Head of People Partnering

We are seeking an experienced and technically strong HR professional to join us as Head of People Partnering—a pivotal leadership role within the People Department, shaping our approach to employee and industrial relations in support of our exciting Distinctively Brighton 2035 strategy. 

This is a high-impact role where you will lead the vision and development of the People Partnering team within a fast-paced, unionised environment. Working collaboratively with colleagues and senior leaders across the University, you will strengthen business partnering, employee relations and policy development, while fostering effective trade union relationships. This is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful impact within a values-led university undergoing transformation, contributing to initiatives that support staff and students to thrive.

We are looking for someone with strong employment law expertise and a proven track record of managing complex employee relations casework, including Employment Tribunals. You will enable others to drive continuous improvement in policies, processes, and ways of working, delivering pragmatic solutions that balance risk, compliance and university priorities. A CIPD or Masters Level 7 qualification (or equivalent experience) is essential and experience in the Higher Education sector and/or industrial relations environment is desirable.

This is a full time (37.0 hours per week), permanent position, and we welcome applications from candidates seeking to job share. Interviews will be held on 18 May 2026.  

Please note that appointments are typically made at the bottom of the salary scale. For an informal conversation, please contact Sam Smith, Deputy Director of People s.smith10@brighton.ac.uk

Why join us?

Working for the University has numerous benefits including access to the Local Government Pension Scheme, 27 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days from the 1^st of September) as well as discretionary closure days over the winter period. We also offer an Agile Worker Framework to help support a healthy work-life balance alongside our benefits scheme which includes a range of discounts on supermarkets and other retailers.

Further details:

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive environment for all staff regardless of age, disability, family or caring responsibilities, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief (including non-belief), sex and sexual orientation. We embrace equality and diversity in our working, learning, research and teaching environment and are committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive community. We particularly encourage applicants from Minority Ethnic backgrounds because the University is under-represented by Minority Ethnic staff.

For the vast majority of our roles we operate an agile working system, with time split between working on campus and at the employee's home. It is the University's expectation that home working will take place within the UK.

Further information about working for us, as well as the wide range of benefits we offer, can be found in the working with us section of our vacancies page.

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