People Business Partner

Eversheds Sutherland; Leeds; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Eversheds Sutherland is seeking two People Business Partners for a 12-month contract across Birmingham, Manchester, or Leeds. You will act as a strategic advisor to the Commercial Advisory or Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice groups, shaping talent, performance, rewards and organisational change.

You'll build relationships with Partners and senior stakeholders, deliver cyclical HR processes, and use data to drive People decisions.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a generalist HR business partner, preferably in professional services.
• Excellent commercial and financial acumen linking people decisions to business outcomes.
• Experience delivering core HR processes: performance management, promotions, salary reviews, talent planning.
• Ability to coach and build credibility with Partners and senior leadership.
• Collaborative approach and ability to build relationships across the wider People function.

Responsibilities

• Develop a clear understanding of your practice group and People priorities.
• Support talent and succession planning, development priorities and future talent pipelines.
• Deliver cyclical People activity including performance management, promotions and salary reviews.
• Support organisational change, considering People impact and business needs.
• Advise on complex employee relations matters with sound judgement and specialist collaboration.
• Use People data to identify trends and inform People decisions.
• Identify continuous improvement opportunities and contribute to People projects.

Skills

HR business partner

Stakeholder management

People data analysis

Coaching leadership

Commercial acumen

Job description

Team: People
Location: Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds
Duration: 12 month contract
We're looking for two People Business Partners to join our People team on a 12 month contract basis. In this role, you will act as a key strategic advisor to the Commercial Advisory or Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice groups.

What Success Looks Like

During this contract, you'll have the opportunity to:

• Build trusted relationships with Partners and senior stakeholders, providing commercially focussed People advice and support.
• Deliver key People priorities across talent, performance, reward and organisational change.
• Use People insight and data to support decision-making and shape high performing teams.

Who You'll Be Working With

You will be part of our People team, working closely with Practice and Product Group Heads to support their strategy and growth planning. There are two positions available, with the successful candidates reporting into one of two Senior People Business Partners.

What You'll Do

In this role, you will:

• Develop a clear understanding of your practice group and People priorities.
• Support talent and succession planning, identifying development priorities and strengthening future talent pipelines.
• Deliver key cyclical People activity, including performance management, promotions and salary reviews.
• Support organisational change, considering the impact on People, capability and business needs.
• Advise on complex employee relations matters, using sound judgement and collaborating with specialist colleagues where required.
• Use People data to identify trends and inform People decisions
• Identify continuous improvement opportunities and contribute to People projects.

What We're Looking For

• Extensive experience in a generalist HR business partner role, ideally in a professional services setting.
• Excellent commercial and financial acumen, with the ability to link people decisions to business outcomes.
• Experience of delivering core People cyclical processes, including performance management, promotions, salary review and talent planning.
• The ability to coach and build credibility at Partner and senior leadership level.
• A pragmatic and solutions-focussed approach, with the ability to balance strategic priorities with hands‑on delivery.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to build effective relationships across the wider People function.

What We Offer

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package designed to support you both professionally and personally, including:

• Flexible and hybrid working (typically 3 days in the office)
• Health and wellbeing support, including private medical insurance and critical illness cover
• Pension, insurance and financial wellbeing support
• Opportunities to contribute through pro bono and community initiatives
• Structured development, mentoring and learning opportunities

Inclusion

“Inclusive” is one of our core business values and we believe the most effective teams are shaped by a diversity of backgrounds and lived experiences. We’re committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process, ensuring that everyone can perform at their best. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in building an inclusive firm. Our approach has been recognised externally, including being named ESG Firm of the Year at the Legal 500 UK ESG Awards and receiving DE&I: Law Firm Initiative of the Year for our Eversheds Sutherland Unlocked programme. In addition, we’ve been recognised in the Stonewall Top 100 Employers list with Gold‑level accreditation for LGBTQ+ inclusion. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to attracting, recruiting and retaining disabled talent, and to creating an environment where everyone can thrive. If you require any adjustments to enable you to participate fully in the recruitment process, such as additional time or support with assistive technology, or would like to discuss flexible working arrangements, please let us know.