Employee Relations Business Partner

Summary:

Are you an employee relations expert looking for a role where your expertise truly makes a difference? Do you want to move away from the "conveyor belt" of casework and into a position where you can coach and impact strategy?

At South East Water, we provide the most essential service there is. We're looking for an Employee Relations Business Partner (ER BP) who is more than just a policy expert, we need a pragmatic problem solver and a trusted coach.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead our ER landscape. You won't just be managing cases; you'll be translating data into insights, leading the evolution of our HR policies, and ensuring we stay ahead of the legal curve.

The ER BP will monitor the evolving legal landscape and lead the evolution of HR policies to ensure compliance. The Employee Relations Business Partner is a key role, responsible for leading and overseeing all ER case work.

This position delivers pragmatic solutions and supports departmental managers through South East Water's procedures and employment legislation. The ER BP provides expert coaching to managers on conflict resolution, communication strategies, and policy application.

A successful ERBP is adept at developing strong working relationships across all levels of seniority and demonstrates sound judgement, underpinned by their knowledge of employment law and good practice. A crucial part of the role is translating ER data into high-level summaries and reports that drive strategic decision-making for the HR team and the wider business. Finally, the ER BP monitors the evolving legal landscape and proactively leads the evolution of HR policies to ensure continuous compliance.

Main Responsibilities

• Manage a personal portfolio of cases for investigations, disciplinaries, grievances, absence management; scheduling and prioritising activities based on the needs of each case and applicable deadlines or timescales.
• Provide expert advice with mindfulness to the organisation's policies and procedures, legislation and best practice. Assess and communicate the risk profile to the business, offering pragmatic solutions Reviewing and preparing letters/documents and supporting managers where required.
• Identify potential challenges at the earliest opportunity and seek early intervention. Take every opportunity to coach managers in aspects of people management. Work with employees, managers and strategic HR functions to ensure cases are managed effectively, organisational lessons are learnt and insight shared.
• As a trusted business partner, proactively cultivate strong and trusted working relationships with teams, managers and key stakeholders across the organisation, fostering a collaborative environment that promotes effective and positive change. Provides day to day performance management guidance to line management (e.g., coaching, counselling, career development).
• Support HRBP team with restructuring consultations and associated paperwork.
• Identifies and supports training needs within business units and engages with Organisational Development teams to deliver appropriate programmes. Supports the evaluation and monitoring of training programs to ensure their effectiveness.
• Supports thorough analysis of HR trends and metrics to identify potential issues, and develop tailored solutions, programs, and policies to align with the needs of the business.
• Responsible for ER reporting obligations by delivering comprehensive and precise HR management information alongside the HR Business Partners.

Qualifications

• Problem solving and analytical capability.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and people management skills
• Intellectual curiosity
• Tenacity and patience
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Coaching skills
• Strong team player
• Strong organisational skills and able to manage multiple projects/relationships and competing priorities
• A high attention to detail

Skills

• Problem solving and analytical capability.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and people management skills
• Intellectual curiosity
• Tenacity and patience
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Coaching skills
• Strong team player
• Strong organisational skills and able to manage multiple projects/relationships and competing priorities
• A high attention to detail

Experience

• Strong ER generalist experience
• Proven experience and ability to set up and support ER meetings; being able to take proficient notes and provide on the spot advice.
• Proven experience of pragmatic and commercial application of business aligned ER solutions.
• Good knowledge of employment legislation and external best practice trends.
• Proven experience of interacting with and influencing all levels of stakeholders from junior managers through to senior leaders.
• Experience of writing outcome letters, succinct reports and recommendation papers.
• Ability and confidence to understand when to escalate more complex issues Senior HR Business Partner.
• Proven experience managing a high volume caseload alongside project, policy, and reporting commitments
• Experience in preparing Subject Access Requests

We want to be the water company people want to be supplied by and want to work for.

We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That's why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.

Benefits package:

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Wellbeing related benefits.

What can you expect from your recruitment?

• To apply for this position, please submit your CV on our career's website.
• It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water.
• Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.

If this sounds like the opportunity you've been looking for, apply now!

South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.

Compensation package:

£40,000 - £45,000 per annum