Job opportunity: People Partner

Vacancy reference 

ECR000528

Salary 

Grade 9, £38,220 to £39,862 - pro-rata £22,932 to 23,917 (2026-27 pay award pending), plus excellent local government benefits.

Hours 

22.2 hours per week, with the possibility of increased hours becoming available in the future.  

Working pattern: Monday to Wednesday (a 4 day split may be considered).

Contract 

Part-time, Permanent

Location

Castle House , Newcastle-under-Lyme (predominantly office-based, with occasional hybrid working depending on business need).

Join us at a pivotal moment - help shape our future workforce

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is entering an exciting period of change. With Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) on the horizon and significant changes to the Employment Rights Act (ERA) ahead, we are preparing our people, processes and policies to ensure we are in the strongest position for whatever the future brings.

We’re looking for an enthusiastic, skilled and proactive People Partner to join our People & OD Team and play a central role in supporting the organisation through this evolving landscape. This is a predominantly site based role, enabling you to build strong relationships with the services you support. Occasional hybrid working may be possible depending on business need.

About the role

What is a People Partner? This is a role which takes on some HR business partnering elements and combines them with offering senior HR advice on a full range of complex employee matters. You will join a small, highly collaborative People & OD team that covers the entire employee lifecycle. While your primary focus will be on employee relations, organisational change, policy work, projects and employment law, you’ll also gain valuable exposure to:

  • Recruitment and resourcing
  • Learning and development activity
  • Workforce information and reporting
  • Organisational Development *Offering advice and guidance to the People Advisors and People and OD Assistant within the team

Your key responsibilities will include:

  • Partnering with managers to provide timely, professional and solution-focused people advice.
  • Supporting and coordinating change processes, restructures and service redesign work.
  • Leading or contributing to HR projects that improve systems, processes and employee experience.
  • Writing, reviewing and implementing clear, modern policies and procedures.
  • Supporting occasional TUPE activity
  • Providing accurate, confident guidance on employment law and employee relations matters.
  • Using data and insights to drive improvement and informed decision-making.
  • Supporting preparations for LGR and ERA changes.

About you

You will bring:

  • CIPD Level 5 (essential) or 7 (desirable) with valid professional membership (please note, if you are close to completing your CIPD level 5 and also have strong experience in the areas outlined then we may consider this)
  • Significant experience working as a HR Advisor or equivalent
  • Practical experience of supporting organisational change and HR project work.
  • Experience writing or revising policies and procedures.
  • Strong, up-to-date employment law knowledge.
  • Ideally experience of TUPE, or good technical knowledge of TUPE regulations.
  • The confidence to coach managers and build strong relationships.
  • A proactive approach with excellent attention to detail
  • Being a completer–finisher, consistently seeing tasks through to high standards.

Why join us?

  • Be part of a supportive, forward thinking and ambitious People & OD team.
  • Gain broad exposure across the whole employee lifecycle.
  • Play a key role in shaping our workforce through significant organisational change.
  • Work in an organisation committed to inclusion, collaboration and continuous improvement.
  • Enjoy excellent local government benefits, including:
    • Local Government Pension Scheme
    • Generous annual leave
    • Continuous professional development
    • Wellbeing support
    • Flexitime

Our People offer 

We reward our people with a competitive range of benefits including;

  • access to the local government pension scheme
  • minimum 24 days annual leave plus 5 extra days after 5 years' service
  • flexible working options and family friendly policies
  • local and national high street discounts
  • free car parking
  • wellbeing support including £12.50 per month Jubilee2 membership
  • green travel scheme including cycle to work and electric car salary sacrifice
  • free employee 24 hour employee assistance and counselling services, flu vaccination service and health checks
  • development and training opportunities

Contact 

Hiring Manager Helen Smith - Helen.Smith@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk , Office number 01782742268. 

Closing date

5pm on Friday 8 May 2026

Should we receive a large number of applications, then this post could close sooner than the date stated. 

Shortlisted applicants will be contacted within two weeks of the closing date. 

Interview date 

19 and 20 May 2026

While we value diverse backgrounds and experiences, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship. Applicants must be able to prove they have the Right to Work in the U.K.

Supporting documents and information
  

Download the job description and person specification

We are committed to making our recruitment process as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions.  If you would like us to do anything differently during the interview or assessment process please contact our People team (humanresources@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk) 

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is committed to the employment and career development of disabled people, armed forces and care leavers.  As such we offer an interview guarantee scheme where you meet the minimum criteria for the role.  By minimum criteria we mean you must provide us with evidence in your application and supporting information which demonstrates that you generally meet the level of skills and experience defined in the person specification and as indicated by the Disability Confident symbol.

Need help completing the online application form?

Our application form has recently been updated to make it easier to apply, please be aware that you are not able to save your application part way through so please ensure you have all information to hand; 

  • Make a note of the details of the post you are applying for.  
  • Read through the job description and person specification. 
  • Review our values and behaviours. 
  • Ensure that you have relevant job application information to hand i.e. employment details, qualifications and training, professional memberships (if applicable) and the details of two referees. 
  • If you have a CV you can cut and paste information easily into the form.
  • The supporting information section of the application is your opportunity to share with us your key achievements and highlight any relevant experience.   We’d like you to tell us;  who you are, your values and strengths, why you feel you are suitable for the role and finally, your career goals.  
  • We’d suggest typing your supporting information firstly to a Word document and then copy and paste to the supporting information section of the online application.  This way you won’t lose valuable information if the page times out. 
  • At the end of the form you can choose to save a copy of your application, we advise doing this.
  • If you are interested in more than one role, you will need to submit a separate form for each job.

Contact our People team if you have any questions regarding the online application form or require further support (humanresources@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk)
  

Apply online