HR Business Partner

Short Intro and About the Job

Are you an experienced HR Business Partner looking for your next career move? We now have a fantastic opportunity to join the HR Team at our Nutricia manufacturing site in Liverpool.

You will act as strategic HR partner to the Operations function, translating operational priorities into a focused people plan that strengthens capability, leadership, engagement and organisational performance. The role combines forward-looking business partnering with excellent execution across the employee lifecycle, helping Operations leaders deliver sustainable results through their people.

Your key accountabilities

• Strategic partnering and people planning
• Build a deep understanding of the Operations strategy, performance drivers, workforce profile and capability requirements.
• Create and deliver an annual Operations people plan aligned to business priorities and the wider HR agenda.
• Act as a trusted adviser and constructive challenger to senior Operations leaders, bringing an objective people and organisational perspective.
• Use internal and external insight to anticipate workforce risks, opportunities and emerging capability needs.
• Organisation, workforce and change
• Partner leaders on workforce planning, organisation design, role clarity and operating model effectiveness.
• Lead the people workstream for operational change, ensuring clear governance, effective consultation, strong communication and sustainable implementation.
• Assess the people impact of business proposals and shape practical mitigation plans that balance business need, employee experience and risk.
• Promote continuous improvement by simplifying people processes and removing barriers to effective operational delivery.
• Leadership, talent and capability
• Coach leaders to strengthen accountability, judgement, inclusion and people leadership capability.
• Lead talent reviews, succession planning and development actions for the Operations function.
• Partner with Talent, Learning and Recruitment colleagues to build the skills and leadership pipeline required for future operations.
• Support leaders to address performance and capability gaps promptly, fairly and consistently.
• Employee relations and engagement
• Provide expert guidance on complex and high-risk employee relations matters, ensuring fair, timely and legally compliant outcomes.
• Build constructive relationships with employee representatives and trade unions, supporting effective consultation and positive industrial relations.
• Use engagement, absence, retention and employee feedback insights to identify priorities and agree targeted actions with leaders.
• Build manager confidence to resolve issues early and create a respectful, high-performing working environment.
• People cycle, governance and insight
• Ensure high-quality delivery of the people cycle across Operations, including performance, talent, reward, engagement and organisational reviews.
• Turn people data into clear insight, recommendations and action, tracking whether interventions deliver the intended outcome.
• Promote consistent application of policy, employment legislation, data protection and HR governance requirements.
• Work closely with Employee Services and HR centres of expertise to provide a joined-up and efficient employee and manager
• You will also have line management responsibility for a HR Advisor.
• In return you will receive a competitive salary and Danone UK Benefits package.

About You

Essential experience and knowledge required for this role

• Significant generalist HR business partnering experience in a complex, operational or manufacturing environment.
• Credible experience partnering senior leaders and influencing business and people decisions.
• Demonstrable experience of workforce planning, organisation design and leading people aspects of change.
• Strong employee relations expertise, including management of complex cases and organisational risk.
• Experience working constructively in a unionised environment and supporting collective consultation or negotiation.
• Proven use of people data and business insight to diagnose issues, shape recommendations and track impact.
• Current knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• CIPD qualification or equivalent professional experience is desirable

Critical Skills & Behaviours

• Business Acumen.Understands operational performance drivers and connects people actions to business outcomes.
• Strategic Thinking. Looks beyond immediate issues, anticipates future needs and establishes clear priorities.
• Influence and Challenge. Builds credibility quickly, communicates with impact and challenges constructively.
• Change Leadership. Creates clarity through change and converts plans into disciplined execution.
• Employee Relations Judgement. Balances fairness, legal compliance, precedent, employee experience and business risk.
• Data Literacy. Uses evidence to identify patterns, test assumptions and demonstrate impact.
• Coaching Capability. Builds leader confidence and accountability rather than taking ownership away from managers.
• Collaboration & Trust. Works effectively across a matrix and develops constructive relationships at every level.
• About Us, We offer and What's next
• This role offers broad exposure to senior operational leadership, strategic people planning, organisational change, talent, employee relations and the wider Danone network.
• It provides a strong platform for progression into an HR Manager, Lead HR Business Partner or another senior generalist or specialist HR role.