Senior Human Resources Business Partner

Location Birmingham, GB Department Name OZ HR Business Partner - Central (109015) G3 About Network Rail Network Rail operates and maintains the railway infrastructure. Our passengers and freight users are at the heart of everything we do. We help connect people to their friends and families and get goods to their destination safely and efficiently. We're an organisation where people matter. When you're part of our team, you matter to us and you matter to millions. We're continuing to build a more diverse and inclusive organisation which is representative of the passengers we serve. To do this, it's essential we become a more open, diverse and inclusive organisation, harnessing the skills and expertise of all our people and attracting the best talent to help us have a safe, accessible railway for everyone. We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone. About Our Route We are Central route. We are the Heart of Britain's Railway. More than a million people rely on us every week, and we help transport nearly a million tonnes of freight every month. But we are more than just tracks and trains, we are a catalyst for jobs and opportunities, a connection to leisure and time with family and friends, and a foundation for communities and neighbourhoods. We are a key part of the national network, with Birmingham New Street - the busiest station outside of London and the hub of the railway - connecting England, Scotland and Wales, with hundreds of services arriving and leaving every day. Brief DescriptionWhat will you be doing as a Senior Human Resource Business Partner? If you are passionate about empowering people to perform their best and support them through numerous challenges, this could be the role for you. As a Senior Human Resources Business Partner within Central Route, you will work as an integral member of the supported business senior leadership team, to proactively identify, plan and meet the people needs of the business through a coaching and facilitative approach, in order to improve business performance. You will build effective relationships and scan for emerging trends, innovations, and current best practice to develop people's capacity, capability, and commitment. You will also provide support and deputise for the Head of HR as and when required and will be responsible to proactively manage the routes employee relation case portfolio. You will need to use your business partner expertise to gain credibility from day one, enabling you to operate as a member of the senior management team. You will be solutions-focused, able to deliver at pace and confident to challenge at senior levels. The successful candidate will be Chartered MCIPD qualified or have extensive general HR experience. Your experience will need to include consulting and delivering on organisational development, design or change projects; and supporting and advising managers on complex employee relations matters. If you also have strong stakeholder management, change management and communication skills combined with a deep understanding of relevant current employment law, we would like to hear from you. This role is based out of Birmingham Baskerville House, with frequent travel to Network Rail sites across the route. About The Role (External)Some of your day-to-day duties….

• Working closely with the supported business area/s to develop, drive and implement the HR Strategy/People Plan to include; talent, succession planning and change management, in order to support the delivery of business objectives and drive a high performance culture.
• Act as an integral member of the business leadership team, building strong relationships with senior business leaders and other relevant stakeholders. Coach, advise and challenging thinking in addition to co-development, design and execution of integrated medium to long term people initiatives to meet current and future business needs.
• Act as a change agent; lead, support and contribute to change programmes, driving and championing the implementation of HR solutions within the supported business area, gaining acceptance from key stakeholders.
• Proactively manage trade union relationships, working with the Employee Relations team, appropriate HR Business Partners and managers across the business.
• Reinforce and support the ownership of people management by the business and line managers and the HR Business Partner model.
• Influence the centres of expertise development of strategy and policy through sharing business/functional requirements and inputting into development and execution planning.
• Work in collaboration with; Centres of Expertise, HR Shared Services, HR Direct and HR Business Partner teams to proactively identify and influence changes that improve HR service.
• Liaise with HR Business Partners in other areas of the business in order to work collaboratively on cross business/geographical issues.

What We're Looking For…In order to be successful in this role, we would like you to have/to be:

• Demonstrates strong business/commercial approach and understanding of business needs.
• Proven experience of working in partnership with senior business leaders in order to improve people management.
• Passionate about customer service with ability to articulate previous achievements through business deliverables.
• Knowledge and experience of implementing best practice HR solutions to drive a high performance culture.
• Ability to establish professional credibility quickly.
• Experience of coaching, influencing and building strong working relationships with senior business leaders.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to negotiate and influence effectively with all levels of an organisation.
• Experience of working with senior leaders to identify, develop and retain talent.
• Excellent technical HR Knowledge - CIPD qualified or relevant experience to demonstrate level of competence.
• Proven track record of operating in a complex working environment.
• Broad experience of managing organisation change programmes e.g. TUPE, Organisation re-design, redundancy programmes, etc
• Graduate calibre
• Experience of working within a highly unionised environment (Essential for roles supporting Maintenance & Operations Functions).

It's not mandatory to have the below, but it would be desirable to have:

• MCIPD/post-graduate human resources qualification.
• Understanding of project management principles and experience of managing complex projects to successful conclusion.
• Experience of working within a unionised environment.

Key Leadership Capabilities:

• Influencing others
• Creating solutions
• Understanding others
• Making things happen
• Thinking flexibly
• Customer focus

How To Apply (External)Salary: starting from £55,596 raising to £63,797 per annum. Network Rail adheres to a structured pay framework, any salary offered will be within the pay range advertised. Closing date : 13 th May 2025 . Late applications will not be accepted. This note is a 6-month fixed term opportunity. Want to find out more about what fantastic benefits we offer? Click here All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of a range of pre-employment checks. Click here for more information We're a Disability Confident Leader employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.