HR Business Partner (Remote Working) - Residential

Lifeway’s Group; England; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Lifeways Group is seeking an experienced HR Business Partner to lead the national people agenda for our Residential division. This remote, England-wide role partners with senior leaders and operational teams, owning employee relations, culture, and change initiatives across multiple sites.

You will drive talent development, workforce planning, engagement and performance management, balancing strategic oversight with hands-on guidance.

Qualifications

• Strong HR Business Partnering experience with credibility to influence senior stakeholders.
• Exceptional employee relations expertise including investigations and sensitive matters.
• Experience navigating cultural challenges and driving change.
• Ability to win hearts and minds and build trust with leaders.
• Commercial acumen with ability to connect people initiatives to business outcomes.
• Confidence in challenging conversations while upholding fairness and values.
• People-focused, collaborative approach to develop management capability.
• Sound understanding of employment law including TUPE.
• Ability to prioritise, work autonomously and deliver across a dispersed workforce.
• CIPD Level 5 qualification is essential, with driving licence and travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex employee relations cases, investigations, and high-risk matters.
• Partner with senior leaders and operational management across a national Residential division.
• Drive talent development, workforce planning, employee engagement, and performance management.

Skills

HRBP experience

ER expertise

Change management

Leadership coaching

Commercial acumen

Employment law

TUPE

Decision making

People development

Stakeholder management

Driving licence

Education

CIPD Level 5

Job description

HR Business Partner – Residential Division

Position Type: Full Time / 37.5 hours per week – Permanent

Location: Remote working – National role supporting our Residential division across England.

Are you an experienced HR Business Partner who thrives on a challenge and knows how to bring people with you?

Would you like to join an award-winning HR team, take ownership of a national people agenda and play a key role in shaping the culture of a growing organisation?

At Lifeways, we're on an exciting journey of growth and transformation, and this is a fantastic opportunity to join us at a pivotal time. We're recruiting to this position following an internal move, reflecting the development opportunities available within our team. You'll also benefit from a comprehensive handover from our existing HR Business Partner, who remains within the business, giving you a strong introduction to the division, its people and its priorities.

The role

Our aim is to make working at Lifeways Group a great experience. Our HR colleagues play a vital role in helping our people and organisation succeed by working in partnership to create a positive, person-centred culture that supports our vision and ambitions.

Reporting to our Head of HR, you'll partner closely with senior leaders and operational management teams across our national Residential division, which currently supports approximately 500 individuals across services in England. You'll take ownership of the people agenda, helping translate our wider people strategy into meaningful action across a diverse, multi-site environment.

This is a hands-on, influential role for an experienced HR Business Partner who is confident navigating complex people challenges, influencing leadership teams and driving meaningful cultural change. You'll need to be comfortable stepping into challenging situations, addressing behaviours that fall short of our expectations and helping leaders understand where change is needed. Just as importantly, you'll know how to bring people with you, building trust and winning hearts and minds to create lasting improvements.

Employee relations will be a significant part of your role, particularly complex cases, investigations and high-risk people matters. You'll need the experience and judgement to manage sensitive situations confidently, recognise when matters require decisive action and ensure that our approach remains fair, consistent and aligned with our values. You'll also play an important role in addressing wider cultural challenges, strengthening management capability and embedding the right standards and behaviours across our services.

We operate a tiered HR model, with our HR Advisors managing day-to-day transactional employee relations, allowing you to focus on more complex cases and strategic people priorities while supporting managers to develop their confidence and capability.

We're looking for someone who can balance challenge with collaboration. You'll be confident holding leaders accountable, constructively challenging decisions and setting clear expectations when necessary, while building the relationships needed to influence change. This isn't about simply managing individual cases; it's about understanding the bigger picture, identifying underlying issues and helping create an environment where people can thrive and our services can deliver their best.

Alongside employee relations, you'll work in partnership with operational leaders to drive key people priorities, including talent development, workforce planning, employee engagement, performance management, organisational effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, and change management. You'll bring commercial awareness and a strong understanding of operational environments, helping leaders make informed decisions that support both our colleagues and the people we support.

This is a national, home-based role that will involve regular travel to services across England, as well as monthly team meetings held in different locations. You'll need to be comfortable managing your own diary, balancing home working with time spent in services, supporting managers, meeting colleagues and building strong relationships across the division. While the role is national, we're particularly interested in candidates based in the North West, where there's an established support network to help you settle into the role.

The ideal candidate will have the following knowledge, skills and experience

• Strong HR Business Partnering experience, with the confidence and credibility to influence senior stakeholders, challenge constructively and drive the people agenda across a large, multi-site operational environment.

• Exceptional employee relations expertise, including experience managing complex investigations, high-risk cases and sensitive people matters, with the judgement to know when decisive action is needed.

• Experience navigating cultural challenges and driving change, with the ability to address established behaviours, challenge practices that aren't working and help leaders create a more positive and accountable working environment.

• The ability to win hearts and minds, building trust and credibility with leaders and colleagues while bringing people with you through difficult conversations and periods of change.

• Commercial acumen, with an understanding of operational challenges and the ability to connect people initiatives to business outcomes, using insight and experience to influence decision-making.

• Confidence in challenging conversations, remaining resilient, pragmatic and solutions-focused when dealing with difficult situations, while ensuring decisions are fair, consistent and aligned with our values.

• A people-focused and collaborative approach, with the ability to develop management capability, strengthen leadership effectiveness and build positive relationships at all levels.

• A sound understanding of employment law, including employee relations procedures, disability, diversity and equal opportunities, alongside experience of change management and TUPE.

• The ability to prioritise and deliver results, working autonomously and effectively across a geographically dispersed workforce, managing competing priorities and responding to changing business needs.

• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent.

• A full driving licence and access to your own vehicle, as regular travel to services and team meetings across England will be required.

Experience in health and social care isn't essential. We welcome applications from experienced HR professionals from a range of sectors, particularly retail, warehousing, logistics or other large, operational, multi-site environments. These settings can provide valuable experience of managing complex employee relations, working closely with operational leaders and driving consistency across geographically dispersed teams.

Experience within the care sector would also be beneficial, particularly for someone who understands the importance of creating a positive workplace culture in services supporting people with complex needs.

Above all, we're looking for someone with the right experience and character: someone who is resilient, commercially minded and confident in their own judgement, but who understands that lasting change comes from building relationships, earning trust and bringing people along with them.

Why join Lifeways?

You'll be joining an award-winning HR team that has continued to grow, develop and strengthen its impact across the organisation. We've made significant progress on our journey so far, and we're focused on building on that momentum as Lifeways continues to evolve and grow.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a national people agenda, work closely with senior operational leaders and make a tangible difference to the culture and effectiveness of our Residential division. You'll have the scope to influence how we work, challenge existing practices and help shape a positive environment for colleagues and the people we support.

You'll also benefit from the support of an established HR team and a structured introduction to the division, including a handover from the current HR Business Partner. We understand the importance of setting people up for success, particularly when stepping into a complex environment, and you'll have colleagues around you to support your development and help you navigate the role.

At Lifeways, we're committed to developing our people, creating opportunities for progression and building an environment where colleagues feel supported, valued and able to make a difference.

If you're an experienced HR Business Partner who enjoys a challenge, is confident navigating complex employee relations and knows how to turn challenging situations into opportunities for positive change, we'd love to hear from you!

The Lifeways Group is an equal opportunities employer and is regulated by CQC in England, CIW in Wales and CI in Scotland.