Senior People Business Partner - Maternity Cover until April 2027

Job overview

A fantastic opportunity to join our new team of Senior People Business Partners on a secondment or fixed term basis, covering maternity leave until April 2027.

You will be responsible for providing high‑quality strategic and operational workforce support, ensuring our people management practices reflect best practice and uphold our commitment to delivering an exceptional staff experience.

You will be a values‑led professional who is passionate about fairness, equity and continuous improvement. With a strong focus on staff engagement and wellbeing, you will champion initiatives that ensure colleagues feel supported, listened to and able to thrive, even in the most challenging times.

You will help drive key workforce priorities that support our ambition to be the Best Place to Work. By role-modelling our Oxleas values – We’re Kind, We’re Fair, We Listen and We Care – you will embed these principles in everyday interactions across the organisation.

Working collaboratively with the wider People Teams you will play a central role in leading organisational change, strengthening culture, improving team dynamics, enhancing recruitment practices and progressing equality plans. By fostering effective team engagement you will help improve the experience of staff within your Directorate/s, ensuring a sustained focus on wellbeing, psychological safety, engagement and retention.

Important Sponsorship Information: We are unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post

Main duties of the job

You will ensure our people practices deliver high‑quality, consistent support to managers and staff across the Trust, enabling excellent care while meeting all legal and statutory requirements.

You will take a proactive and supportive approach to developing and investing in your team, empowering them to provide a high‑performing, responsive and engaging service.

We understand how challenging it can be for colleagues involved in HR processes. You will support staff and managers to address issues constructively and at the earliest opportunity, ensuring a strong emphasis on early intervention and resolution.

You will provide coaching and facilitation to managers, helping them develop stronger leadership competence, confidence and behaviours.

You will lead the development and delivery of workforce plans for your Directorate/s, aligned to the Trust’s overarching Strategy. These plans will be tailored to the needs of the service, supporting delivery of excellent patient care, financial sustainability, and a positive staff experience.

You will provide specialist advice to managers on all aspects of People matters, ensuring a strong focus on data-driven decisions, consistency and clarity of approach.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Do you have a passion for delivering outstanding HR support?

Are you experienced in both strategic and operational HR, with a broad portfolio spanning employee relations, organisational change, workforce planning, organisational development, equality, diversity and inclusion?

Do you enjoy working collaboratively to drive meaningful, continuous improvement?

If you can enhance our ability to make a significant difference to the experience at work of our diverse staff members, particularly during the most challenging times, we would love to hear from you.

We are keen to encourage applications from the widest variety of people. We welcome applications from all people, including those from a global majority background, those who live with a disability (visible or not) and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for the main responsibilities of this role.