Senior People Partner

About the roleAre you an experienced HR leader ready to become a trusted advisor to either our Waitrose or New Business Senior Leadership teams here at the John Lewis Partnership?

As a Senior People Partner, you will be a trusted advisor to a member of the Partnership Executive team and /or their senior leadership team. Your core mission is to shape and drive the delivery of People plans that directly enable the overall business strategy. This is about ensuring we have the right talent, in the right place, and at the right time, fostered by an inclusive and empowering culture. In a rapidly evolving environment, you will lead proactive workforce planning and support effective change delivery to ensure the business meets its current priorities and is future-ready. You will be instrumental in influencing the People agenda both at a business and pan-Partnership level.

You will play a pivotal role in guiding, coaching, and influencing leaders through strategic insight, challenge, and collaboration. We are looking for someone who can build deep, credible relationships across the Partnership, grounded in trust, business understanding, and sound judgment. As a proactive thought partner, you will shape decisions, anticipate risks, and identify opportunities to unlock commercial performance through our people. You must be prepared to provide honest counsel, even when challenging, ensuring leaders always consider the people impact and opportunity in every decision, and act as an exemplar of the Partnership Behaviours.

Salary -  £70,500 - £110,500  

Contract type - Permanent

Working pattern/flexible working  - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. 

You should expect to be working from a Partnership location 3 days per week.

Key Responsibilities

• Be a trusted advisor to Senior Directors, shaping and executing the people plan within the business area. 

• Act as the voice of the People agenda with Senior leaders, ensuring alignment between business goals and people initiatives.

• Diagnose and scope people change initiatives that support the transformation and growth of the business area.

• Lead the creation and implementation of the People Plan in alignment with the overarching Partnership strategy.

• Influence and contribute to the pan-Partnership people agenda through engagement with COEs and aligned People resources, ensuring the unique needs of the business area are effectively represented and addressed.

• Lead strategic workforce planning activities in partnership with Strategy & Workforce Planning and Demand & Capacity Planning to ensure optimal resource allocation and capability building over the life of the Partnership plan.

• Support diversity and inclusion efforts, embedding inclusive practices in leadership, talent development, and recruitment.

• Partner with People Centres of Expertise (CoEs) to: 

  • Support senior recruitment strategies

  • Navigate complex employee relations (ER) issues

  • Address future capability and succession requirement

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Proven experience in a senior HR business partnering or strategic HR leadership role, ideally within a complex, matrixed organisation.

• Demonstrated ability to influence and advise senior leaders (Executive Director /Director) on strategic people matters.

• Track record of developing and delivering People focused plans or initiatives aligned to business strategy.

• Experience in leading or supporting large-scale organisational change, workforce transformation, and capability building.

• Experience in talent management, workforce planning, and diversity & inclusion strategies.

• Experience working closely with Centres of Expertise (e.g. Talent, ER, TA) to deliver cohesive people solutions.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• CIPD qualification (Level 7 or equivalent)

• Evidence of continued professional development in leadership, organisational development, or strategic HR practices.

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About The Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application please contact us as soon as possible.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.