Job summary
- Main area
- Human Resources
- Grade
- Band 8c
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 188-STHQ011026
- Employer
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Southampton General Hospital
- Town
- Southampton
- Salary
- £79,504 - £91,609 per annum pro rata
- Closing
- 01/11/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Head of HR Business Partnering
Band 8c
Job overview
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.
Job Title: Head of HR Business Partnering
Contract Type: Permanent
Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications.
Main duties of the job
At UHS our HR Business Partners work hand in hand with our clinical, operational and corporate teams to support and enable them to deliver world class care to our patients. We’re seeking a proven leader to join our excellent HRBP team, with a reputation for delivering high-quality HR advice and guidance that is pragmatic and realistic.
We’re seeking someone with excellent core HR knowledge (TUPE, ER, org change, job evaluation, policy), the ability to deal with highly intelligent and demanding stakeholders, a firm grasp of the employment law landscape and a proven background in building and developing excellent HR teams.
Working for our organisation
As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care.
We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.
Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.
We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You’ll be looking for a role where you have a good amount of autonomy, the opportunity to contribute to wider organisational projects, goals and objectives, and the chance to influence at a senior level. This team delivers advice to our Subsidiary companies (e.g. UHS Estates Limited, UHS Hospital Pharmacy) and hosted services (e.g. Wessex Cancer Alliance, Health Innovation Wessex), who mainly work under NHS terms and conditions, as well as UHS colleagues; so you’ll need strong stakeholder engagement skills, the ability to adapt your advice to internal and external customers and to take into account commercial requirements. A key opportunity of the role is to work with the HRBP team and wider people directorate on key projects such as staff survey and experience, the use of AI and technology to improve workflows and ways of working and provide data and insight to help deliver the UHS People Plan.
This is a broad, interesting and challenging role, working with a great team. We operate hybrid working with approximately half time spent onsite, flexibility is required in order to partner with our clinical colleagues.
Person specification
Qualifications, Training and Memberships
Essential criteria
- Master’s level education or equivalent demonstrable knowledge and experience
- Chartered Membership of the CIPD
- Postgraduate-level specialist HR knowledge, acquired through postgraduate study or equivalent advanced training and substantial relevant experience
Desirable criteria
- Chartered Fellow of the CIPD
- Formal management or leadership qualification
- Qualified Agenda for Change job evaluator
- Training or accreditation in psychometric or development tools
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial senior HR leadership experience in a large, complex organisation
- Expert current knowledge of UK employment law, NHS employment policy and their application to complex workforce and employee-relations matters
- Significant experience of advising and influencing senior leaders on workforce strategy, organisational design, service planning and major organisational change
- Experience of making judgements and providing authoritative advice on highly complex, sensitive and contentious workforce matters where information may be incomplete and options may conflict
- Experience of analysing complex workforce and financial information, identifying trends and risks, and presenting recommendations to senior governance forums
- Experience of leading strategic people projects, workforce planning and staff-experience improvement activity across a large organisation
- Experience of managing teams, service performance and delegated budgets, including development and deployment of professional resources
- Significant experience of partnership working, consultation and negotiation with recognised trade unions
- Demonstrable ability to build effective relationships and establish professional credibility quickly
- Strategic leadership and influencing
Desirable criteria
- Senior People/HR leadership experience in the NHS
- Experience of leading complex medical employee-relations cases
- Experience of recruitment and selection assessment methods
- Knowledge of NHS policy, regulatory and financial planning frameworks
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Brenda Carter
- Job title
- Deputy Chief People Officer
- Email address
- [email protected]
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