Senior People Business Partner (15 Month FTC)

The Senior People Business Partner runs the People function day to day. You will keep the full employee lifecycle running smoothly, managing People Business Partners and the People Co-ordinator, and make sure managers get consistent, high-quality support.

Hippo is a fast growing UK digital consultancy of around 750 permanent staff and 300 contractors. Our People function is going through its own transformation, with AI and automation at the centre of it whilst also growing the size of the team. We want technology to handle the repetitive, transactional work, so that the team can spend its time on culture, coaching and the moments that need a human touch. This role is for someone who is excited by that shift and will lead the team in making it happen. Our values are pragmatic, human and ambitious and we as a team keep these at the heart of everything we do.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will take on the most complex and sensitive casework yourself, while building the confidence and capability of the people around you.

Where the role sits

The role reports to the Head of People and directly manages the People Business Partners and the People Co-ordinator, indirectly managing 3 advisors and an administrator. Between them, the Senior Business Partner and the Business Partners cover the full breadth of partnering work, while the Co-ordinator supports the day-to-day running of People operations. How the partnering splits by business area or type of work will be agreed with the team and is likely to change as the business grows.

You will work closely with the Head of People, Talent Acquisition, and senior leaders and line managers across the business.

Key responsibilities

You will be accountable for the day-to-day running of the People function. In practice, that means:

• Running People operations. Oversee the employee lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding, including absence, pay and promotion cycles, HR processes and employee records. Make sure the work is accurate, on time and consistent.

• Complex employee relations. Oversee the ER processes, supporting the rest of the team and occasionally step in to lead the more sensitive and complex cases. Keep the team's casework to a consistent standard, and inform the Head of People about risks early.

• Leading the team. Line manage, coach and develop the Business Partners and the People Co-ordinator. Give them clear direction and priorities, share the workload sensibly, and hold them to account in a way that is firm and fair.

• Compliance and risk. Make sure People processes meet UK employment law, data protection requirements, our ISO requirements and Hippo's own policies. Ensure the team keeps policies and manager guidance up to date as legislation changes.

• Data and insight. Own the quality of people data in our core systems. Use AI-powered analytics and reporting to turn that data into clear recommendations for stakeholders at every level.

• Automation and improvement. Find repetitive or cumbersome work and replace it with automated or AI-assisted workflows. Document processes so they scale and do not depend on any one person.

• Culture, engagement and wellbeing. Use engagement data to shape a positive, progressive culture. Shape the development strategy and how such processes such as 360 feedback, psychometric assessments, mentoring and manager coaching feed into this.

• Business partnering. Build genuine relationships with senior stakeholders. Understand their people priorities and make sure the People function's plans and insights line up with what the business is trying to achieve.

• Planning and strategy. Help the Head of People shape and deliver the People strategy. Give reliable inputs on capacity, cost and priorities

How we expect you to work

At this level, the job is to enable others rather than do everything yourself. Here is what that looks like  at Hippo:

Critical thinking. You define the real problem before the team starts solving it. You make timely decisions with incomplete information and say what you are assuming.

Taking responsibility. You are accountable for everything the team delivers, including work you did not do yourself. You commit the team only to what it can realistically deliver, then treat those commitments as promises. You pick up problems that sit between teams and own them until they are solved, and you make sure every piece of work has a clear owner.

Planning and organisation. You plan around people's real capacity, map what the work depends on, and manage those dependencies before they become critical. You protect your team from interruptions and unnecessary work.

Leadership and influencing. You give the team a clear sense of what matters and what comes first. You develop each person deliberately through stretch, honest feedback and coaching.

Change, growth and resilience. You watch the team's workload and wellbeing, stay calm when things go wrong, and make sure lessons lead to improvements that actually stick.

Skills and experience

You will be an experienced, CIPD-qualified HR generalist who has led a team and run day-to-day people operations in a fast-paced environment, ideally in consultancy or professional services. You will have:

• A strong record of handling complex and sensitive employee relations cases, and of coaching managers to handle their own.

• Experience of managing and developing people, including setting direction, giving honest feedback and having difficult conversations.

• Real confidence with data: collecting, analysing and presenting recommendations to audiences at different levels, using (or keen to quickly learn) AI-powered analytics and reporting tools.

• A working knowledge of UK employment law and data protection requirements, and the judgement to know when to seek specialist advice.

• Strong relationship-building and influencing skills, including with senior stakeholders.

• A willingness to challenge "the way we've always done it" and propose smarter, technology-enabled ways of working.

• A collaborative approach to working alongside peers on a shared remit.

Alongside working with some of the most talented people out there and on-top of a competitive salary, which we’re transparent about from the outset, you can also expect a range of benefits:

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Hippo

At Hippo, we’re dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that works for everyone. We understand that having a diverse team unlocks our capacity for innovation, creativity and problem solving. Only by building a community of diverse perspectives, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds can we create an environment where all can contribute and thrive.

We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and people with disabilities. We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process that reflects our workplace culture. We are a registered Disability Confident Employer, Mindful Employer, Endometriosis Friendly Employer and a member of the Armed Forces Covenant. Hippo continually strives to remove barriers, provide accommodations and offer reasonable adjustments to ensure equity throughout our practices.

Hi, we’re Hippo 

At Hippo, we design with empathy and build for impact. We do this by combining data-informed evidence, human-centred design and software engineering.  We're a digital services partner who is genuinely invested in helping our clients thrive as modern organisations. Our delivery methodology is truly agile, from concept to reality, supporting innovation and continuous improvement to achieve your desired outcomes.

We firmly believe that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. We take a human-centred approach to everything we do because we understand that complex problems require a service design approach. This means understanding how users behave and ensuring our solutions work for them in the real world. 

Our combination of data, design, and engineering delivers bespoke digital services that make a positive and meaningful impact on organisations and society. 

Have a look through our Website at Our Story & Purpose, Our Culture & Values, Case Studies and Our Solutions & Services to find out some more!

Hippo Locations

We are headquartered in Leeds and have offices across the UK in Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Bristol. We're on the lookout for top talent nationwide but you need to be located within reasonable travelling distance from one of our offices. Given the dynamic nature of a consulting business, you may be required to work on-site at a Hippo office or at an in/out of town client location for a number of days per week (client dependent) and therefore candidates will need to be open/flexible to travel and working on one of those sites at least 2 days per week. We offer a generous relocation support package of up to £8,000 (please ask for terms and conditions) to help make your move a smooth one.