Senior People Business Partner

United Kingdom East London NHS Foundation Trust ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job overview

East London NHS Foundation Trust is looking for an exceptional and experienced HR professional to join our People & Culture team as Senior People Business Partner for Luton and Bedfordshire.

This is a six-month opportunity to provide senior strategic and operational People Business Partner support across Luton and Bedfordshire. Working in close partnership with Executives, Service Directors, senior operational leaders and People Business Partners, you will translate our People & Culture strategy into meaningful workforce plans, service priorities and practical interventions that support high-quality care, strong staff engagement and sustainable organisational performance.

Main duties of the job

As a senior member of the People & Culture function, you will provide expert strategic and operational workforce advice across a broad portfolio. This will include workforce planning, organisational change, service development, workforce transformation, employee relations, leadership development, staff engagement, wellbeing, recruitment, retention and cost improvement.

You will use workforce intelligence, staff experience data and business insight to identify priorities, influence decision-making and support senior leaders to deliver effective, values-led solutions. You will also lead and support organisational development and change interventions, helping managers and teams to build capability, improve performance and create positive working environments.

Working for our organisation

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

At ELFT, our People & Culture team plays a vital role in supporting our services to deliver outstanding care. You will be part of a supportive, professional and ambitious team, working in a complex and rewarding environment where your expertise will directly contribute to improved staff experience, service delivery and patient care.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a senior HR professional who wants to influence at a strategic level, lead meaningful change and help shape the future workforce across Luton and Bedfordshire.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are seeking a confident, credible and collaborative senior HR professional who can operate at both strategic and operational levels. You will bring significant experience of HR business partnering, a strong understanding of employment legislation and NHS workforce priorities, and the ability to influence and coach senior leaders through complex people issues. Experience of organisational development, workforce planning, change management and working effectively with staff-side representatives will be essential.

You will be joining a values-driven Trust with a strong commitment to staff engagement, inclusion, continuous improvement and compassionate leadership. This role offers the opportunity to make a real impact across Luton and Bedfordshire services, supporting leaders and teams to deliver excellent care while strengthening our workforce for the future.

If you are an experienced and forward-thinking People professional who can establish credibility quickly, provide expert advice to senior leaders and deliver meaningful workforce support during a defined period of cover, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Person specification

Educational/Qualification

Essential criteria

• Degree Level Education or equivalent experience
• Post graduate Diploma or MSC in HR or equivalent experience
• Chartered Member of the CIPD
• Evidence of Continuing Professional Development

Experience

Essential criteria

• An in-depth understanding of health care provision and awareness of current NHS policies and priorities
• Experience of leading, coaching and building capability in an HR Shared Services
• Significant experience in progressively more responsible positions in human resources, preferably in a similar sector.
• Significant experience of working in the niche Medical HR Field
• Extensive experience of working alongside trade unions and professional organisation in change management, negotiation and mediation situations.
• Experience of formalised workforce policy and planning approaches
• Significant experience of numerical analysis.
• In-depth knowledge of employment legislation, HR policies and procedures
• Strong effective communicator in writing, business presentations and in interpersonal communication.

Knowledge/Skills

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of strategy development theory and practice and the confidence to contribute to this locally
• Full range of operational and strategic skills at a senior HR level
• Familiarity with budget management and able to contribute to Directorate financial plans from a workforce perspective
• Intermediate level in Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of and proficiency in workforce planning
• In depth knowledge of employment law and relevant case law.
• Knowledge of best practice facilitation and negotiating skills
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex data and present this to senior colleagues.
• Extensive working knowledge of NHS pay and reward systems
• Successfully influences a broad spectrum of people, highlighting benefits, finding alternatives and gaining commitment at a senior level.
• Builds productive working relationships and strategic partnerships with a range of stakeholders at a senior level, demonstrating self-awareness, perception and a collaborative approach
• Embraces accountability, demonstrates on going resilience and the highest levels of integrity and professionalism

Making Things Better

Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don't stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.

We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.

Our Community

We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London. We provid