People Partner

AI Startups UK; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Computing is seeking a People Partner to join our People team and help us build the foundations we need for our next growth phase. You’ll partner with managers and leaders on performance, development, team effectiveness, and day-to-day people topics, turning priorities into practical solutions with autonomy and guidance.

You’ll work closely with the Head of Talent Experience to translate priorities into frameworks, policies and scalable processes, while taking ownership of projects and

Qualifications

• Experience as HRBP/People Partner or strong HR generalist background.
• Experience in scale-up or fast-changing tech environments.
• Experience working directly with managers on people matters.
• Solid foundations in performance, employee relations, talent and development.

Responsibilities

• Partner with managers and leaders on performance, development, team effectiveness and day-to-day people topics.
• Support performance and talent by giving feedback and guiding development decisions.
• Coach managers to lead their teams more effectively, including difficult conversations.
• Manage day-to-day employee relations and escalate complex issues as needed.
• Build and improve People practices across onboarding, performance, talent and engagement.
• Turn direction into delivery by turning plans into practical actions.

Skills

HR Business Partner

People Partner

HR generalist

Performance management

Employee relations

Talent development

Job description

Applied Computing was founded in 2023 to build Orbital, a physics-informed foundation model for energy operations. We’re live across oil and gas, refineries, and petrochemicals, working towards our mission: sustainable abundance for a growing planet.

The hydrocarbon industry keeps the world running. But its complexity has left operators tied to legacy systems, making critical decisions on less than 10% of available data. We built Orbital to change that. It’s a foundation model built specifically for energy that lets companies use AI at scale, harnessing all of their operational data and optimising in real time for any metric. Decisions get faster, operations get safer, and carbon intensity falls.

We’ve raised over $32 million, including one of the largest seed rounds for an AI company in the UK. We’re just getting started

The Role

We’re looking for a People Partner to join our People team and help us build the foundations we need for our next stage of growth. This isn’t a role where everything is already built. You’ll partner with managers and leaders on their teams and people challenges, while also getting involved in building and improving the People practices we need as we scale.

You’ll work closely with the Head of Talent Experience, who will set the overall People direction and priorities and frameworks. You’ll help turn those priorities into practical solutions, taking ownership of projects and pieces of work and making sure they work in practice. There will be a lot of autonomy. You’ll have support, context and guidance, but we’ll expect you to be comfortable taking something on, working through the detail and moving it forward without needing step‑by‑step direction.

You’ll also get broad exposure to what it takes to scale a company. This is a great opportunity for someone who already has solid HR foundations and wants to broaden their experience, learn quickly and take on increasing levels of ownership.

You don’t need to have done everything before. We’re looking for someone curious, pragmatic and comfortable figuring things out, who knows when to run with something and when to ask for support.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with managers and leaders. Support them across performance, development, team effectiveness, organisation changes and day‑to‑day people topics.
• Support performance and talent. Help managers set expectations, give good feedback, address performance concerns and make thoughtful decisions about development and progression.
• Coach managers. Help managers become more confident and effective at leading their teams, including navigating difficult conversations and situations.
• Support employee relations. Manage day‑to‑day employee relations matters, bringing in the Head of Talent Experience for more complex or sensitive situations.
• Build and improve People practices. Take ownership of defined projects and workstreams across areas such as onboarding, performance, talent, manager capability and engagement.
• Turn direction into delivery. Take an agreed outcome or approach and work out how to make it happen in practice, bringing ideas and recommendations rather than waiting for a detailed brief.
• Use data and feedback. Help us understand what’s happening across the organisation, identify themes and use those insights to improve how we work.
• Work across the People team. Partner closely with Talent Acquisition and People Operations to create a joined‑up employee experience.
• Get stuck in. We’re a small, growing company. You’ll be comfortable getting into the detail, writing the first draft, fixing something that isn’t working or picking up something that needs doing.

What Success Looks Like

• Managers trust you and come to you for support and advice on their teams.
• You’re able to manage People matters independently, while using good judgement about when to bring in the Head of Talent Experience.
• You take ownership of projects and pieces of work and move them forward without needing constant direction.
• You’re helping turn our People priorities into simple, practical things that work for managers and employees.
• You’re learning quickly, building your experience across different areas of People and becoming increasingly confident operating in a scaling organisation.
• And you’re helping us introduce the right amount of structure as we grow, without creating unnecessary process.

What We’re Looking For

• HR Business Partner, People Partner or strong HR generalist experience.
• Experience within a scale‑up or fast‑changing environment, within the tech industry.
• Experience working directly with managers on a range of people matters.
• Good foundations across areas such as performance, employee relations, talent and development.
• Some experience building or improving People processes, programmes or ways of working, rather than only operating established ones.
• Comfortable taking ownership and working autonomously, while knowing when to ask for support.
• Curious and keen to learn, with an interest in broadening your experience as the company scales.
• Practical and willing to get into the detail.
• Able to bring structure to something that isn’t fully defined without needing everything mapped out for you.
• Clear, thoughtful communicator with good judgement.
• Comfortable working in an environment where priorities and processes will continue to evolve.

Most importantly, you’re excited by the opportunity to learn through building. You’ll get exposure to a broad range of People work and the chance to take meaningful ownership, while working closely with an experienced People team as Applied Computing grow