People Partner (Operations)

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Deliver the day-to-day operational People services across ODI Global.
• Provide professional HR advice to managers on the interpretation and application of employment policies and procedures.
• Ensure consistent application of employment legislation, organisational policies and best practice.
• Develop effective working relationships with managers to provide proactive business partnering support.
• Support managers to address workforce issues in a timely, constructive and legally compliant manner.
• Promote continuous improvement in People processes and service delivery.
• Provide effective supervision and support to the People Advisor as primary task manager.
• Set clear objectives, priorities and performance expectations for the People Advisor.
• Monitor the quality, accuracy and timeliness of work undertaken by the People Advisor.

• Lead on employee relations case management across the organisation.
• Provide advice and guidance on disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence management, performance, probation and conduct matters.
• Support managers in resolving workplace issues through early intervention and informal resolution where appropriate.
• Commission and manage external employment law or specialist HR advice where complex or high-risk cases require additional expertise.
• Monitor employee relations trends and identify opportunities to reduce organisational risk.
• Provide guidance and oversight to the People Advisor where they are supporting employee relations casework or administration.

• Support organisational restructuring, consultation exercises and change programmes.
• Provide professional advice on restructuring, redundancy, redeployment and organisational design.
• Support managers throughout consultation processes and implementation of organisational change.
• Ensure organisational change activity complies with employment legislation and organisational policy.
• Coordinate and oversee administrative support provided by the People Advisor during consultation and change processes.

• Support workforce planning activity across the organisation.
• Work with managers and oversee the People Advisor in coordinating recruitment and onboarding activity, including the application process for staff requiring visas in line with UKVI requirements.
• Advise on workforce planning, resource requirements and organisational capability.
• Ensure recruitment processes are delivered fairly, efficiently and in accordance with organisational policy.
• Allocate recruitment and onboarding activity to the People Advisor and provide advice, support and quality assurance as required.
• Support the People Advisor to develop their recruitment, onboarding and wider employee lifecycle capability.

• Support the review, development and implementation of People policies and procedures.
• Ensure policies remain legally compliant and aligned with organisational priorities.
• Develop guidance and briefing materials to support managers and employees.
• Ensure the People Advisor is appropriately briefed and trained to support the consistent administration of People policies and procedures.

• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency through process redesign and digital solutions.
• Work collaboratively with the People Systems & Data Manager to improve workflows and employee self-service.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across the People Function.
• Involve and support the People Advisor in identifying service improvements and implementing revised processes and ways of working.

• Build effective relationships with managers, employees, Trade Union representatives and external advisers.
• Represent the People Function on organisational projects and working groups as required.
• Support the People Director in delivering strategic People initiatives.
• Support the People Advisor to build effective working relationships with managers, employees and colleagues across the organisation.

• Contribute to departmental planning and delivery of the People Strategy.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure confidentiality of employee information.
• Prepare reports, briefing papers and management information as required, including providing data and analysis to support Board reporting.
• Manage the workload, priorities and development needs of the People Advisor.
• Ensure appropriate cover and resilience arrangements are in place for operational People services.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade and responsibilities of the post.
• Work collaboratively as required across the Team to ensure an appropriate People Service is maintained.

Person Specification

• Hold a CIPD Level 7 qualification or equivalent.
• Significant experience of providing operational HR business partnering support.
• Demonstrable experience of effectively managing employee relations cases.
• Experience of line managing, supervising or developing an HR or People professional.
• Ability to set objectives, allocate work, provide feedback and manage the performance and development of a direct report.
• Sound knowledge of UK employment legislation and HR best practice.
• Experience of supporting organisational change, consultation and restructuring.
• Experience of working in a unionised environment.
• Ability to build effective relationships with managers at all levels.
• Excellent communication, influencing and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to provide pragmatic, commercially aware HR advice.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and balance personal and team workloads.
• Experience of drafting HR policies, reports and briefing papers.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team.
• High level of discretion and ability to manage confidential information appropriately.
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office and HR systems.

• Experience within an international organisation.
• Experience supporting globally dispersed workforces.
• Experience working in the charity, research or international development sectors.
• Experience supporting organisational transformation programmes.
• Knowledge of immigration, international employment or Employer of Record arrangements.
• Experience of using HR data to inform decision-making.
• Experience of implementing digital HR solutions.
• Experience of coaching and developing junior HR or People colleagues.

• People Director — line manager
• People Partner (Employee Experience) – Peer
• Systems and Data Manager - Peer
• People Advisor — primary task manager
• Senior Leadership Team
• Line managers across ODI Global
• Trade Union representatives
• Employees across the organisation
• External employment law advisers
• Recruitment providers
• Occupational Health and Employee Assistance providers
• External HR consultants where required

• Positively support equality of opportunity both within ODI and externally.
• Help maintain a safe working environment and take responsibility for their own and colleagues' health and safety.
• Undertake such other duties within the scope of their post as may be requested by their manager.

Why should you work for us?