People Business Partner

Job Introduction

What is the job about?

Fancy a new job?  Of course you do because otherwise you would not be reading this. 

If you want a job with a purpose then keep reading.  You may have noticed that there is a lot going on in rail at the moment – if you haven’t noticed then probably best you stop reading this now. 

You don’t have to be a rail enthusiast or know the difference between a 375, 376, 395 and 707 – but in time you will and you will wonder how that happened!  What you’ll need is the experience of thriving in complexity and the ability to influence people. 

Your role will be working closely with both Directors and Senior Leaders to identify the current and future needs of the business and to be a catalyst for making change happen.  This is a fantastic opportunity to join our People Team as a People Business Partner and to make a real difference to help develop and evolve our work practices and to play an integral part in a culture change to ensure that Southeastern is a place where our people can thrive.

In addition, you will provide coaching and guidance to business unit Managers, contributing on a multitude of HR activities to drive business performance and influence change.  You will help improve a business that moves over 100m people per year and by working with some great people you’ll make a direct impact.  

As an added bonus, you will get the chance to ride in a drivers’ cab, work across stations and see work at the train depots.  Secretly you know you’d love to see a 375, 376, 395 and 707 up close.

Where will I work?

This is a hybrid role where you be able to split your time between working from home and also from our incredible Head Office which is located at London Bridge. Due to the nature of this role, candidates will also be required to travel across our network to support with business functions and therefore need to live a reasonable commutable distance to both our Head Office and our network.

Although this role is advertised as full-time hours Monday - Friday, there is the potential for this position to be done via part time or on flexible hours and this can be discussed at interview on an individual basis.

Please note, we are recruiting for both a full-time and a 12 month maternity cover position, please state in your application if there is a preference in which role you are screened for or if you would be interested in either position.

Role Responsibility

Purpose of the role

The purpose of the role will be to create a key interface between the People Function and the Heads of departments to create a strategic approach to organisational development that ultimately results in a more effective work force.

This will include working with HR Centres of excellence and project teams to deliver the best possible outcomes for the business.

Key accountabilities and responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

• Working flexibly across the business with stakeholders to develop functional people plans in line with the people strategy and business objectives.
• Supporting change using organisational design tools and ensuring appropriate systems of performance and development, communications, equality impact assessment, monitoring and review are in place.
• Implementing a range of workforce, succession planning and talent management strategies ensuring that appropriate development plans are in place.
• Raising and driving performance within the Business by championing a culture of continuous improvement and efficiency.
• Providing professional advice to Senior Leaders and Directors on relevant areas of service delivery, ensuring compliance with legislation.
• Working in partnership with Senior Management team(s) in order to clarify their "workforce" requirements, developing a business-driven Workforce Strategy and driving the delivery of the Strategy in order to enable the organisation to achieve its business plan.
• Engaging with and developing proactive relationships with HR Services.
• Working with the Senior Management team to identify opportunities for productivity improvements, via reviews of organisational structures, streamlining of business processes, continuous improvement, and performance management.
• Acting as a catalyst for change and innovation by driving cultural change to transform service delivery and improving organisational effectiveness, whilst embedding corporate values and facilitating organisational/cultural change by engaging people in the identification/ understanding of the need for change.
• Monitoring and reviewing workforce data for specific directorates in order to spot staffing risks and issues as well as opportunities for future improvement.
• Reviewing People KPIs in order to identify required improvements and providing updates and taking action as appropriate.

The Ideal Candidate

Is it for me?

Are you passionate about transformation and changing the culture of organisations to ensure everyone has the ability to develop and reach their full potential?

Do you have experience of organisational design and change management?

Do you have a CIPD qualification of equivalent or currently working towards one?

THEN APPLY TODAY!

Do I need railway experience?

Of course, railway experience would be beneficial, but no, as long as you have a proven track record of working for large companies and driving change within the organisation, we want to hear from you!

Skills, experience and Knowledge:

• Proven experience of organisation design and change management.
• Experienced in developing trusted partnerships with Senior Leaders with an ability to cut through complexity to influence and challenge as appropriate.
• Experienced in managing conflict and competing priorities.
• Capable of developing practical and workable solutions, keeping things as simple as possible.
• Great judgement, knowing how to balance pragmatism and best practice in ensuring work is aligned to business objectives.
• Proven experience of significant change management/Organisational Development, including restructure, redundancy and TUPE.
• Demonstrable experience of grasping issues quickly and delivering effective and efficient solutions.

• Able to operate and work effectively with MS Office Suite:- Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• CIPD (or equivalent qualification) or working towards qualification
• Experience of blue-collar environments and Trade Union relationships is highly desirable.

Package Description

Southeastern recognises the value of every individual employee and offers benefits that reflect this.

As well as a generous salary, we offer an comprehensive benefits package which includes;

• A Contributory Final Salary Pension Scheme 
• Free rail travel on Southeastern and GTR rail services (extends to family members for leisure/educational travel)
• After a qualifying period, reduced rate travel on other train operators, including European services
• Up to 25 days annual leave entitlement (plus bank holidays)
• Private healthcare
• Access to an array of discounts for retail and leisure products through our benefits scheme.
• Family friendly benefits including enhanced maternity/paternity leave, parental leave and carers leave.

About the Company

About Southeastern

Southeastern runs train services into London from Kent and East Sussex, operating almost 1,700 trains a day, carrying more than 400,000 passengers, serving 176 stations and covering 540 miles of track.

Just over 4,600 employees - mostly from the communities that we serve - work together to provide this vital service and we are looking to expand our successful team. We have a strong set of values that shape the way we run our business and guide our staff in delivering what our customers need. These are:

• We aim to be the best
• We make the difference together
• We care passionately about our people and our passengers

We are committed to being an inclusive employer, creating a workplace where everyone can come to work, feel safe and comfortable and able to do everything to the best of their ability. Read about some of the great Diversity and Inclusion initiatives our Head of Colleague Experience has been leading on here. 

We recognise the positive value of diversity and it matters to us that our teams reflect the communities we serve. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

We proud to be a WORK180 Endorsed Employer for Women. If you would like to know more information about how we are supporting our employees, you can view our policies and initiatives here.

We have also won the Top Employer award at the Women in Rail Awards 2022!

If you have been unsuccessful in the recruitment process for the same/similar position you will not be eligible to apply for a period of 6 months from that date.

All offers of employment are subject to us obtaining satisfactory references (covering all education, training, employment and unemployment in the preceding 5 years and any previous railway employment). We will also complete right to work in the UK and criminal record checks. This is to ensure we are employing the best person for the role and to protect our customers, colleagues and our reputation. We are unable to offer sponsorship to work in the UK. 

This post will close before the intended closing date should sufficient number of suitable applications be received. Therefore, if you are interested in applying for this role, we suggest that you do so at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

SOUTHEASTERN is owned by SE Trains Ltd, a subsidiary of the Department for Transport’s public sector owning group, ‘DOHL.’ DOHL has responsibility for three rail companies, LNER, Northern Trains Limited and SE Trains.

SE Trains Limited