Senior People Business Partner

Senior People Business Partner page is loaded Senior People Business Partnerlocations: Tees Local Office: Southampton Operations - Harbour: Milford Haven Operations - Harbour: London Operations - Harbour: Felixstowe Operations - Harbourtime type: Full timeposted on: Posted 2 Days Agotime left to apply: End Date: May 5, 2026 (18 days left to apply)job requisition id: JR3642 Senior People Business Partner - UK - Remote or Hybrid 12 Months Fixed term Contract Svitzer is a leading global towage and marine services provider operating across 37 countries with over 4,000 employees. Founded in 1833, Svitzer builds on almost 200 years of experience, and our powerful tugboats and experts in towage work tirelessly to keep goods flowing, businesses thriving, and communities connected.In the UK, our people work in a demanding, safety-critical, operational environment. Supporting them well is not optional - it's business critical.We're looking for an operational, hands-on Senior People Business Partner for 12 months maternity cover. Start 1st July 2026 until 30th June 2027.You'll be operating at senior stakeholder level, influencing decisions, leading a capable HR team, and navigating a complex, unionised environment wherecredibility and judgement matter. Location: Remote or hybrid from one of our UK port locations (Middlesbrough, Southampton, Bristol, Gravesend, Felixstowe, Liverpool, Milford Haven or Immingham), with travel across our UK operations. Package includes up to 10% contributory pension Private health & dental plan 10% bonus The Role You'll partner directly with senior leadership to execute people strategy aligned to business priorities. At the same time, you'll stay close to the operational detail-particularly across employee relations, industrial relations, and organisational change.You'll lead a HR team (x2 HRBPs, Advisor, Wellbeing Specialist) and act as the go-to advisor on all people matters, ensuring the business remains compliant, commercially focused, and people-led.What you will be doing: • Partner with senior leaders to shape and deliver people strategy • Lead on industrial and employee relations, including union engagement • Drive organisational change, restructures, and transformation • Lead and develop a small, capable HR team • Own risk, compliance, and governance across people mattersWhat matters: • Strong, hands-on ER and UK employment law experience • Proven ability to influence decisions at senior level • Experience operating in complex, unionised or regulated environments • Commercial judgement and the confidence to challenge What We're Looking For Proven experience operating as a Senior HRBP in an operational environment Strong track record influencing senior stakeholders and shaping decisions Deep, hands-on experience in employee relations and UK employment law Experience in unionised and/or regulated environments Practical experience of tribunals, redundancies, and consultation processes CIPD Level 7 (or equivalent experience) What Sets You Apart Confident operator-you challenge constructively and hold your ground Pragmatic-you focus on outcomes, not theory Resilient-you stay effective under pressure Sound judgement-you make the right call, even when it's not the easy one Building a Diverse Workplace In Svitzer we value the diversity of our talent and will always strive to recruit the best person for the job - we value diversity in all its forms, including but not limited to gender, age, nationality, race, sexual orientation, disability, or religious beliefs. We are proud of our diversity and see it as a genuine source of strength for building high performing teams.Don't meet every single have shown that members from some under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs if they don't meet every single qualification. At Svitzer we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles, and we are excited about hearing from you! How to Apply To apply for this role, please click on the 'Apply Now' button and create a Candidate Home to manage your applications.Svitzer is a people company. Offering uninterrupted marine solutions requires not only the best equipment but also the best people. Our ambition is to attract and continuously develop the industry's best craftsmen. Both at sea and on land - worldwide, wherever our customers do business. We are driven by skilled, professional and dedicated people and we work together as one company to provide safe, reliable and efficient services to our customers. We support and develop our people's skills and capabilities and we care for the development of both teams and individuals. To best serve our customers, we strive to ensure the right people and the best teams for the job, every time and we believe diversity is a strength.