Head of HR Business Partnering: Sponsorship Available

University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust

Job summary

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Job Title: Head of HR Business PartneringContract 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.

Person Specification

Qualifications, Training and Memberships

Essential

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Closing Date: 1 November 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.