interventions to improve service, performance and culture
- Lead and support change programmes, organisational development initiatives, and organisational design reviews, including workforce planning and headcount management
- Manage complex employee relations casework, including high-volume absence, disciplinary and performance cases
- Work effectively within a unionised environment, supporting union relationship management and formal consultation processes
- Lead recruitment activity within service areas, including briefing, attraction, assessment, selection and candidate experience
- Drive wellbeing initiatives and delivery across allocated service areas
- Lead colleague engagement activity, including employee voice initiatives and follow-through actions
- Embed organisational values, behaviours and frameworks at an operational level
- Monitor and improve employee engagement and satisfaction, including closing the loop on engagement or happiness index actions
- Own and improve customer satisfaction from a people perspective, embedding a culture of customer excellence
- Support the rollout of People/HR initiatives at service level, particularly across engagement, leadership and customer excellence
- Collaborate with the wider People team to ensure consistent and high-quality delivery of HR services
- Embed within the business to understand operational challenges and deliver practical, commercially focused solutions
About You
We are looking for a confident, credible HR professional who can quickly build trust and deliver impact.
Essential:
- Proven experience as an HR Business Partner / Senior HR Generalist
- Strong background in unionised environments
- Experience delivering change programmes
- Ability to manage a high volume of ER cases, particularly absence management
- Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and gain buy-in
- Hands-on, pragmatic approach
Desirable:
- Experience within housing, manufacturing, or similar operational sectors
- Experience in organisations undergoing transformation or growth
- CIPD qualification (or equivalent)
