Senior HR Partner

University of Plymouth; Plymouth; Hybrid; GBP 48,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 35 days + bank holidays

Pension scheme

Cycle to Work

Employee Assistance Programme

Development opportunities

Family leave

Flexible working

Retailer discounts

On-site nursery

Job summary

University of Plymouth is seeking a Senior HR Partner to shape strategy, partner with senior leaders and drive the People Strand of the university’s strategy. You will influence senior decision-making and foster a culture of excellence, collaboration and belonging across the organisation.

Reporting to the Head of HR Partnering, you will lead initiatives in change, workforce planning and leadership development, with on-site days and flexible/home working options to suit business needs.

Qualifications

• Significant experience operating in a strategic HR partnering role.
• Experience delivering organisational change programmes.
• Outstanding coaching, relationship-building and communication skills.
• Expertise across workforce planning, employee relations, leadership development and organisational effectiveness.
• Commitment to inclusive, high-performing workplace cultures.

Responsibilities

• Lead and influence across organisational change and transformation.
• Drive strategic workforce planning and culture and engagement initiatives.
• Provide people analytics and workforce insights to senior leaders.
• Handle complex employee relations matters and support leadership development.

Skills

Strategic HR partnering

Organisational change

Coaching & relationship-building

Workforce planning

Employee relations

Leadership development

Inclusive culture

Education

CIPD Level 7

Job description

Senior HR Partner

Plymouth

Job details

Salary £48,337 - £57,666 per annum - Grade 8 Contractual hours 37 Basis FR Permanent Fulltime All Year Interview date Week commencing Monday 23 November 2026 Job category/type Professional/Support Services Date posted 20/10/2026 Job reference B1445 Attachments B1445 Job Description.pdf

Description

Join us at a pivotal time as we shape the future of our people, culture and leadership across the University. Working closely with senior leaders, you'll help deliver the newly developed People Strand of our University strategy and support an environment where colleagues can perform at their best.

About the role

At the University of Plymouth, we're delivering an ambitious People Strand that places people at the heart of everything we do. We're seeking an exceptional Senior Human Resources Partner to help shape an inclusive, high-performing and future-focused University where our colleagues can thrive and succeed.

Reporting to the Head of HR Partnering this role acts as a trusted strategic partner to senior leaders, playing a key role in delivering organisational change, developing leadership capability, strengthening workforce planning and fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration and belonging.

This is a great opportunity for an experienced HR leader to influence strategic decision-making at the highest levels of the University and make a lasting impact on our people, culture and organisational success.

You will lead and influence across a broad range of areas including:

• Organisational change and transformation
• Strategic workforce planning
• Culture and engagement
• People analytics and workforce insights
• Complex employee relations matters

For this role, you will need to be on site 2 days a week. Although we can accommodate working from home for this role, flexibility to be on site will be expected due to business needs.

For an informal discussion to find out more about the role then please contact Rachael Nightingale: by email at [e-mail]

What we’re looking for

You will be an experienced HR professional who combines strategic thinking with a collaborative and pragmatic approach.

You will bring:

• Significant experience operating in a strategic HR partnering role
• Experience supporting organisational change and transformation programmes
• Outstanding coaching, relationship-building and communication skills
• Expertise across workforce planning, comples employee relations matters, leadership development and organisational effectiveness
• A commitment to fostering inclusive, high-performing workplace cultures

You will hold a CIPD Level 7 qualification (or equivalent experience) and have experience working within a large, complex organisation.

For more information about the job and the person specification, please refer to the job description.

Our Offer

A successful external candidate for this position would be employed by the University of Plymouth Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Plymouth. Employees of the University of Plymouth Services Limited work alongside the University of Plymouth colleagues in delivery of Plymouth’s strategic vision, and will adopt the University of Plymouth’s HR policies and procedures in full unless otherwise stated.

We have a wide range of staff benefits available to employees, depending on eligibility:

• Generous annual leave: 35 Days Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays & Closure Days
• Generous pension scheme
• Cycle to Work & Electric Car Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Development opportunities
• Enhanced family leave
• Flexible working
• Retailer discounts
• On-site nursery

A summary of our comprehensive benefits can be viewed here.

Relocation package may be available to the successful candidate, conditions apply.

Additional Information

The University of Plymouth is building an inclusive and equitable university where everyone feels represented, supported, and empowered to thrive. Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is guided by the Inclusive Institutions Framework, a strategic and externally validated approach that embeds these principles across the entire institution. To find out more please visit our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion webpages