Strategic HR Business Partner

Location: London (St Pancras) / Hybrid – 3 days a week required onsite, with occasional travel to the Boston Spa site
Salary: £54,728–£70,386
Closing date: 4 October 2026

About the Role

The British Library is seeking Strategic HR Business Partners to provide senior strategic people partnering support to a defined portfolio of directorates.

You will build trusted relationships with executive and senior leaders, translating organisational priorities into workforce, organisation development, capability and culture plans.

Using evidence, workforce information and organisational insight, you will diagnose root causes, identify risks and understand directorate needs, providing strategic people advice that supports organisational priorities.

You will coach and constructively challenge senior leaders, helping to strengthen management capability, accountability and confidence.

The role will lead the strategic people dimension of major transformation and organisational change, including restructures, TUPE and formal consultation.

You will provide oversight of workforce and employee relations themes, while not being responsible for routine casework or transactional HR delivery.

You will commission and coordinate specialist support from Organisation Effectiveness and Centres of Expertise, working closely with People Services, employee relations and specialist colleagues.

The role will also champion equality, diversity and inclusion and contribute to workforce and HR budget decisions, while building strong professional networks.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a senior strategic people partner for a defined portfolio of directorates.
• Build trusted relationships with executive and senior leaders.
• Translate organisational priorities into workforce, organisation development, capability and culture plans.
• Use workforce information, organisational insight and evidence to diagnose root causes, risks and directorate needs.
• Coach and constructively challenge senior leaders.
• Strengthen management capability, accountability and confidence.
• Lead the strategic people dimension of major transformation and organisational change.
• Support complex organisational change, including restructures, TUPE and formal consultation.
• Provide oversight of workforce and employee relations themes.
• Commission and coordinate specialist HR and organisation effectiveness support.
• Work closely with People Services, employee relations and specialist colleagues.
• Champion equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Contribute to workforce and HR budget decisions.
• Build and maintain strong professional networks.

What the Role Does Not Include

The role does not involve routine casework or transactional delivery.

This includes:

• Routine employee casework
• Shared inbox management
• Recruitment administration
• Contract chasing
• Line management of operational advisory teams

About the British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, holding millions of items representing world culture.

The Library operates through a "One British Library" approach, focused on breaking down silos, encouraging innovation and working effectively for users, staff and partners.

About You

You will have:

• Chartered CIPD membership or Level 7 equivalent.
• Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience.
• Proven experience of strategic HR partnering and working with senior clients.
• Experience working in a large, complex or unionised organisation, ideally within a public-sector context and with political sensitivity.
• Experience of organisational development and complex organisational change, including restructures, TUPE and formal consultation.
• Experience using workforce insight, data and organisational health information to understand people and employee relations themes.
• Experience commissioning and coordinating delivery across HR, organisation development, employee relations and operational services.
• Strong leadership impact, including coaching, influencing and constructive challenge.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to creating a fair, respectful and high-performing culture.

Benefits

• Generous Civil Service Pension scheme.
• Flexible and hybrid working.
• Extensive professional development and continuous CPD.
• Health, wellbeing and employee assistance programmes.

Application

For more information, visit:

https://osbornethomas.org/jobs/strategic-hr-business-partner-2/

Closing date: 4 October 2026