Pontoon is an employment consultancy. We put expertise, energy, and enthusiasm into improving everyone's chance of being part of the workplace. We respect and appreciate people of all ethnicities, generations, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, and more. We do this by showcasing their talents, skills, and unique experience in an inclusive environment that helps them thrive.

Job Title: Strategic People Partner (HR Business Partner)

Location: Warwick/Wokingham

Contract Type: 12 months

The Role

Reporting to the Head of Business Partnering and Employee Relations, the Strategic People Partner will act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, supporting assigned business areas to deliver their strategic and organisational objectives through effective people strategies.

Working collaboratively with the wider People Function and specialist Centres of Excellence, the postholder will translate business priorities into practical people plans, ensuring the organisation has the right workforce, skills, capabilities and structures for the future.

A key focus will be leading Strategic Workforce Planning and Job Architecture activity, alongside supporting organisational effectiveness and people-related change. The role will also work closely with People Function Product Owners to prioritise and sequence initiatives, ensuring they are aligned to business needs and can be effectively absorbed.

Key Accountabilities

• Act as a trusted strategic advisor to senior leaders, aligning people strategies with business priorities and future objectives.
• Lead Strategic Workforce Planning, assessing current and future workforce requirements, identifying capability gaps and developing actionable workforce plans.
• Lead and support Job Architecture activity, including job families, role design, job levelling and alignment with organisational structures and reward frameworks.
• Partner with leaders on organisational design, effectiveness and transformation initiatives.
• Provide strategic advice on talent management, succession planning, leadership development, employee engagement and organisational capability.
• Work collaboratively with People Centres of Excellence and Product Owners to deliver integrated people solutions and manage the sequencing and impact of change.
• Coach and advise senior leaders on employee relations, performance management, organisational change and wider people matters.
• Use workforce data, market insights and people analytics to inform decisions and identify opportunities for improvement.

About You

We are looking for an experienced and commercially focused People Partner who can operate strategically, influence senior stakeholders and deliver practical people solutions in a complex and changing environment.

You will bring:

• Significant experience in a strategic HR or People Business Partnering role.
• Proven experience in Strategic Workforce Planning, including workforce analysis, future capability requirements, skills gap assessment and developing workforce strategies.
• Strong experience in Job Architecture, including job families, role design, job levelling and organisational frameworks.
• Demonstrable experience in Organisational Design, including designing and implementing organisational structures, reviewing roles and accountabilities, assessing spans and layers, and aligning organisational capability and operating models to business strategy.
• Experience leading and supporting organisational effectiveness, transformation and complex people-related change.
• A strong understanding of talent management, succession planning and leadership development.
• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing and communication skills, with the confidence to challenge and coach senior leaders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn complex information into clear recommendations.
• The ability to manage competing priorities, adapt to change and work collaboratively across a wider People Function.

Apply now!

Please be advised: if you haven't heard from us within 48 hours, then unfortunately your application has not been successful on this occasion. We may, however, keep your details on file for any suitable future vacancies and contact you accordingly.

We use generative AI tools to support our candidate screening process. This helps us ensure a fair, consistent, and efficient experience for all applicants. Rest assured, all final decisions are made by our hiring team, and your application will be reviewed with care and attention.