People Business Partner

onlyFE; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

The Sheffield College is seeking a People Business Partner on a fixed-term maternity cover until 31/03/2028. You will work with the College Management Team and Director of People Experience and Operations to diagnose opportunities, drive performance and engagement across the college.

You will design and deliver people solutions, embed the Strategic and Operational People agenda, and address all relevant people matters in line with good practice, compliance and legal requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience providing HR advisory support to senior management.
• Ability to interpret and apply employment law and GDPR requirements.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Knowledge of HR policies, procedures and best practice.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality HR advisory services to the College management team.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders to support business and People strategies.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation, GDPR, and statutory requirements.
• Maintain effective internal communications across the College to deliver the People Experience service.
• Provide guidance on employee relations cases including disciplinary, grievance and performance issues.
• Develop and maintain HR policies and processes to support the People Strategy.
• Support safeguarding and promote staff, student and visitor welfare.
• Contribute to delivering the People agenda in line with business aims.

Skills

HR advisory

Stakeholder management

Employee relations

Policy knowledge

Compliance

Tools

HRIS

Job description

About Us

The Sheffield College is a thriving further and higher education community, empowering around 13,000 learners each year to achieve their goals. Driven by our mission to transform lives through learning, we foster an inclusive environment, recognised through our 2026 Investors in Diversity Gold award and 3rd - place ranking in the National Centre for Diversity's 2025 Top 100 Most Inclusive UK Employers.

The Sheffield College is a thriving further and higher education community, empowering around 13,000 learners each year to achieve their goals. Driven by our mission to transform lives through learning, we foster an inclusive environment, recognised through our 2026 Investors in Diversity Gold award and 3rd - place ranking in the National Centre for Diversity's 2025 Top 100 Most Inclusive UK Employers.

About The Role

This role is a fixed term maternity cover role until 31/03/2028.

As a People Business Partner, you will be responsible for working proactively & strategically with the College Management Team and Director of People Experience and Operations to diagnose opportunities, to drive business performance and engagement across the college.

You will be required to work in partnership to design and deliver outstanding people solutions for the College. You will support the College to implement and embed the Strategic and Operational People agenda focused on business aims and capability requirements. You will provide expertise to address all relevant people matters in accordance with good practice, internal compliance and legal requirements.

Main Responsibilities

• Assist the Director of People Experience and Operations in delivering a high quality and professional People advisory service, meeting the needs of the business and contributing to the strategy plan.
• Develop effective working relationships with key stakeholders whilst influencing, challenging and developing in support of the achievement of the business and People strategies, whilst also providing solutions.
• Assist the Director of People Experience and Operations, to ensure full compliance with employment legislation, GDPR and other legislation, regulations and statutory requirements, in line with regulated bodies.
• Maintain effective communication with colleagues throughout the College, to ensure an excellent and consistent People Experience service provision.
• Work collaboratively, and performance manage your designated areas.
• Develop and maintain extensive knowledge of HR trends and changes in policy that are affecting people at work and make recommendations to the Director of People Experience and Operations.
• Oversee and provide detailed advice on employee relations activity (Grievance, Disciplinary, Absence Management, and Performance Management) including case management for your business area.
• Continuous development of appropriate People policies, procedures and process and provide the toolkit managers need to deliver the People Strategy.
• Manage Safeguarding and promote the safety and welfare of staff, students and visitors within a safe and respectful work and learning environment.
• Carry out any other such duties as may reasonably be required by the Head of People Experience and the senior Team.

If you want to find out more about the role please contact Marina Fraser-Ryan, Director of People Services, [e-mail]

What we can offer you

As the successful candidate, you will be offered a salary of between £41,561 - £48,529 per annum based upon a combination of the skills, knowledge and experience that you can bring to the role.

Alongside your salary, your pension is one of the most valuable benefits of joining the College. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), administered locally by SYPA, provides financial security in retirement and support for your loved ones.

Our Full Benefits Package

• SYPA – with a generous employer contribution
• Annual leave -30 Days (222 hours)+ 8 Bank Holidays(59.2 hours)-this includesa discretionary Christmas closure period
• Health and wellbeing support , including:
• Employee assistance programme through Bupa
• Occupational Health through PAM
• Free eye tests for VDU users
• Free parking is available at the majority of our campuses
• Hybrid and flexible working opportunities
• Continuous professional development opportunities
• A people - focused working culture where you can grow and thrive

Further informationcan be foundon our Benefits and Career Development pages.

Disability Confident

We are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to removing barriers for applicants with a disability during our recruitment process, upon appointment and as an employee. Please review our Recruitment Guidelines for Disabled Candidates which provides further information on reasonable adjustments and how the Disability Confident scheme works in practice. If you require any reasonable adjustments or any support at any point throughout the process, please contact [e-mail]

Armed Forces Covenant

As part of our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant, we're pledged to support the Armed Forces Community. Recognising the value Personnel, Veterans and military families contribute to our community and country.

Safeguarding

We are an employer who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students. Successful applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS check and will be subject to safer recruiting procedures. Further details on our safer recruiting procedures, including the employment of ex-offenders can be found here Safeguarding

As a Leader in Diversity employer, we encourage applications from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.

Closing date:

11 October 2026

Please be aware – If we have a high number of applications, we may decide to close the vacancy earlier.