Human Resources Business Partner

Wolverhampton 3-4 days a week

We're partnering with a large, complex advanced engineering and manufacturing organisation to appoint an HR Business Partner supporting a significant operational business unit alongside several specialist functions.

This isn't the type of HRBP role where you spend your days updating policies, forwarding emails or sitting on the sidelines giving advice from afar.

You'll be embedded within the business. Part of leadership teams. Close to operational challenges. Trusted by managers when things get difficult. Involved in real people problems, organisational change, talent decisions and business critical projects.

It's a role for someone who genuinely enjoys business partnering and wants to have a visible impact.

The reality of the role

The business is going through significant change and investment.

There are major systems implementations underway, organisational design projects taking shape, critical skills shortages to solve, succession challenges to address and a growing demand for stronger leadership capability across the organisation.

Some days you'll be coaching managers.

Some days you'll be handling a complex grievance or dismissal case.

Other days you'll be analysing workforce challenges, supporting recruitment of hard to find talent, helping shape organisational structures or contributing to business wide change initiatives.

No two weeks look the same.

The primary focus initially will be supporting a high performing operational division alongside a portfolio of corporate functions including areas such as IT, programmes, engineering and planning. You'll quickly become the go to person for leaders who need pragmatic, commercial and credible people support.

What we're looking for

The title isn't the important bit.

You may already be an HR Business Partner.

You might be a Senior HR Advisor, HR Manager or People Partner operating at HRBP level without officially carrying the title.

What matters is that you're already doing many of the following:

• Partnering with managers and leaders rather than purely providing administrative HR support.
• Managing employee relations cases with confidence, including disciplinary, grievance, performance, absence or restructuring activity.
• Influencing stakeholders and challenging appropriately when needed.
• Supporting talent reviews, succession planning or workforce planning discussions.
• Contributing to change initiatives, restructures or organisational improvement projects.
• Working within manufacturing, engineering, logistics, operational, retail or similarly fast-paced environments.

You'll probably enjoy getting stuck into problems rather than waiting for someone else to solve them.

You'll be comfortable operating where there isn't always a neat answer.

You'll enjoy building trust and becoming part of a leadership team rather than sitting outside it.

What will make you successful

The people who thrive here tend to be:

• Curious about how businesses actually work.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and frequent change.
• Strong communicators who can influence without creating conflict.
• Resilient enough to handle challenge and competing priorities.
• Collaborative and happy working across complicated organisational structures.
• Commercially minded and interested in how people decisions impact business performance.
• Driven to improve things rather than simply maintain them.

Most importantly, you'll have the confidence to challenge senior stakeholders constructively when needed whilst still building strong relationships.

What this role isn't

This isn't a pure HR administration role.

It isn't a policy writing role.

It isn't a role for someone looking for a quiet stop-gap before the next opportunity.

And it probably isn't right for someone who prefers to stay away from employee relations entirely.

The reality is that some of the work is difficult. There are complex cases, demanding stakeholders and challenging projects.

But that's also where the development comes from.

Why join?

The scale of the organisation means there is always something new to learn.

HR Business Partners regularly move between different business areas, giving exposure to new leaders, different challenges and wider organisational experience.

You'll work alongside a highly supportive HR team who genuinely collaborate and share knowledge.

You'll gain exposure to large-scale change programmes, operational leadership teams, talent strategy, workforce planning and business-critical projects that many HR professionals simply don't get access to.

If you're looking for an easy ride, this probably isn't the role for you.

If you're looking for a role that will stretch you, build your capability and accelerate your HR career, we'd like to speak with you.

If you're currently doing much of this already, even if your current title doesn't say "HR Business Partner", we'd encourage you to apply.