HR Business Partner

The Talent World; Helensburgh; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance

Pension with life assurance

Digital GP access

Employee shopping portal

Payment of professional fees

Reservists leave

Holiday trading

Be Kind Day

Job summary

Babcock plc is seeking an HR Business Partner to shape people strategy across our Clyde sites within a national security context. This full‑time role blends strategic advisory with hands-on partnering to support leaders in defence, nuclear and engineering, while operating under hybrid arrangements.

You will lead workforce planning, change projects and organisational development, applying employment law to improve policies and drive data-driven decisions in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Experience partnering in a complex, fast-paced operational environment.
• Strong background in industrial relations, including working with trade unions with proven negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated experience leading and supporting change management initiatives.
• Experience delivering strategic people projects, such as talent attraction and management, engagement, reward and recognition, and workforce planning.
• Ability to build relationships quickly and provide pragmatic, solutions-focused HR support.

Responsibilities

• Build strong, proactive partnerships with leaders and managers across sites to support strategic and operational people priorities.
• Lead and sponsor complex HR and business change projects aligned to organisational strategies, including workforce planning, engagement, reward and recognition frameworks.
• Lead and sponsor organisational design and development activities to align with the site operating model and enable delivery of priorities.
• Apply up-to-date Employment Law knowledge to improve policy, process and ways of working.
• Own, analyse and present key People & Business data to support informed decision-making.

Skills

HR partnering

Industrial relations

Change management

Talent attraction

Employee engagement

Reward and recognition

Workforce planning

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Education

CIPD qualification

Job description

Job Title: HR Business Partner

Location: Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute + Hybrid Working Arrangements

Compensation: £45,000 - £58,000 Dependant on Experience + Bonus + Private Health Care

Role Type: Full time / Fixed Term Contract – 12 Months

Role ID: SF75395

Lead People Strategy That Shapes National Security

At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a HR Business Partner at our HMNB Clyde Faslane site.

The role

As a HR Business Partner, you’ll have a role that’s out of the ordinary. You’ll provide trusted strategic and operational people expertise that supports our mission across defence, nuclear and engineering. This is a role where your influence directly strengthens workforce capability, supports leaders in a fast‑paced strategic HR environment, and contributes to projects that underpin the UK's national security. You’ll play a key role in shaping people strategies, driving positive change, and building strong relationships across the business - while growing your own leadership, stakeholder and organisational development skills.

Day‑to‑day You’ll Be Required To

• Build strong, proactive partnerships with leaders and managers — including site leadership, functional heads, project and programme managers, HR Centres of Expertise, and trade union representatives — to support strategic and operational people priorities.
• Lead and sponsor complex HR and business change projects aligned to wider organisational strategies inclusive of effective strategic workforce planning, engagement, talent, reward and recognition frameworks to optimise our colleague experience.
• Lead and sponsor organisational design and development activities to ensure aligned to site operating model & enable delivery of strategic priorities.
• Apply up‑to‑date Employment Law knowledge and best practice to improve policy, process and ways of working.
• Own, analyse and present key People & Business data to support informed, impactful and strategic decision‑making.

This role is full time, 36 hours per week Monday to Thursday, 07:15 – 16:45, with a minimum of two days on site and hybrid working arrangements available.

Essential Experience Of The HR Business Partner

• Experience partnering in a complex, fast‑paced operational environment.
• Strong background in industrial relations, including working effectively with trade unions with proven expertise in negotiation, consultation, and influencing stakeholders at all levels.
• Demonstrated experience in leading and supporting change management initiatives.
• Experience delivering key strategic people projects, such as talent attraction and management, colleague engagement, reward and recognition activities, and strategic workforce planning.
• Ability to build relationships quickly and provide pragmatic, solutions‑focused HR support.

Qualifications For The HR Business Partner

• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualification.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What We Offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. This Window opens February through to March annually.
• ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity

Babcock

We’re Babcock — a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we’re building a future that lasts — not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email [e-mail] with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 31/08/2026

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