People Business Partner

ITV plc; Hounslow; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

ITV plc’s People Team is seeking an experienced People Business Partner for a 12-month fixed-term contract. You will partner with leaders across an assigned client group, balancing proactive HR strategies with reactive support while enabling managers to develop capability and ownership of people outcomes.

You will drive OD activities, manage employee relations and risk compliance, and use data to influence decisions.

Qualifications

• Significant HR generalist experience delivering operational HR in a fast-paced matrix environment.
• Proactive HR partnering to leaders, diagnosing organisational challenges and spotting opportunities.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience with an HR operating model using Centres of Excellence.
• Ability to navigate organisational complexity and matrix structures.
• Minimum Level 5 CIPD qualification or equivalent evidence of HR capability.
• Experience leading or managing colleagues and fostering a high-performance culture.

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted advisor to leaders and managers to drive high-performance culture.
• Deliver and support Organisational Design, restructures, and people interventions.
• Guide line managers through ER matters including sickness, stress risk, and capability issues.
• Ensure policy compliance and manage operational risk and statutory requirements.
• Own People data and analytics, providing insights to inform decisions.
• Support D&I initiatives and collaborate with Centres of Excellence to improve HR services.

Skills

HR generalist experience

HR partnering to leaders

UK employment law

HR operating model

Centres of Excellence

matrix structures

Stakeholder management

Data literacy

Microsoft Office / Google Workspace

Education

Level 5 CIPD (desirable)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Workspace

Job description

The team..

The People Team within Media & Entertainment (M&E) operates at the heart of ITV’s creative and commercial engine. We partner closely with leaders and managers to deliver strategic people plans that align with our \"More than TV\" and overall People Strategies. Working alongside our specialised Centres of Excellence—we provide a seamless, high-quality, and comprehensive HR service that makes ITV a fantastic place to work.

The role..

We’re looking for an experienced People Business Partner to join our team on a 12-month fixed-term contract basis. Reporting directly to a Head of People, you will act as a trusted business partner to leaders and managers within an assigned client group while maintaining cross-divisional flexibility to support changing business requirements as needed.

In this role, you will balance proactive business partnering with comprehensive, reactive HR solutions. You will empower managers to take ownership, drive line management capability, deliver organisational design (OD) where required, manage employee relations and risk compliance, and leverage People data to influence decision making.

Some of your key day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Acting as a critical and trusted advisor to leaders and managers, driving a high-performance culture and line management capability.
• Delivering and supporting Organisational Design (OD), restructures, and people interventions.
• Guiding line managers through complex ER matters, including long and short-term sickness, stress risk assessments, Occupational Health referrals, capability, performance, and probation management.
• Overseeing policy compliance and operational risk, ensuring statutory legal requirements and internal policies (e.g., Contracting & Compliance) are embedded.
• Taking accountability for People data and analytics, providing reporting insights to stakeholders to drive informed business decisions.
• Supporting the implementation of D&I strategies relevant to your business area to foster a culture of inclusion.
• Partnering with Centres of Excellence to continuously improve HR services, toolkits, and processes.

Skills You’ll Need (minimum criteria)

• Significant HR generalist experience delivering operational HR within a fast-paced, complex matrix environment.
• Proven experience providing proactive HR partnering to leaders, diagnosing organisational challenges, and identifying strategic opportunities.
• Strong knowledge and practical application of UK employment law, trade union relations, and HR best practice initiatives.
• Experience working within an HR operating model utilising Centres of Excellence.
• Proven track record of navigating organisational complexity and matrix structures.
• Minimum Level 5 CIPD qualified (desirable) or equivalent demonstrable evidence of strong HR technical capability.
• Experience managing colleagues or direct reports and creating a high-performance culture.

Other Things We’re Looking For (key criteria)

• Excellent stakeholder management with personal presence, confidence to challenge status quo, and ability to adapt communication style to diverse audiences.
• Commercial awareness and curiosity about the broader business, combined with a proactive \"can-do\" approach.
• Action-oriented, resilient, and comfortable operating with a high degree of ambiguity and under pressure.
• A genuine commitment to people development, personal growth, and continuous process improvement.
• Solid numerical skills, data literacy, and proficiency across Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.

Potential Challenges

• Some travel within the UK to various ITV office locations may be required.
• Requires operational flexibility to adjust approaches and support cross-divisional initiatives as priorities evolve.