People Business Partner

Transport for London; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Final salary pension scheme

Free travel on TfL network

75% Rail travel reimbursement

30 days annual leave + holidays (pro‑r

Hybrid working

Private healthcare discounted

Cycle-to-work programme

Discounted Eurostar travel

Job summary

Transport for London (TfL) seeks a Senior People Business Partner to help develop and deliver people plans across designated units. You will translate the TfL People Strategy into practical HR actions, lead on employee relations, coaching leaders, and drive change initiatives with a strong focus on inclusion and performance.

In a hybrid role, you will partner with senior managers to shape workforce planning, culture and leadership capability, while balancing business priorities with people

Qualifications

• Experience in employee relations business partnering in a large, complex, unionised organisation.
• Proven ability to manage change successfully.
• Experience applying commercial and strategic awareness to problem solving.
• Experience negotiating and consulting with stakeholders.
• Experience handling Trade Union challenges and relationships.

Responsibilities

• Partner with senior leaders to deliver priorities and HR BAU deliverables.
• Develop strong relationships with senior managers and coach leaders.
• Use business insights to influence decisions and assess risks/benefits.
• Support Employee Relations matters and trade union engagement.
• Lead HR projects and programmes as required by the Senior People Business Partner.
• Drive change programmes and evaluate outcomes.
• Ensure delivery of HR initiatives aligned to the TfL People Strategy.

Skills

Project management

Executive coaching

Strategic thinking

Advice to leaders

Data-driven insights

Lessons learned

Strong communication

Education

Higher level degree

Relevant professional qualification

Job description

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Position Type: FTC ( fixed term contract) opportunity until 1 October 2027 with permanency possible

Grade: Pay Band 3

Salary: Circa £58K depending on skills, knowledge and experience

Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4-week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

Job Overview

The Chief People Office plays a key role in shaping the colleague experience across Transport for London (TfL). By leading the organisation's people strategy and driving initiatives across workforce planning, organisational development, employee relations, inclusion and leadership capability, we help build a culture where people can thrive, grow and contribute to delivering TfL's long-term ambitions.

This role is accountable for supporting the Senior People Business Partner with the development and delivery of their designated business units and people plans, ensuring effective and timely implementation of HR initiatives in line with business priorities and the TfL People Strategy

It is also accountable for supporting the Senior People Business Partner with providing insight and recommending interventions to improve organisation effectiveness acting as a 'critical friend' to the business and supporting them with day-to-day activity whilst developing strong relationships utilising effective coaching/influencing skills.

Key Accountabilities

• Partner with senior leaders and colleagues (across the Chief People Office and in specialist areas) to deliver priorities and activities as part of their business units people plan and HR BAU deliverables
• Develop strong relationships with senior managers and drive business performance through effective coaching/influencing
• Use business insights to influence opinions, challenge leaders and colleagues by recommending interventions to improve organisation effectiveness as well as about the current risks or benefits of their decisions, actions and behaviours that affect the long-term reputation and performance of the organisation
• Support the Senior People Business Partner to work with the business on Employee Relations matters (including negotiation and consultation), build positive relationships with Trade Unions and employees, seeking support from Employee Relations Specialists as required
• Take the lead and work on HR projects / programmes as requested by the Senior People Business Partner ensuring the efficient delivery and evaluation
• Work with the business as a change expert to manage the efficient delivery and evaluation of change programmes, especially where related to people activities
• Ensure effective and timely implementation of HR initiatives in line with business priorities and the TfL People Strategy

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Skills

• Managing mid-level consulting projects and applying expertise to provide business advice to senior managers. Conducts analysis and identifies issues, recommending and implementing solutions to internal customer needs
• Can skilfully balance risks and innovations in trialling new ideas or translating insights into action
• Knows how to offer professional, up-to-date, sensible advice to leaders, managers, staff and peers and is regularly sought out to do so and also challenges conventional wisdom
• Coaching senior management and utilise subject experts for guidance in areas outside of own expertise
• Knows how to gather data from a variety of sources and provide effective insight and analysis to inform credible conclusions and influence business units and the people strategy
• Identify lessons learned and further improvements needed
• Communication skills - highly effective written and presentation skills at all levels

Knowledge

• How collective employee relations needs to be managed in a complex and highly unionised environment
• Knowledge of Trade Unions, their goals and internal structures and governance. Knowledge of Trade Union legislation
• Professionally qualified, e.g. higher level degree or equivalent (desirable)
• Knowledge of method of identifying root causes and provide interventions to enable achievement of business objectives and high performance
• Employment legislation and ACAS best practice and what the organisation needs to do to mitigate relevant risk

Experience

• Experience of performing an employee relations business partnering role in a large, complex and highly unionised organisation
• Demonstrated experience of successfully managing change
• Experience of applying commercial and strategic awareness to problem solving
• Experience of the negotiation and consultation process and can handle challenges with the ability to draft options and define the approach working with key stakeholders
• Experience of the consultation process and can actively pre-empt and prepare for Trade Union challenges

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and aim to reflect the diverse communities we serve. We believe that a diverse workforce enables us to deliver better services and outcomes. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people. As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we aim to offer an assessment or interview to candidates who apply via the scheme where the minimum essential criteria for skills, knowledge and experience has been met. In some circumstances, it may not be practical to offer an interview or assessment to every candidate who applies through the scheme and meet the minimum essential criteria; in these situations, we select candidates who best meet the minimum criteria for the job rather than interviewing all who meet them.

Across all recruitment activity, we recognise that selection methods may vary depending on the nature and scale of the campaign and will be applied fairly, consistently and proportionately in line with our Disability Confident commitments.

Application Process

AI can help, but over-reliance often makes applications sound generic and less personal. We want to get to know you - let your own voice and experiences come through in your application.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 18th November 2026 @ 23:59

Interviews will be held w/c 7th December 2026

All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory right‑to‑work checks. Candidates must be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK. At the present time TfL is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Vetting Process

At Transport for London, safety, trust and fairness sit at the heart of how we recruit. Our Vetting Charter ( https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/careers/our-vetting-process ) explains the checks we carry out before you join us, helping ensure we create a safe, inclusive and reliable network for everyone who depends on our services. We simply ask that the information you provide is honest and accurate so we can progress your application smoothly. If something doesn’t match or can’t be verified, we may not be able to move forward with your application, but we’ll always treat you with transparency, respect, and clear communication throughout.

In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the level of role but mostly include the below:

• Final salary pension scheme(with other options for a fixed-term contract)
• Free travel for you on the TfL network
• Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home
• 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays (pro-rata on a fixed-term contract)
• TfL is committed to work-life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow
• Private healthcare discounted scheme (optional)
• Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme
• Retail, health, leisure and travel offers
• Discounted Eurostar travel

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.