HR Business Partner

Associate Director, Senior HRBP

Oxfordshire - Hybrid (3 days per week in the office)

We're looking for an experienced Associate Director, Senior HRBP to join Oxford Nanopore, supporting our Make & Deliver Business Unit, including our Manufacturing Production Operations, Supply Chain and Logistics teams. This role will also provide HR Business Partnering support to our Finance function, reporting into the Chief Financial Officer, and will take the lead on a number of internal and external audits.

As a trusted advisor to Managers and VPs, you'll support the full employee lifecycle while helping to drive a high-performance culture across your client groups. Working closely with business leaders, Centres of Expertise and the wider HR team, you'll deliver both strategic and operational HR solutions aligned to business priorities and our global people strategy.

This role will play a key part in supporting organisational change, organisational design, leadership development and fostering an inclusive employee experience. You will also be responsible for ensuring HR policies and procedures remain current, compliant and fit for purpose, as well as representing HR at Health & Safety Committee meetings.

The role is both strategic and operational in nature. Given the client base, previous experience partnering with Manufacturing, Production, Supply Chain or Logistics teams would be highly advantageous. Experience supporting organisations through significant growth and scaling of manufacturing operations, including involvement in due diligence, workforce planning and the assessment of new manufacturing sites in the UK or internationally, would also be highly beneficial.

While this role has dedicated business areas, we operate as a collaborative HR team and expect our HR Business Partners to remain flexible and support other functions across the organisation as business needs and priorities evolve.

The role is primarily based at our purpose-built Manufacturing facility on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire. The successful candidate will also be expected to attend our headquarters at the Oxford Science Park at least once per week. We operate a hybrid working model which is available to the post holder.

Who We Are

Oxford Nanopore has developed a new generation of nanopore-based sensing technology for faster, information-rich, accessible and affordable molecular analysis. Our technology is used to understand and characterise the biology of humans, animals, plants, bacteria, viruses and diseases such as cancer. By enabling biological insights, we strive to improve life on Earth and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Shape and deliver HR strategy for your business units, aligned to global HR and talent priorities.
• Provide proactive, customer-focused HR support and expert coaching to stakeholders up to senior leadership level.
• Coach, support and challenge leaders to build high-performing, engaged teams and strengthen leadership capability.
• Deliver full-service HR support across the entire employee lifecycle.
• Champion company values through policies, programmes and day-to-day interactions.
• Lead on employee relations matters including investigations, disciplinaries, grievances and mediation.
• Resolve complex ER issues with sound judgement, consistency and compliance.
• Support headcount planning and recruitment activities in partnership with Hiring Managers and the RPO team.
• Coordinate immigration casework where applicable.
• Ensure effective onboarding and integration of new hires.
• Partner with Centres of Expertise on organisational effectiveness, organisational design, talent management, performance, reward and workforce planning.
• Lead and support organisational change initiatives, helping leaders navigate growth, transformation, restructures and evolving business needs.
• Champion diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, supporting a culture where everyone can thrive and contribute.
• Partner effectively with colleagues and stakeholders across international teams to ensure alignment with wider business and HR objectives.
• Drive data-informed HR decisions through audits, reporting and people insights.
• Maintain accurate employee records, including contractual changes and employee lifecycle updates.
• Ensure HR policies and procedures remain up to date, compliant and aligned with business needs.
• Support internal and external audit activities and HR governance requirements.
• Represent HR at Health & Safety Committee meetings.
• Identify and mitigate risks, escalating issues where appropriate.
• Promote HR best practice in line with company policy and employment legislation.
• Act as an interface with Works Council representatives where applicable.

• Lead or contribute to HR projects and continuous improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

• CIPD Level 5 qualified, HR Degree, or equivalent experience.
• CIPD Level 7 qualification is desirable.

Experience

• Strong HR Business Partnering experience within a complex and fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrable experience supporting and influencing senior stakeholders and business leaders.
• End-to-end HR lifecycle expertise, including employee relations, recruitment, reward, payroll, learning and development, and organisational development.
• Experience supporting organisational change, transformation, organisational design or business growth initiatives.
• Experience coaching and developing leaders to enhance team performance and engagement.
• Experience working within Manufacturing, Production, Supply Chain or Logistics environments.
• Experience supporting technical, scientific, engineering, R&D or Life Sciences populations.
• Experience supporting organisations through growth, operational scaling or site expansion activities would be advantageous.
• Experience working within international and/or EMEAI organisations, partnering across multiple geographies and cultures.
• Experience working within global and multi-site organisations would be advantageous.

Skills & Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Excellent communication, coaching and influencing skills.
• Ability to work at pace, prioritise competing demands and deliver results.
• Strong analytical capability with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Understanding of organisational design principles and workforce planning methodologies.
• Ability to influence and build relationships across diverse international teams and cultures.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and HR systems such as Oracle.

Please note that no terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed solely on their merits, qualifications and ability to perform the duties of the role.

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