2188 - People Partner

Harrow College; Uxbridge; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Wellbeing platform

Staff discounts

Employee assistance programme

Free car parking

Job summary

Harrow College invites applications for a People Partner in its People and Organisational Development team. Based at Uxbridge/Hayes, the role focuses on workforce planning, organisational change and people performance across campuses.

You will partner with senior leaders, provide expert advice on employment law, manage complex employee relations, and develop People Advisors to deliver consistently high-quality staff support.

Qualifications

• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent HR experience.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law.
• Experience partnering with senior and operational leaders.
• Ability to use workforce data to shape priorities.
• Proven leadership and people-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Advise leaders on workforce planning and organisational change.
• Handle complex employee relations matters with sound judgement.
• Use data to identify risks and plan staffing needs.
• Lead and develop People Advisors for consistent support.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition on recruitment and campaigns.

Skills

HR generalist

Employee relations

Stakeholder management

Workforce planning

Data analysis

Communication

Education

CIPD Level 5

HR qualification

Job description

View All Vacancies

People Partner

People and Organisational Development

Location: Uxbridge/Hayes

Salary: £54,893 per annum including London Weighting

Post Type: Full Time

Release Date: Wednesday 09 September 2026

Closing Date: Sunday 20 September 2026

Interview Date: See advert

Reference: 2188

HRUC is one of the largest further education colleges in England and one of London’s best-performing college groups. Across five campuses, we support more than 16,000 learners through high-quality courses, apprenticeships and programmes that enable them to achieve their ambitions and build successful futures.

This is an opportunity to join HRUC at an important stage in our development and make a visible difference across a large, ambitious and diverse college group. We are seeking an experienced People Partner who can combine sound professional judgement with a practical, solutions-focused approach, helping leaders turn people priorities into positive outcomes for staff and learners.

Working with senior and operational leaders across an allocated portfolio, you will act as a trusted partner on workforce planning, organisational change, people performance and complex employee relations. This is broader than a case-management role: you will use insight, influence and constructive challenge to strengthen management capability, anticipate workforce needs and support a high-performance, inclusive culture. You will also lead and develop People Advisors, ensuring managers receive consistent, responsive and high-quality support.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Building credible relationships with Principals, Heads of School and other leaders, understanding their priorities and translating them into practical people plans
• Providing expert advice and constructive challenge on complex employee relations matters, organisational change and the application of employment law and HRUC policy
• Using workforce data and trends to identify risks, skills gaps and future staffing requirements, and developing evidence-based plans in response
• Working with Talent Acquisition colleagues to anticipate recruitment needs and develop proactive campaigns for critical and hard-to-fill roles
• Supporting succession planning, talent management, staff engagement, equality and diversity, and other cross-college People & OD priorities
• Leading and developing People Advisors and helping managers build the confidence and capability to manage people matters effectively

We are looking for a credible, confident and delivery-focused People professional who can demonstrate:

• A CIPD Level 5 qualification, or equivalent relevant experience, together with substantial and current HR generalist experience
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and a successful track record of handling complex employee relations matters with sound judgement and appropriate pace
• Experience of partnering with and influencing senior and operational leaders in a complex organisation, balancing professional challenge with pragmatic solutions
• The ability to work both strategically and operationally, using workforce data and organisational insight to shape priorities and deliver measurable improvements
• Strong leadership, communication and organisational skills, with experience of developing colleagues and managing competing priorities under pressure

Experience in education or a similarly complex, unionised or regulated environment would be an advantage, but it is not essential. More important is your ability to build trust quickly, navigate complexity and deliver a high-quality service while keeping the organisation’s wider purpose in view.

You will be joining a supportive and inclusive organisation, with opportunities for professional development and growth. We offer a generous annual leave allowance, additional college closure days, the Local Government Pension Scheme, a wellness platform, staff discounts, an employee assistance programme and free car parking on all sites.

HRUC operates across campuses in Harrow, Richmond and Uxbridge. The postholder will be required to work across all College campuses and to travel to partner organisations and external stakeholders as required (base as per contract of offer). Hybrid working can be considered by agreement; however, the majority of working time is expected to be on College sites.

HRUC is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults, and we expect all staff to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and other necessary pre-employment checks.

We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

The closing date may be brought forward if we receive a sufficient field of applications. We therefore encourage early applications.

Interviews: Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October 2026

Equal Opportunities

HRUC is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage applications from all people, irrespective of disability, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, transsexual or gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership, religion/faith or pregnancy and maternity leave.

Disclosure and Barring Service checks

HRUC (Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people and vulnerable adults, and we expect all staff to share this commitment. To ensure that we meet our safeguarding commitments we will carry out all necessary pre-employment checks, including undertaking an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring check for all successful candidates.

Where references are taken up by the College, it is our policy not to disclose references to candidates.

Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders

Harrow, Richmond and Uxbridge College (HRUC) is committed to the fair treatment of all applicants, employees, learners, and volunteers, including those with criminal records. We actively promote equality of opportunity and welcome applications from a wide range of candidates, including ex-offenders. Our approach is in line with all relevant and current safeguarding and equality legislation.