HR Business Partner

Demelza Hospice; Keycol; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 45,000; Part time

Job summary

Demelza Hospice seeks an experienced HR Business Partner for a temporary role in Kent. You will lead complex employee relations, support organisational change, and advise senior leaders to ensure compliant, effective HR practices across the charity.

The role requires coaching managers, strong employment law knowledge and collaborative partnership with the HR team. Travel across the region with a valid driving licence is expected.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience managing complex employee relations cases.
• Significant experience leading HR aspects of organisational change (restructuring/redundancies).
• Strong up-to-date employment law knowledge and best practice.
• CIPD Level 5 or equivalent qualification demonstrable knowledge and experience.
• Experience coaching and challenging managers to strengthen people-management capability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Pragmatic, solutions-focused approach for sensitive employee matters.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality HR support across the organisation.
• Lead on complex employee relations cases (absence, performance, capability, disciplinary, grievance).
• Support organisational change with consultation, redeployment and related matters.
• Partner with managers and senior leaders to ensure fair, legal and effective processes.
• Help develop organisation-wide HR policies, wellbeing and workforce strategies.

Skills

Employee relations

Organisational change

Employment law

Coaching managers

Written & verbal comms

Solutions-focused approach

Education

CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent)

Job description

HR Business Partner

Application Deadline: 16 October 2026

Department: Human Resources (HR)

Employment Type: Temporary

Location: Demelza Kent

Reporting To: Head of HR

Compensation: £40,750 / year

Description

We’re looking for an experienced and confident HR Business Partner to join us on a temporary basis for up to 12 months, providing high-quality, pragmatic HR support across the organisation.

This is a hands-on role where you’ll work closely with managers and senior leaders, providing advice, coaching and challenge across a broad range of people matters. You’ll take the lead on complex employee relations cases, including absence, performance, capability, disciplinary and grievance matters, ensuring our approach is fair, consistent and legally compliant.

A key part of the role will also be supporting organisational change, partnering with managers and senior leaders through restructures and redundancies and providing specialist advice on consultation, redeployment and associated employee matters. You’ll help ensure consultation processes are meaningful, transparent and well managed, while identifying and mitigating people risks.

What you’ll bring

• Extensive experience of managing complex employee relations cases.
• Significant experience of supporting and leading the HR aspects of organisational change, including restructures and redundancies.
• Strong, up-to-date employment law and HR best-practice knowledge.
• CIPD Level 5 or equivalent demonstrable knowledge and experience.
• Experience of coaching and constructively challenging managers to strengthen people-management capability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• A pragmatic, solutions-focused approach, with the resilience to manage sensitive and complex employee matters calmly and effectively.

Previous experience within the charity or knowledge of voluntary organisations, or experience of designing and delivering training would be an advantage, but isn’t essential.

The role works collaboratively with the wider HR team and will also contribute to organisation-wide HR policies and procedures, wellbeing, diversity and workforce strategies, training solutions, reporting and opportunities to improve and digitise HR processes.

As the role requires regular travel across our operating region, you’ll need a full driving licence and access to your own vehicle for business use, or reliable alternative transport arrangements.

Demelza greatly values the benefits of a diverse team and embraces diversity, equality, and inclusion in all areas of its work. We are committed to building a diverse and authentic workplace, ensuring that our team reflects the diversity of the children and families we support. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds.

Employee Recruitment Privacy Notice

As part of our commitment to safer recruitment, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at a level relevant to the role.

Demelza is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

Demelza is an equal opportunities employer. Registered Charity No. 1039651.