People Partner

Great businesses are built by people who feel supported, heard and able to do their best work – and that’s where you come in. As our People Partner, you’ll be the trusted, approachable partner our managers and colleagues turn to, whether they’re navigating a difficult conversation, growing their team or simply looking for a sounding board.

Reporting to the Head of People & Culture, you’ll take real ownership of employee relations and recruitment, coach managers to lead with confidence, and keep our people foundations accurate, fair and compliant. This is also a role built for your growth: you’ll be deliberately stretched into strategic work such as workforce planning, M&A due diligence, new business integration and SLT reporting, with a clear development pathway towards Head of People & Culture. Success in this role calls on Unity – building trusted relationships across the business – and Dedication – owning outcomes and following through for the people who rely on you.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Be a trusted coach and sounding board to line managers, helping them grow in confidence on people leadership, honest feedback and development conversations
• Spot recurring capability gaps across managers and design targeted interventions to close them, role-modelling our BUILD values in every interaction
• Own complex employee relations casework end-to-end, balancing pace with procedural rigour and applying the correct local employment law
• Assess and escalate people risk promptly and accurately, with clear recommendations and precise, high-quality case documentation
• Own end-to-end recruitment for allocated business areas, partnering with hiring managers and continuously improving onboarding so new starters settle in and thrive
• Contribute to SSP UK&I’s Employee Value Proposition and employer brand
• Support accurate, audit-ready people data in Workday and make sure day-to-day practice complies with GDPR and employment legislation
• Coordinate talent and performance review cycles, supporting managers to develop high-potential talent and bring performance plans to a clear, fair conclusion
• Chair and lead our quarterly SSP Connects forum, sharing timely “You said, we did” updates and using engagement insight to shape the People Plan
• Partner with the SSP Cares lead to deliver our engagement, wellbeing and recognition calendar
• Take on strategic workstreams in workforce planning, organisational design, M&A due diligence and the integration of newly acquired businesses
• Deputise for the Head of People & Culture in select meetings and SLT reporting, with a personal development plan geared towards that next step

WHAT YOU WILL BRING

• Ideally CIPD Level 5, or working toward Level 7
• Demonstrable experience managing complex employee relations casework.
• Exposure to M&A activity and business integration.
• Strong generalist People & Culture background spanning recruitment, performance management, engagement and people compliance.
• Evidence of coaching managers to a measurably better standard, not just advising them.
• Meticulous attention to detail.

OUR BUILD VALUES:

 Our BUILD values describe how we work together at SSP UK & Ireland. They are practical behaviours, and we look for colleagues who will help us bring them to life.

£50,000 - £60,000 per annum

• A discretionary performance-related bonus scheme, so your hard work is recognised and rewarded
• 25 days’ annual leave plus public holidays – and we’ll add your birthday off and an extra day at Christmas to enjoy with the people who matter most
• Life assurance, giving you and your loved ones peace of mind
• Flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle, including Cycle to Work, our EV scheme and health screening
• A contributory pension scheme to help you plan for the future
• Our Employee Assistance Programme, there to support your wellbeing at work and beyond
• Paid time off to volunteer for the causes you care about