Senior HR Business Partner

Jobtailor; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Cambridge is seeking an experienced HR Business Partner to partner with managers to embed people processes and drive performance and engagement within an employee-owned business.

You will advise on all aspects of the employee lifecycle, lead employee relations case management, support performance management, workforce planning and learning initiatives, and help shape a high-performance, inclusive culture.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a HR Business Partner role partnering with managers.
• Knowledge of performance management frameworks and embedding them.
• Strong business partnering and relationship-building skills.
• Operational HR support including performance management and employee relations.
• Experience supporting organisational and culture change; employee ownership is advantageous.
• Exposure to workforce planning, talent development and engagement initiatives.
• Understanding of core HR practices, employment law, and benchmarking.
• Awareness of reward/remuneration principles including pay reviews.
• Ability to influence at all levels and coach managers.
• Self-starter with integrity and professionalism.
• Ability to translate strategy into operational initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leaders to embed the People Strategy and implement people practices.
• Advise on all aspects of the employee lifecycle including performance, development, engagement and wellbeing.
• Lead employee relations case management and queries using a consistent, fair and commercially pragmatic approach.
• Support the performance management framework and development planning.
• Contribute to workforce planning, capability-gap analysis and recruitment planning.
• Develop employee engagement, experience and wellbeing initiatives, monitor impact and provide feedback.
• Support implementation and consistent application of people policies.
• Support learning and development initiatives and capability building.
• Provide input into reward and remuneration processes, benchmarking and annual pay reviews.
• Build relationships with managers and employees while role-modelling company values and contributing to a high-performance, accountable and inclusive culture.
• Report to the Head of People.

Skills

HR Business Partnering

Performance management

Employee relations

Stakeholder management

Coaching & development

Change management

Education

CIPD Level 5

CIPD Level 7

Tools

HR systems

Job description

• Partner with leaders to embed the People Strategy and consistently implement people practices aligned to the culture of an employee-owned business
• Advise on all aspects of the employee lifecycle, including performance, development, engagement and wellbeing
• Lead employee relations case management and employee queries using a consistent, fair and commercially pragmatic approach
• Support the performance management framework, including performance conversations, objective setting, feedback and development planning
• Contribute to workforce planning, capability-gap analysis, future resourcing needs and recruitment planning
• Develop employee engagement, experience and wellbeing initiatives, monitor impact and provide feedback
• Support implementation and consistent application of people policies
• Support learning and development initiatives and capability building
• Provide input into reward and remuneration processes, benchmarking and annual pay reviews
• Build relationships with managers and employees while role-modelling company values and contributing to a high-performance, accountable and inclusive culture
• Report to the Head of People

Requirements

• Proven experience in a HR Business Partner role, partnering with managers to embed people processes and drive accountability and performance improvement
• Understanding of performance management frameworks and how to embed them effectively within teams
• Strong business partnering skills and ability to build trusted relationships with leaders and employees
• Strong track record of operational HR support, including performance management frameworks and employee relations
• Experience supporting organisational and culture change; employee ownership experience is an advantage
• Exposure to workforce planning, talent development, and engagement initiatives
• Strong understanding of core HR practices across the employee lifecycle, employment law and HR best practice
• Awareness of reward and remuneration principles, including benchmarking and pay review processes
• Ability to influence and challenge constructively at all levels
• Excellent coaching skills and experience upskilling people managers
• Confident decision maker with ability to challenge the status quo
• Ability to prioritise, problem solve and work under pressure across competing priorities and deadlines
• Ability to translate strategic plans into operational initiatives impacting business performance
• Self-starter who is proactive, energetic and able to drive outputs using own initiative
• High levels of integrity, discretion and professionalism
• CIPD qualified at Level 5 minimum; Level 7 desirable or working towards, or equivalent experience

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in HR Business Partnering, focusing on performance management frameworks, employee relations, and engagement initiatives. Proven ability to influence, coach, and build trusted relationships while driving accountability and operational HR support.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• HR Business Partnering
• Performance Management Frameworks
• Employee Relations
• Workforce Planning
• CIPD Qualified

Hard Skills

• Performance Management
• Employee Lifecycle Management
• Capability-Gap Analysis
• Talent Development
• Engagement Initiatives
• Reward and Remuneration Principles
• Employment Law
• Organisational Change Support
• Benchmarking
• Pay Review Processes

Soft Skills

• Coaching Skills
• Relationship Building
• Decision Making
• Problem Solving
• Proactivity

Certifications & Qualifications

• CIPD Level 5
• CIPD Level 7

Industry Keywords

• Employee Ownership
• People Strategy
• High-Performance Culture
• Accountability
• Inclusivity