Head of People Partnering

Endava; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary package

Share plan

Performance bonuses

Career development opportunities

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Endava is seeking a senior Manager People Partnering to blend senior business partnering with leadership responsibility for part of the People Partner team. You will work directly with executives, lead colleagues, and deliver complex People initiatives across an international organisation.

You will advise on organisation, talent and workforce decisions, lead restructurings and integration projects, and ensure practical, high-impact partnership to the business while remaining close to delivery.

Qualifications

• Significant experience as a Senior HR Business Partner or Senior People Partner in a complex international organisation.
• Experience partnering directly with executives and senior leadership teams.
• Experience leading M&A and integration activities with practical outcomes.
• Hands-on delivery of restructures, redundancies or workforce transformations across jurisdictions.
• Strong knowledge of employment law and employee relations across multiple regions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop part of the People Partner team, setting priorities and ensuring high-quality delivery.
• Advise executives on organisation design, workforce planning and talent decisions.
• Translate business priorities into practical People actions and governance.
• Drive complex change projects and M&A activities from due diligence to integration.
• Act as escalation and sparring partner for difficult People matters across regions.

Skills

Executive partnering

Change management

M&A integration

People data analysis

Leadership coaching

Education

HR qualification

Degree in HR or Business

Job description

Technology is our how. And people are our why. For over two decades, we have been harnessing technology to drive meaningful change.

By combining world-class engineering, industry expertise and a people-centric mindset, we consult and partner with leading brands from various industries to create dynamic platforms and intelligent digital experiences that drive innovation and transform businesses.
From prototype to real-world impact - be part of a global shift by doing work that matters.

Job Description

Shape the people agenda behind meaningful transformation — while staying close to the work.
As a Manager People Partnering, you will combine senior business partnering with leadership responsibility for part of our People Partner team. You will partner directly with executives and senior leaders, lead colleagues and priorities within the People Partner community, and personally deliver complex People initiatives across an international organisation.

The opportunity

This is a senior, hands‑on role at the intersection of business, people and transformation. You will lead part of the People Partner team, coaching and supporting colleagues, coordinating priorities and helping ensure we provide consistent, commercially relevant and high-impact partnership to the business.

At the same time, you will be the dedicated People Partner for an assigned business group, working directly with executives and senior leadership teams. You will advise on organisation, talent and workforce decisions and personally lead complex People activities — from restructurings and employee relations cases to M&A integration and organisational change.

This is not a role where leadership means stepping away from delivery. You will be comfortable moving from an executive discussion into the practical detail required to make decisions happen.

• Lead and contribute to the People Partner team
• Lead, coach and develop part of the People Partner team, creating clarity around priorities and supporting high-quality delivery.
• Coordinate capacity, priorities and cross-functional activities within your area, working closely with other People Partner leaders and regional teams.
• Act as an escalation and sparring partner for complex People matters, helping colleagues navigate difficult business, employee and organisational situations.
• Contribute to the continued development of the People Partner model, sharing practical tools, experience and best practice across the wider team.
• Support the People Partner Learning Academy and help strengthen the capability and consistency of People Partners across the organisation.

Partner with executives and senior leaders

• Own the People agenda for an assigned business group, acting as a trusted adviser to executives, senior leaders and their leadership teams.
• Build a strong understanding of the business, its commercial priorities and organisational challenges and translate these into practical People priorities.
• Use people data, business insight and judgement to advise on organisation design, workforce planning, talent, succession, performance, engagement and leadership capability.
• Challenge constructively when required and turn leadership decisions into clear actions and tangible outcomes.
• Move comfortably between strategic discussions and hands‑on execution.

Lead complex change and M&A

Personally lead People workstreams for restructurings, reorganisations, workforce changes, acquisitions and post-merger integration.

Bring practical M&A experience across areas such as due diligence, employee transfer, consultation, people risk, organisation design, communications and integration planning.

Translate integration strategy into practical delivery. This might mean reviewing compensation and benefits across an acquired organisation and developing a benefits harmonisation approach, identifying employee and cost impacts, coordinating stakeholders and managing implementation.

Lead restructuring and redundancy programmes across multiple jurisdictions, working through impacted populations, local legal requirements, consultation processes, timelines, documentation, communications and manager preparation.

Coordinate stakeholders across People, Legal, Finance, Reward, leadership teams and local experts, while remaining personally accountable for driving the work forward.

Employment law, employee relations and risk

• Provide pragmatic guidance and personally handle complex employee relations matters including performance, capability, disciplinary, grievance, absence, redundancy, consultation and senior employee exits.
• Apply strong working knowledge of employment law and employee relations across multiple jurisdictions, partnering with Legal and local specialists where appropriate.
• Work effectively with employee representatives, works councils and unions where applicable, including complex consultations and negotiations.
• Balance business objectives, employee experience and legal risk and give leaders clear options and recommendations rather than purely procedural advice.

Organisation development and culture

• Help leaders build organisations that are clear, capable and ready for what comes next.
• Bring practical organisational development expertise to organisation design, organisational effectiveness, culture, leadership capability, engagement and change adoption.
• Support leaders through organisation design and workforce decisions, including roles, structures, spans and layers, capabilities and talent implications.
• Connect People interventions to business outcomes and ensure agreed actions move from discussion into implementation.

Qualifications

What you will bring

Significant experience as a Senior HR Business Partner, Senior People Partner or comparable role in a complex, international organisation, including experience partnering directly with executives and senior leadership teams.

Experience leading, coaching or managing HR Business Partners or People Partners, combined with a strong desire to remain actively involved in day-to-day business partnering and delivery.

A track record of personally leading M&A and integration activities, including practical experience with areas such as due diligence, benefits or policy harmonisation, employee transfer, consultation, organisation design, communications or post-merger integration.

Hands‑on experience delivering restructures, redundancies or workforce transformation across multiple jurisdictions, including the practical implementation required to take a programme from decision through consultation to completion.

Strong, practical knowledge of employment law and employee relations across more than one jurisdiction.

Experience handling complex and sensitive senior employee matters with sound judgement and discretion.

Strong capability in organisation development, organisation design, talent, change management and leadership development.

The credibility to influence executives combined with the willingness to stay close to the detail and personally solve problems when required.

A commercially minded and data-informed approach, connecting People decisions to business outcomes and explaining clearly the rationale behind recommendations.

Excellent judgement, emotional intelligence and communication skills, with the ability to manage ambiguity and competing priorities across distributed international teams.

Excellent spoken and written English.

A relevant degree, HR qualification or equivalent professional experience is preferred.

Additional Information

Discover some of the global benefits that empower our people to become the best version of themselves:

• Finance: Competitive salary package, share plan, company performance bonuses, value‑based recognition awards, referral bonus;
• Career Development: Career coaching, global career opportunities, non‑linear career paths, internal development programmes for management and technical leadership;
• Learning Opportunities: Complex projects, rotations, internal tech communities, training, certifications, coaching, online learning platforms subscriptions, pass‑it‑on sessions, workshops, conferences;
• Work-Life Balance: Hybrid work and flexible working hours, employee assistance programme;
• Health: Global internal wellbeing programme, access to wellbeing apps;
• Community: Global internal tech communities, hobby clubs and interest groups, inclusion and diversity programmes, events and celebrations.

At Endava, we’re committed to creating an open, inclusive, and respectful environment where everyone feels safe, valued, and empowered to be their best. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives—because we know that inclusive teams help us deliver smarter, more innovative solutions for our customers. Hiring decisions are based on merit, skills, qualifications, and potential. If you need adjustments or support during the recruitment process, please let us know.