People Partner

RJA-Consulting; Warrington; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

RJA-Consulting in Warrington is seeking a People Partner to own HR support for a defined area, lead a small HR team and partner with operational managers on people decisions.

The role involves hands-on HR, complex employee relations, absence management and driving improvements. You’ll shape processes, challenge approaches and help the team move the HR function forward.

Qualifications

• Strong grounding in HR and employee relations.
• Ability to handle difficult situations and know when to seek support.
• Coached or developed colleagues and taken accountability for a team.
• Built relationships with managers while challenging them.
• Identified problems and driven practical improvements.
• Used HR data to recommend actions.
• Managed competing priorities without compromising quality.
• Experience in multi-site environments is useful.

Responsibilities

• Leading and developing a Small HR team.
• Building relationships with operational managers to navigate people decisions.
• Providing guidance on complex ER matters and leading sensitive cases.
• Using absence and case data to identify recurring issues and drive improvements.
• Keeping workloads and case quality on track.
• Supporting organisational change.
• Working with the HR Manager to improve processes and the employee experience.

Skills

Leadership

Employee relations

Absence management

Data analytics

Change management

Workload management

People management

Education

CIPD Level 7

Senior HR experience

Job description

Warrington | Primarily office-based, with travel

Ready to move beyond advising and start shaping how HR works?

You’ve built your confidence in employee relations. Managers trust your advice, colleagues come to you for guidance, and you can see where things could work better. Now you want the responsibility to do something about it.

We’re recruiting a People Partner for a large people-centric organisation. This could suit an experienced Senior HR Advisor ready to step into broader leadership, or an HR Manager looking to bring their experience into a larger organisation.

The opportunity

You’ll take ownership of HR support for an allocated area of the business, building relationships with operational leaders and managing a small team of HR professionals.

Your role will be to help that team grow in confidence, make sound decisions and deliver a service that gets ahead of problems.

There’s plenty of hands‑on HR involved, including complex employee relations and absence management. Alongside that, you’ll have scope to spot patterns, challenge established approaches and turn your ideas into practical improvements.

The HR function is evolving, so some processes and working relationships are still taking shape. If you enjoy bringing clarity, asking useful questions and helping a team move forward, that’s a significant part of the opportunity.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading and developing a Small HR team
• Building credible relationships with operational managers and helping them navigate people decisions.
• Providing guidance on complex ER matters and taking the lead on sensitive cases where needed.
• Using absence and case data to identify recurring issues and put improvements into action.
• Keeping workloads, case quality and follow-through on track.
• Supporting organisational change
• Working with the HR Manager and wider team to improve processes, manager capability and the employee experience.

What you’ll bring

You’ll have a strong grounding in HR and employee relations, alongside the judgement to handle difficult situations and know when to seek support.

Just as importantly, you’ll be able to show that you have:

• Coached or developed colleagues and are ready to take accountability for a team.
• Built relationships with managers while being willing to challenge them.
• Identified a problem and taken the initiative to improve it.
• Used HR information or data to recommend practical action.
• Managed competing priorities without losing sight of quality or the people involved.

Experience in retail, hospitality or another busy, multi‑site business would be useful, but isn’t essential. CIPD Level 7 is desirable; equivalent senior HR experience is also valued.

Why consider it?

This is an opportunity to broaden your impact: through the people you develop, the managers you influence and the improvements you deliver.

You’ll have a defined business area to support, real team leadership responsibility and a reporting line to the HR Manager.

Curious about the next step?

You don’t need to hold a People Partner title already. What matters is the experience you can bring and your readiness to take on the responsibility.