People Partner Consultant

Overview

Are you an experienced HR professional with extensive employee relations and change management experience ready to make a real impact? We are seeking a forward-thinking People Partner Consultant to support the Communities Directorate. This is an exciting opportunity to work in partnership with senior stakeholders to support complex employee relation cases, and deliver transformation change projects by providing pragmatic and professional advice that enables services to meet objectives and address workforce challenges.

This is a fixed term/secondment role for 6 months.

About us

Our HR & OD Service is at the heart of the Council’s mission to deliver outstanding services to our communities. We are committed to:

• Building a culture of adaptability, collaboration, and innovation
• Leveraging data and AI to inform our decisions and interventions
• Supporting our people to perform at their best and develop their potential
• Upholding the values of being Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative, and Trustworthy

As part of the wider strategic people partner team, you’ll work alongside other passionate professionals who are dedicated to making a difference through timely, consistent and high‑quality employee relations advice.

About the role

Within this role, your key responsibilities will include:

• To work in partnership with services to understand current and future workforce needs, supporting the delivery of transformational projects through robust, pragmatic and professional advice that enables services to meet objectives and address workforce challenges.
• Provide timely, consistent and high‑quality employee relations advice to managers, Heads of Service and Service Directors, enabling practical, transparent decision‑making with a balanced and proportionate approach to risk – Drive forward customer centric ethos.
• Champion the effective use of ServiceNow and early intervention approaches, collaborating across HR and drawing on the full range of specialist resources and expertise to deliver best‑value, best‑practice solutions that meet customer needs and service demand.
• Facilitating communication between employees and management to foster a positive and productive work environment.
• Fosters a proactive approach to resolving issues, looking for informal resolutions that suit all parties where appropriate.
• Champion our values and model behaviours that inspire others.

Please refer to the attached job summary for further details.

About you

You are an experienced and credible HR People Partner who thrives on working in partnership with services to understand their workforce challenges and deliver pragmatic, people‑centred solutions. You bring a strong customer‑focused ethos, using your expertise to support transformational change while balancing risk, compliance and commercial realities.

You are confident providing high‑quality, timely employee relations advice to managers, Heads of Service and Service Directors, enabling transparent and well‑reasoned decision‑making. You take a proactive approach to resolving issues, valuing early intervention and informal resolution wherever appropriate, and building positive working relationships with stakeholders, employees and trade union representatives.

You have strong technical knowledge across the full range of employee relations matters and UK employment legislation, with the ability to manage complex and sensitive cases through to resolution. You can identify organisational risk, horizon‑scan for legislative and best‑practice developments, and translate this insight into practical improvements that add value and ensure compliance.

You are comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, complex environment, using sound judgement, initiative and data‑driven insight to prioritise and deliver work programmes. You enjoy collaborating across HR and OD, drawing on specialist expertise and digital solutions such as ServiceNow to provide efficient, best‑practice outcomes that meet customer demand.

You are also motivated to innovate and continuously improve. You actively look for opportunities to enhance HR service design, support digital and AI‑enabled ways of working, and contribute to projects that strengthen organisational capability. You value learning and development—both your own and others’—and role‑model resilience, wellbeing and professional curiosity in everything you do.

Experience of working in a matrix environment and collaborating with a “One Team” approach is highly desirable.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

Other information

For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.

1-2 days in the Walton Street or Gateway office and will require travelling to Communities services remote office sites based on stakeholder requirements.

Number of positions available: 1

Closing date: 3rd February 2026

Shortlisting date: 5^th February 2026

Interview date: w/c 9^th February 2026

Interview-type / process: 60 minute competency-based interview, in person

If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: [email protected], telephone 01296 383192

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/