Workforce Business Partner – Band 7

Location: Bristol 

Department: People, Development and Communications (PDC) Team

Job Type: Temporary 

Duration of booking: Expected to last 3-6months with possible extension

Proposed start date: ASAP

Pay Rates: £26.00 per hour PAYE inclusive of holiday pay

Hours / Working Days: 37.5 hours per week / Monday to Friday, 9am – 5.30pm Hybrid – 2 days in the office, 3 days working from home

Sector: Healthcare 

Based: Office / Hospital 

Job Summary

Our client is seeking an experienced Workforce Business Partner to join their People Team on an interim basis. This is an excellent opportunity for an HR professional with strong business partnering experience to work closely with senior leaders, providing strategic workforce advice and supporting organisational performance through effective people management.

The successful candidate will use workforce data and HR expertise to drive workforce planning, improve organisational performance, support employee relations, and contribute to service improvement initiatives across the organisation. The role offers a hybrid working arrangement with excellent flexibility.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with senior managers and Directorate leaders to provide proactive HR advice and support.
• Analyse workforce data, KPIs and performance metrics to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Support workforce planning, recruitment strategies and vacancy management.
• Monitor agency and bank staffing usage, identifying opportunities to reduce temporary staffing costs.
• Provide expert advice on employee relations matters including sickness, disciplinary, grievance and performance management.
• Coach and support managers to build confidence in handling people management issues.
• Advise on organisational change projects, restructures and consultation processes.
• Support the development of workforce improvement plans aligned to organisational objectives.
• Present workforce reports and recommendations to senior management teams.
• Ensure HR policies and employment legislation are applied consistently and fairly.
• Build effective working relationships with internal stakeholders, HR colleagues and Trade Union representatives.
• Promote equality, diversity, inclusion and staff wellbeing initiatives.

Essential Requirements

• Significant HR Business Partner or Senior HR Advisor experience within a large, complex organisation.
• Experience advising managers on employee relations cases including sickness absence, disciplinary, grievance and performance.
• Strong workforce planning and organisational development experience.
• Ability to analyse workforce data and produce meaningful management information.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience supporting organisational change and consultation processes.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment legislation.
• Excellent communication, presentation and organisational skills.
• Confident using Microsoft Office and HR systems.
• CIPD Level 7 (or Level 5 with significant relevant experience) or equivalent.

Desirable 

• Previous NHS or healthcare HR experience.
• Experience working within a unionised environment.
• Knowledge of workforce reporting tools such as Power BI.
• Experience supporting recruitment and retention initiatives.
• Coaching or management development experience.