Job summary
UHB under unprecedented pressure. Funding is tight, expectations are high, and we're asking our people to do more with less. We've two Senior People Partner (SPP) opportunities - Heartlands & Solihull. Both require HR professionals with comprehensive experience across complex ER and people services. We're not going to pretend these SPP roles are anything other than challenging - they're demanding positions requiring experienced professionals who understand the reality of working in today's health service.
Our successful efforts to encourage staff to speak up have significantly increased caseload leading to challenging and complex ER casework -- requiring expert attention and pragmatic delivery. Our people continue to be our best asset and ensuring their wellbeing will make certain our patients receive the best care.
We want resilient do-ers who can deliver results under pressure. The transformation and strategy work - the interesting stuff - will come. You'll partner with expert teams and support Associate Directors of People (ADP) in delivering local solutions while leading and developing site teams under pressure. We need professionals with immediate expertise across complex people practice who can make a genuine difference in demanding, high-pressure environments.
Full and visible support from your ADP will be available and a tailored benefits of flexible hybrid working, and package that offers more than the norm.
Main duties of the job
At Heartlands you'll work at the heart of communities, who see Heartlands as their anchor organisation. We want to keep 'the heart' in Heartlands, by ensuring that our People who look after our communities, feel valued, they are developed, they feel safe and regard Heartlands as an employer of choice.
At Solihull, you'll join a site with a strong community feel that has achieved notable successes, including our recent 'Outstanding' CQC rating in OPD. However, significant challenges remain in workforce retention and development. Your focus will be on staff experience, implementing our People Plan to ensure staff are fulfilled and motivated, building on existing foundations whilst addressing the complex people challenges that affect even successful healthcare environments.
You'll provide expert oversight of complex employee relations investigations, supported by a team of People Advisors and Directorate Administrators. Cases will be led by Case Managers with designated Investigating Officers, whilst you ensure compliance with processes, provide professional guidance, and maintain our commitment to timely resolution.
Interviews to be held in person at Heartlands on 8th/9th September 2025
To maintain fairness in our recruitment process, we ask candidates to wait six months between applications. We appreciate your enthusiasm and look forward to your future application.
About us
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust strives to have an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong, can thrive, knows that they add value and feels valued. We do this by developing compassionate and culturally competent leaders, being values driven in all that we do and by creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace that thrives on the diversity of our people. As such we want to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds, and for each of you to feel supported for the diversity you bring, to achieve your full potential. For those staff with a disability, including physical disability, long term health condition, mental health or neurodiverse condition, this also means being committed to making reasonable adjustments needed for you to carry out your role.
Job description
Job responsibilities
*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*
Job description
Job responsibilities
*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- *Graduate CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and development) or equivalent post graduate Level 7 qualification/training/experience to Masters level or equivalent
- *Evidence of continuous professional development
- *Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent experience
Desirable
- * Leadership and Management
- * Coaching and Mentoring
- * Mediation
Experience
Essential
- * Significant recent operational HR experience including leadership and management.
- * Experience of leading the workforce elements of local change and transformation programmes, including advising managers on complex change processes such as restructuring, redundancy and TUPE.
- * Experience in applying a business partner approach -- working with managers to develop services and applying HR expertise to provide solutions to complex people issues, including absence management, organisational change, recruitment and retention, inclusion and diversity and workforce planning.
- * Experience of undertaking complex investigations into MHPS, disciplinary, grievance and bullying and harassment, including supporting formal panel hearings.
- * Experience of working in partnership with Trade Unions towards shared goals with evidence of achieving organisational outcomes.
- * Experience of developing and implementing HR policies and procedures as well as people management training
- * Experience in promoting the equality and diversity agenda - able to evidence achievements in relation to organisational equality and diversity objectives
- * Experience of advising managers on complex change processes such as restructuring, redundancy and TUPE.
- * Experience of preparing, analysing and presenting reports.
- * Ability to interpret and apply Terms and Conditions of Employment
Additional Criteria
Essential
- * Strongly developed communication skills including the ability to communicate complex information with fully developed persuasive, negotiating and influencing skills.
- * Analytical and judgement skills with the ability to analyse and interpret complex situations.
- * Ability to develop and maintaining good working relationships with stakeholders.
- * Ability to work autonomously, without direct supervision and as part of a team.
- * Good presentation and report writing skills.
- * Good IT skills (to includes as a minimum: Word Excel, PowerPoint, HR databases)
- * Ability to set own priorities, meet tight deadlines, work independently and demonstrate good diary management.
- * Ability to maintain confidentiality and deal with situations in a sensitive manner.
- * Evidence of improving working practices.
- * Up to date and thorough working knowledge of Employment Law and Human Resource Best Practice
- * Evidence of recent CPD
- * Able to concentrate with frequent interruptions and where work is unpredictable
- * Able to deal with distressing or emotional circumstances, frequently when imparting information e.g., discipline, sickness
- * The ability to work on own initiative, responding to immediate requests.
- * Flexible approach to work, willing to adapt to regularly changing situations.
- * Proactive and self-motivated.
- * Ability to work across all Trust sites.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- *Graduate CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and development) or equivalent post graduate Level 7 qualification/training/experience to Masters level or equivalent
- *Evidence of continuous professional development
- *Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent experience
Desirable
- * Leadership and Management
- * Coaching and Mentoring
- * Mediation
Experience
Essential
- * Significant recent operational HR experience including leadership and management.
- * Experience of leading the workforce elements of local change and transformation programmes, including advising managers on complex change processes such as restructuring, redundancy and TUPE.
- * Experience in applying a business partner approach -- working with managers to develop services and applying HR expertise to provide solutions to complex people issues, including absence management, organisational change, recruitment and retention, inclusion and diversity and workforce planning.
- * Experience of undertaking complex investigations into MHPS, disciplinary, grievance and bullying and harassment, including supporting formal panel hearings.
- * Experience of working in partnership with Trade Unions towards shared goals with evidence of achieving organisational outcomes.
- * Experience of developing and implementing HR policies and procedures as well as people management training
- * Experience in promoting the equality and diversity agenda - able to evidence achievements in relation to organisational equality and diversity objectives
- * Experience of advising managers on complex change processes such as restructuring, redundancy and TUPE.
- * Experience of preparing, analysing and presenting reports.
- * Ability to interpret and apply Terms and Conditions of Employment
Additional Criteria
Essential
- * Strongly developed communication skills including the ability to communicate complex information with fully developed persuasive, negotiating and influencing skills.
- * Analytical and judgement skills with the ability to analyse and interpret complex situations.
- * Ability to develop and maintaining good working relationships with stakeholders.
- * Ability to work autonomously, without direct supervision and as part of a team.
- * Good presentation and report writing skills.
- * Good IT skills (to includes as a minimum: Word Excel, PowerPoint, HR databases)
- * Ability to set own priorities, meet tight deadlines, work independently and demonstrate good diary management.
- * Ability to maintain confidentiality and deal with situations in a sensitive manner.
- * Evidence of improving working practices.
- * Up to date and thorough working knowledge of Employment Law and Human Resource Best Practice
- * Evidence of recent CPD
- * Able to concentrate with frequent interruptions and where work is unpredictable
- * Able to deal with distressing or emotional circumstances, frequently when imparting information e.g., discipline, sickness
- * The ability to work on own initiative, responding to immediate requests.
- * Flexible approach to work, willing to adapt to regularly changing situations.
- * Proactive and self-motivated.
- * Ability to work across all Trust sites.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
