Senior HR Business Partner - Maternity Cover

Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

Job summary

DCMS People and Workplace Directorate is looking for an experienced HR leader to take on a maternity cover heading up our team of Strategic HR Business Partners.

DCMS HR Business Partners work closely with Senior Leaders to support the development of their business strategies through HR consultancy and interventions on people issues. The team shape, influence and deliver people strategies and ensure our people are at the heart of our organisation.

The team have recently successfully launched and implemented a new HRBP Service Offer to clearly define the value, boundaries, and strategic role of the HR Business Partnering team within the Department.

You will lead a team of 5 comprising

• 3 HRBPs who each partner a Director General and their SLTs to support the delivery of core people management practices
• Two Assistant HRBPs who work across the team and the organisation to provide expert advice, support and analysis.

Job description

The Senior HR Business Partner acts as a strategic advisor to executive leadership, aligning business objectives with people strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct, coach, and develop the team of HRBPs and AHRBPs (with direct line management responsibility for the three HRBPs). Set clear performance goals, provide regular feedback and maintain a focus on continuous professional development to further elevate the team's capability to act as strategic advisors.
• Partner with senior executives to design and implement tailored HR strategies driving growth, scalability, and operational excellence.
• Collaborate with other expert teams from across People and Workplace to design and deliver succession planning, high-potential identification, and workforce forecasting to ensure the organization has the right talent in the right roles.
• Collaborate with internal Organisation Design and Development (ODD) specialists to evaluate structures and workflows to improve efficiency, manage complex change management initiatives, and guide leadership through organisational redesigns.
• Act as a trusted executive coach to senior leaders, enhancing their leadership capabilities and ability to manage high-performing teams.
• Provide oversight on complex employee relations issues, ensuring compliance with good practice and UK legislation.
• Leverage HR data and analytics to identify trends, diagnose systemic organizational issues, and deliver data-backed recommendations to executive stakeholders.

The broader People & Workplace portfolio is currently undergoing a comprehensive refresh. As a result, the specific duties, team structures, and responsibilities of this role will naturally evolve over time to mirror these strategic changes, offering the successful candidate an exciting opportunity to help shape the future state of the service.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience, please note that desirable skills will only be used in the event of tied candidates:

Essential requirements

• Strategic HR Partnership & Stakeholder Alignment: A proven track record of operating as a strategic HR partner, with the ability to build and sustain highly influential relationships with executives, senior leadership, and trade unions to secure alignment across diverse stakeholders.
• Core People Strategy & Organizational Design: Demonstrable experience delivering key people strategiesincluding Strategic Workforce Planning, Succession Planning, Performance Management, and Diversity & Inclusion initiativesalongside the ability to guide senior leaders on long-term organizational design and the workforce implications of Spending Reviews (or equivalent).
• Data-Driven & Innovative HR Solutions: Proficient in utilising people analytics (such as HR Dashboards and People Survey metrics) to diagnose organisational health, paired with strong business acumen to design innovative, evidence-based solutions that drive organisational effectiveness.
• Inclusive Leadership & Team Development: Dynamic and inclusive leadership skills, with a proven ability to build, motivate, and develop high-performing teams capable of delivering high-quality HR services at pace.
• Coaching Credentials & Professional Status: Strong coaching capabilities to effectively guide executive-level leadership capability, supported by Chartered membership of the CIPD (or a willingness to work towards it).

Desirable Skills

• Strong influencing and consultancy skills.
• Political, contextual and government understanding.
• Ability to problem solve and make strong evidence based decisions.
• Experience leading through change
• A strong understanding of UK employment law legislation and experience advising senior leaders on complex employee relations issues

We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role. This will be hosted by Tinu Saide, and will take place on:

• 24th July at 11am

The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.

Please register your interest by filling out this Registration form by 23rd July, 4pm and you will be sent an invitation. Invites will only be sent after this deadline has passed.

Please note that the session will not be recorded and will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to resourcing.team@dcms.gov.uk

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

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