Senior ER Business Partner

arriva; Thurmaston; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Arriva UK Bus is seeking a Senior Employee Relations Business Partner to shape and deliver our ER agenda. You will act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, drive best practice, and ensure compliant outcomes across complex, unionised depots in the UK.

You will partner with operational leaders, coach HR teams, and use data insights to mitigate risk, support change programmes and strengthen leadership capability within the People function.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in a senior Employee Relations, HR Business Partner or ER specialist role.
• Experience in a large, complex, unionised environment.
• Proven track record handling complex, high-profile ER cases (disciplinaries, grievances, absence, change, tribunals).
• Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and ER best practice.
• Experience partnering with senior leadership and influencing strategic decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead on complex, high-risk ER matters with fair, compliant outcomes.
• Act as senior escalation point for ER teams and operational leaders, provide coaching.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to align ER strategies with business objectives.
• Use ER data/trends to identify risks and drive improvements.
• Develop ER policies, governance, and manager guidance.
• Drive early intervention to reduce risk and improve experience.
• Oversee ER systems, reporting and case management for governance.
• Collaborate with Trade Unions and employee forums to support constructive industrial relations.
• Support organisational change programmes and restructures.
• Coach and mentor HR/ER colleagues to build capability.

Skills

Employee relations

Stakeholder management

Coaching & influencing

Analytical using data

UK employment law

Education

CIPD Level 5 or 7 qualification

Job description

Are you an experienced Employee Relations professional looking to make a strategic impact in a large, complex and unionised organisation? At Arriva UK Bus, we're looking for a Senior Employee Relations Business Partner to join our People team and play a critical role in shaping and delivering our employee relations agenda. This is an exciting opportunity to influence senior stakeholders, drive best practice, and help create a positive, high-performing workplace culture across our business. As a trusted advisor to senior leaders, you'll lead on complex and business-critical employee relations matters, providing expert guidance that balances commercial priorities, employee experience and legal compliance.

The Role

This is a highly visible and influential role where you'll partner with senior operational and business leaders across our UK depots to develop proactive employee relations strategies that support organisational performance and employee engagement. You'll act as the senior escalation point for complex ER matters, provide expert coaching and support to HR colleagues and managers, and use data-driven insights to identify trends, mitigate risk, and improve people outcomes. You'll also play a key role in organisational change programmes, policy development, governance, and strengthening leadership capability across the business.

What You'll Be Doing

• Leading on complex, high-risk and sensitive employee relations matters, ensuring fair, consistent and legally compliant outcomes.
• Acting as the senior escalation point for ER Business Partners, HR teams and operational leaders, providing expert advice and coaching.
• Partnering with senior stakeholders to develop proactive employee relations strategies that align with business objectives.
• Using ER data and trends to identify risks, drive improvements and influence strategic decision-making.
• Developing and enhancing employee relations policies, frameworks, governance and manager guidance.
• Driving early intervention and resolution strategies to reduce organisational risk and improve employee experience.
• Overseeing ER systems, reporting and case management processes to ensure robust governance and meaningful management information.
• Building strong working relationships with Trade Union representatives and employee forums to support positive industrial relations.
• Supporting organisational change programmes, restructures, consultations and other significant people initiatives.
• Coaching and mentoring ER and HR colleagues to build organisational capability and promote best practice.
• Ensuring the business remains up to date and compliant with changes in employment legislation and case law.
• Contributing to wider people projects that improve organisational culture, engagement and business performance.

About You

We're seeking an experienced Employee Relations specialist who combines technical expertise with strong commercial awareness and the ability to influence at senior levels.

You'll ideally bring:

• Significant experience in a senior Employee Relations, HR Business Partner or specialist ER role.
• Experience working within a large, complex and unionised environment.
• A strong track record of managing complex and high-profile employee relations cases, including disciplinaries, grievances, absence management, organisational change and tribunal preparation.
• Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and employee relations best practice.
• Experience partnering with senior leadership teams and influencing strategic decision-making.
• Strong experience working collaboratively with Trade Unions and employee representatives.
• Exceptional stakeholder management, coaching and influencing skills.
• The ability to balance legal risk, operational priorities and employee experience.
• Experience developing ER frameworks, policy and governance processes.
• Strong analytical capability, with confidence using data and insights to support business decisions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 qualification, or equivalent experience, would be advantageous.