Job Title: Senior HR Business Partner (UK) – Product R&D (PI) Team
Department: EU HR
Location: Keynsham, UK
Reporting to: EU HRD
Scope: UK Product R&D team (PI/R&D‑related functions), working closely with EU/HQ stakeholders
Mission
As the HRBP for the UK R&D organisation, you will be responsible for building and strengthening the UK local HR operations and compensation & benefits (C&B) capability, partnering with business leaders to drive organisation and talent outcomes, and owning hiring delivery for critical R&D roles. Through data‑driven and mechanism‑based approaches, you will improve delivery and collaboration, reduce employee relations and compliance risks, and support stable business growth.
Key Responsibilities
1. UK Local HR Operations + Compensation & Benefits (C&B) (Must‑have)
o Strong hands‑on knowledge of UK local C&B and employment practices: able to independently work with payroll/benefits providers and manage payroll execution, payroll changes, pension (auto‑enrolment), sick pay (SSP and any enhanced sick pay if applicable), holidays and leave rules and operations.
o Establish and improve the minimum viable UK local policies and governance framework (policy definitions, approval paths, exception handling and documentation) to reduce case‑by‑case negotiation and repeated disputes.
o Align with Finance/Legal on benefits costs, contract term impacts and employment risks to ensure controllable and compliant operations.
2. Understanding of R&D Organisation & Business Partnering (Able to “Speak R&D”)
o Understand the product R&D delivery lifecycle (requirements/planning → design → development → testing → release → iteration) and common R&D roles and ways of working (PM/PO/Dev/QA/Tech Lead/Architect, etc.).
o Be able to have business‑level discussions with R&D leaders on organisation structure, capability gaps, productivity, delivery cadence, risks and countermeasures.
o Support workforce planning for the R&D team: critical role prioritisation, headcount pacing, capability gaps and hiring strategy (aligned with EU HRD).
3. Hiring Delivery (R&D Hiring Delivery)
o Own hiring delivery for critical R&D roles: role scoping/capability alignment, sourcing strategy (referrals/agency/direct), funnel management and execution cadence.
o Drive interviewer calibration and interview quality (scorecards, feedback SLAs, decision mechanisms) to reduce delays and mis‑hires.
o Participate in key interviews and provide input on leveling/compensation recommendations (aligned with EU HRD/Finance), and drive offer issuance and acceptance.
o Ensure pre‑boarding readiness (notice period tracking, onboarding materials, onboarding plan) and post‑joining probation objectives setup and follow‑through.
4. Performance & Talent Management
o Drive probation objective setting and reviews, performance goal setting, performance reviews and calibration to ensure compliance and usable outcomes.
o Lead talent reviews, retention plans, succession and development plans, and ensure performance outcomes are applied (development/rewards/improvement/PIP/exits).
5. Employee Relations & Compliance (ER & Compliance)
o Independently manage complex ER cases for the UK R&D team, including disciplinary/grievance, long‑term sickness management, performance.
o Partner with external counsel to ensure documentation, evidence and processes are legally compliant and executable; control dispute risks.
6. People Analytics & HR Systems (People Analytics & HRIS)
o Build basic people dashboards for the R&D team (hiring funnel, attrition, performance distribution, ER risk, etc.) to support leadership decision‑making.
o Participate in HRIS rollout and process digitisation to improve data accuracy, compliance traceability and operational efficiency.
7. Cross‑functional / Cross‑regional Collaboration Support
o Support the rollout of collaboration mechanisms for key projects.
o Act as a neutral facilitator to drive conflict convergence and faster decision‑making (not making business decisions on behalf of leaders, but ensuring mechanisms run effectively).
Requirements (Must‑have)
* 6–10+ years of HRBP / HR Generalist experience, with hands‑on UK local HR operations and C&B implementation experience (able to independently manage payroll/benefits/pension/sick pay topics).
* Experience supporting product/R&D/engineering/technical teams; understand R&D organisation and delivery ways of working; able to engage deeply with R&D leaders and provide actionable solutions.
* Proven hiring delivery capability: able to manage R&D hiring funnel, drive interviewer decisions, and support leveling and offer closure.
* Strong ER capability: able to independently handle complex scenarios such as …
* Strong influencing and communication skills: able to drive leader decisions and execution using “facts + options + impact.”
* Strong project management and cross‑functional collaboration capability.
* Strong data mindset: able to use metrics to drive management and retrospectives.
* Fluent English (written and spoken).
Nice to have
* Experience building UK local HR policy foundation from 0 to 1.
* Vendor management experience (payroll, benefits, legal counsel, recruitment …).
* HRIS implementation / process digitisation experience.
* Experience working with agencies, building talent pipelines, and driving employer …
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