Senior ER Business Partner

Arriva Group; Thurmaston; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Arriva UK Bus is seeking a Senior Employee Relations Business Partner to shape our ER agenda and support senior leaders across UK depots. You’ll act as the trusted ER advisor, balancing legal compliance with business priorities, culture and employee experience.

You’ll lead on complex cases, coach HR colleagues, and develop governance, policy and change initiatives to strengthen leadership capability across the business.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in senior Employee Relations or HRBP roles.
• Experience in a large, complex, unionised environment.
• Proven track record managing complex ER cases and tribunals.
• Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and ER best practice.
• Experience partnering with senior leadership and unions.

Responsibilities

• Lead on complex, high-risk ER matters ensuring compliant outcomes.
• Act as senior escalation point for ER Partners, HR teams and leaders.
• Develop proactive ER strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Use ER data to identify risks and inform decisions.
• Develop ER policies, governance, and manager guidance.
• Drive early intervention to reduce risk and improve experience.
• Oversee ER systems, reporting and case management.
• Collaborate with Trade Unions and employee forums.
• Support organisational change programmes and consultations.
• Coach ER and HR colleagues to build capability.
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation and case law.

Skills

Senior stakeholder influence

Employee relations

Coaching & mentoring

Data-driven decision making

UK employment law

Tribunal preparation

Trade unions collaboration

Policy development

Governance and reporting

Change management

Education

CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 (or equivalent)

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, policies 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.