Senior HR Business Partner - North East & Yorkshire

Arriva Plc; Stockton-on-the-Forest; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading transportation company in the UK is seeking a Senior HR Business Partner who will drive performance and engagement across the North East and Yorkshire region. In this role, you will partner with senior leaders to deliver the people agenda, influence strategic planning, and manage HR workstreams for major change initiatives. The ideal candidate will have significant HR expertise, strong communication skills, and the ability to navigate complex, unionised environments. This position offers a collaborative work culture and the chance to shape the future of HR in a pivotal operational area.

Qualifications

• Proven HR experience in complex, unionised environments.
• Strong influencing skills to challenge at a senior level.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in fast-paced settings.

Responsibilities

• Deliver the regional people plan with senior leaders.
• Implement HR solutions that align with business strategies.
• Drive initiatives for employee engagement and retention.

Skills

HR practices

Communication skills

Negotiation skills

Employee relations

Strategic thinking

Education

CIPD Level 7 qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Overview

Reporting to the HR Director Regions, you will act as a trusted advisor to senior operational leaders, providing both strategic and hands‑on HR leadership. You will play a central role in delivering an effective people strategy aligned to the UK Bus Medium Term Plan, driving performance, engagement and sustainable change. You will deputise for the HR Director when required and act as a key escalation point for the Operations leadership team. Working closely with colleagues across HR, Operations and our Trade Union partners, you will deliver pragmatic, risk‑aware HR solutions that support both our people and commercial objectives.

Responsibilities

• Partner with senior leaders to deliver the regional people plan and provide a high quality, consistent HR service
• Influence strategic business planning through insight‑led HR solutions
• Lead HR workstreams for major business change initiatives, ensuring effective implementation and minimal disruption
• Build strong, credible relationships with Trade Union representatives, fostering a culture of partnership
• Coach and support senior leaders, HRBPs and ER Partners to ensure consistency, capability and risk mitigation
• Drive employee engagement, wellbeing and retention initiatives
• Champion talent management, succession planning and learning to build long‑term organisational capability
• Promote the effective use of self‑service via the HR Hub, empowering managers and colleagues
• Deputise for the HR Director Regions when required, providing leadership across the wider HR function
• This is a senior, influential role for a commercially minded HR leader who can balance strategic thinking with operational delivery and thrives in fast‑paced, unionised environments
• You will be a confident, resilient and experienced HR professional with a strong generalist background and the credibility to influence and challenge at a senior level
• You will bring proven experience operating in complex, unionised environments and the judgement to balance commercial priorities with employee advocacy

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of HR practices, processes and systems at both strategic and operational levels
• Significant experience managing industrial and employee relations
• A track record of leading and delivering business change and transformation
• Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills
• The ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑moving environment
• CIPD Level 7 qualification or equivalent experience
• Strong IT skills including Microsoft Office and HR systems

About Arriva

Arriva is looking for a Senior HR Business Partner to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the people agenda across our North East and Yorkshire region. This is a complex and high‑profile operational area at the heart of our UK Bus business. At Arriva, we connect communities and make a meaningful difference every day. You will join a supportive and collaborative environment where your expertise will have real impact across a key region of the business. We are committed to developing our people and offer genuine opportunities to shape the future of HR at Arriva.