Lead HR Business Partner

The Open University • Full-time • Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom • £60k - £67.50k / year • 2d ago

About the job

Are you a strategic HR leader ready to shape the future of people strategy at a world-class institution?

Join The Open University as a Lead HR Business Partner and play a pivotal role in driving organisational performance, culture, and employee experience across a complex, evolving environment.

About the Role

The Open University is seeking a strategic and values-led Lead HR Business Partner to join People Services. In this pivotal role you will partner with senior leaders across your portfolio to translate university strategy into a people agenda that strengthens organisational performance, culture and employee experience.

Working in a matrix model and closely with Centres of Expertise (CoEs), People Operations and wider Professional Services, you will shape and deliver workforce, talent, leadership, reward, inclusion and change priorities. You will use insight and data to diagnose issues, design interventions and ensure measurable impact aligned to the University People Plan.

With responsibility for multiple Faculty and/or Professional Services units of significant complexity, you will provide trusted, evidence-based challenge and coaching to leaders. You will lead multi-disciplinary virtual teams to deliver agreed priorities, improve leadership capability and embed sustainable ways of working.

Key Responsibilities

Co-create and deliver the people plan for your portfolio, aligning workforce priorities to strategy, financial plans and operating model requirements.
Lead and chair multi-disciplinary virtual teams, partnering with CoE and operational support to design and deliver solutions at pace.
Act as a trusted adviser and ‘critical friend’ to senior leaders, providing constructive challenge, options and risk-based recommendations on complex people matters.
Build strategic workforce plans (capability, capacity, cost) and drive execution through recruitment, internal mobility, resourcing models and skills development.
Use people data, insight and external benchmarking to identify trends, diagnose root causes and measure the impact of interventions (e.g., engagement, retention, performance, inclusion and wellbeing).
Build strong, credible relationships with leaders and stakeholders, enabling effective decision-making and ensuring timely access to the right expertise and resources.
Enable a high-performance culture through leadership coaching and practical solutions across performance, talent, succession, learning and development, and reward.
Lead the people aspects of change, including organisation design, consultation, capability building and adoption of new ways of working.
Embed inclusive leadership and equitable practices, partnering with leaders and CoEs to remove barriers and improve outcomes.
Partner with leaders to strengthen engagement, wellbeing and organisational health, using listening channels and action planning to drive improvement.

About You

Skills and Experience:

Degree in HR, business, law, organisational psychology or a related discipline or equivalent professional experience.
CIPD Level 5/7 (or equivalent) is desirable.
Significant HR partnering experience at a senior level, with demonstrable impact across workforce planning, talent and succession, performance, employee relations, change and organisational development.
Proven ability to operate effectively in a matrix environment, partnering across CoEs and shared services to deliver consistent, high-quality outcomes.
Strong influencing and coaching skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and navigate ambiguity and competing priorities.
Demonstrated change leadership with a delivery mindset - able to set direction, mobilise stakeholders and translate plans into outcomes.
Excellent stakeholder management, communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility at senior level.
Strategic and commercially aware, with strong execution, governance and risk awareness (including employee relations and policy compliance).
Confident communicator with strong consultancy skills, able to simplify complex issues and influence decisions through clear narratives and insight.
Able to secure commitment and alignment across diverse stakeholder groups, bringing credibility, pragmatism and sound judgement.
Able to translate the people agenda into improved organisational outcomes, with a focus on measurable impact and continuous improvement.
Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, comfortable working with data and translating insight into action.
Advanced skills in MS Office (especially PowerPoint and Excel) and experience using HR systems and dashboards to inform decisions.

Key Attributes:

Anticipates and balances the needs of multiple stakeholders.
Sees ahead to future possibilities and translates them into breakthrough strategies.
Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. Readily involves others to accomplish goals; stays in touch and shares information; discourages "us versus them" thinking; shows appreciation for others' ideas and input.
Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
Applies knowledge of organisation and sector to advance the Organisation's goals.
Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments.

Support with your application

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.

Why Join The Open University?

At The Open University, we are proud pioneers of accessible education and innovation. This is a unique opportunity to influence strategy at scale and make a meaningful impact on people, performance, and culture within one of the UK’s most respected institutions.

We offer a supportive environment that values teamwork, professional development, and continuous improvement, giving you the platform to grow your leadership career while making a tangible impact every day.

Our benefits include:

33 days annual leave, on top of bank holidays and a three-day Christmas closure period.
Access to a leading pension scheme for UK higher education with generous employer contributions.
Staff Fee Waivers for OU study, meaning you could earn a degree for free.
Hybrid working, with limited requirement to attend the office in-person, with agile working and family friendly policies.
Discounts, wellbeing support, and development opportunities.

Ready to make an impact?

Apply now and shape a high-performing, inclusive, and future-ready organisation where people and performance go hand in hand here at one of the UK’s most respected institutions.

Apply directly