Senior HR Business Partner, Europe
19 hours ago
Worthing
We are hiring: Senior HR Business Partner, Europe Location: Worthing, UK The Senior HR Business Partner, Europe partners Watlow’s enabling functions in Europe – Finance, IT, Marketing & Communications and Legal – and holds regional accountability for employee relations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden. The role combines strategic partnering on organisational design, talent and capability with hands-on ownership of complex employee relations and employment law across three jurisdictions. WhatYou’llDo • Act as principal HR partner to the European leaders of Finance, IT, Marketing & Communications and Legal, translating functional strategy into practical people plans., • Use a deep understanding of each function’s operating model and capability needs to shape organisational design, role clarity and ways of working., • Coach managers on leadership, team effectiveness and people decisions, and support workforce planning and resourcing with Talent Acquisition and Total Rewards., • Own the employee relations agenda for all employee groups in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden, irrespective of function., • Lead and resolve complex cases – disciplinary, grievance, performance, absence, wellbeing, conduct and exits – fairly, consistently and on sound evidence., • Advise authoritatively on UK employment law and, with local advisers, on Irish and Swedish requirements; keep leaders informed of legislative change and its practical impact., • Maintain constructive relationships with employee representatives and trade unions, manage consultation obligations, direct external employment counsel, and turn case trends into preventative manager education., • Partner with leaders to design and deliver organisational and workforce change within scope, from concept through to embedding., • Assess impact on people, identify risks and build practical mitigation, engagement and communication plans., • Ensure change meets local legal and consultation requirements, and guide managers and employees through transition without loss of engagement or continuity., • Drive the annual people cycle within scope – performance review, calibration, talent review, succession and compensation planning – and close capability gaps in critical roles., • Champion Watlow’s values, using engagement data and employee listening to agree and track focused local actions., • Keep HR policies for the three countries legally current and aligned to the global framework and use HR data and metrics to generate insight and support local compliance., • Act as trusted and collaborative team members within Europe HR as well as Watlow global HR organizations, • Enabling-function leaders treat the role as trusted adviser and involve it early in business and people decisions., • Employee relations matters are resolved promptly, fairly and consistently, with low levels of escalation or claim., • Policy and practice in the three countries are legally current and consistently applied, with managers increasingly confident handling people matters themselves., • Change activity is delivered to plan with engagement maintained, succession plans for critical roles are in place, and retention within scope is stable or improving. WhatYou’llNeedToSucceed • Degree in Human Resources, Business, Law, Psychology or a related discipline; CIPD Level 7 or equivalent preferred., • Minimum eight years’ progressive HR experience, including several years partneringsenior leaders in a multinational, matrixed organisation., • Deep, hands-on UK employment law and employee relations expertise, including theAcas Code of Practice and current awareness of the Employment Rights Act 2025 “reforms. This is the most important requirement of the role., • Employee relations experience in Ireland and Sweden, or the proven ability to build it quickly with local advisers; familiarity with Irish WRC practice and the Swedishco- determination environment is an advantage., • Experience supporting corporate or enabling functions preferred; industrial or manufacturing sector experience an advantage. Proven track record of guiding leadersand employees through organisational change and transition. • Strong business acumen and confident use of HR data; excellent influencing, coachingand communication skills, with sound judgement, discretion and the credibility tochallenge constructively at senior level., • Basic AI skills with willingness to develop as the advanced AI user, • Fluent English; additional European languages an advantage. Why Join Watlow's Team • Join a collaborative European HR community, working closely with colleagues across the UK, Ireland, Sweden and beyond, while staying aligned with Watlow's global HR organization - a role that offers both the variety of multi-country exposure and the support of a regional network., • We offer comprehensive benefits package including private healthcare, life assurance, income protection, a matched pension scheme and dedicated mental health and wellbeing support., • Working Pattern:Monday to Friday, 7.5 hours/day, 4 days from the office, 1 day of home office per week, • Contract Type:Permanent, full-time position #J-18808-Ljbffr