Senior People Partner

Senior People Partner, Inizio Ignite

Role Location

Inizio Ignite, UK, Hybrid

Reports to

VP of HR, Ignite

About Inizio

Inizio is a global partner with over 10,500 experts operating in more than 50 countries. We support health and life science companies by turning science into strategy and executing across the product and patient journey.

About Ignite

We are Inizio Ignite, the global advisory partner for health and life sciences encompassing connected expertise across Research Partnership, Putnam, STEM, and Vynamic. Guided by purpose, passion, and precision, we collaborate with clients to ignite impact, accelerate performance, and deliver lasting change for patients. By uniting strategy, insights, and innovation with a unique depth and breadth of expertise, we drive transformation and shape the future of health. Proudly part of Inizio – the market-leading commercialization partner for health and life sciences. From early-stage development to loss of exclusivity, we simplify complexity, unlock value, and make collaboration seamless at every pivotal moment – helping healthcare leaders shape strategy and drive meaningful change.

Role Overview

The HR People Partner is a hands-on and strategically minded HR professional who works closely with colleagues across the HR team, business leaders, and Centres of Excellence to support the delivery of key people priorities. This role has a particular focus on partnering with leaders within an assigned service line, function, country, or region to deliver practical, compliant, and business-aligned HR support.

The successful candidate will bring strong experience in employee relations, HR programme delivery, change support, and manager coaching. This role requires the ability to move comfortably between strategic partnering and day-to-day execution across a broad range of HR activities, consistent with standard HR generalist practice.

Here’s what you’ll be doing:

HR Business Partnership & Programme Delivery

• Partner with business leaders and people managers to support the implementation of people strategies and plans within designated client groups, countries, or regions.
• Lead or support the rollout of key HR programmes, including performance and reward, organisational design and restructuring support, development and career-path planning, culture and engagement initiatives, and people leader development.
• Provide local market and country insight to the broader HR team to ensure people programmes are relevant, practical, and compliant.
• For countries with a Country Management Team, act as a trusted HR partner to that team.

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Provide complex case management advice and support across disciplinary matters, performance management, redundancies, long-term sickness, grievances, and other sensitive employee matters.
• Manage employee relations matters in line with local employment legislation, internal policies, and company values.
• Support legal compliance and help ensure HR policies and practices meet statutory and regulatory requirements in the designated country or region.
• Partner with managers and relevant HR stakeholders to mitigate risk, promote fair process, and drive timely resolution of people issues.

Manager Coaching & Advisory Support

• Provide proactive HR consultation to people managers on a wide range of team, people, and organisational issues.
• Coach and support people leaders on complex employee issues, people decisions, and effective people management practices.
• Build strong working relationships with in-country managers and offshore managers with people responsibility in the relevant markets.
• Use judgement and influence to balance business priorities, employee experience, and compliance risk.

Data, Insight & Continuous Improvement

• Analyze people data and trends, including exit interview themes, turnover, absence, and performance information, to identify risks, patterns, and opportunities.
• Use data and insight to build business cases, support decision-making, and recommend actions for improvement.
• Proactively highlight trends and emerging issues to business stakeholders and propose practical interventions.
• Support continuous improvement of HR processes, policies, and ways of working.

HR Operations & Collaboration

• Work closely with HR Stakeholders to ensure clear handoffs, escalation pathways, and effective support on local issues.
• Partner with HR Centres of Excellence and wider HR colleagues to deliver consistent and high-quality employee and manager support.
• Contribute to change initiatives and broader HR projects as required.
• Carry out other duties as assigned.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Significant HR experience in an HR Generalist, HR Manager, or equivalent HR business-facing role.
• Proven experience partnering with business stakeholders and influencing leaders through coaching, consultation, and credible challenge.
• Strong employee relations expertise, with experience handling complex and sensitive cases while balancing business need, employee experience, and risk.
• Strong working knowledge of employment law, HR policy application, and compliance requirements within relevant country or regional markets.
• Demonstrated ability to lead or support cross-functional HR projects and programme rollouts.
• A passion for AI and strong data analysis capability with the ability to interpret people data, identify trends, and use insight to inform action.
• Advanced change management capability, including stakeholder engagement and change planning.
• Strong business acumen, including understanding of business drivers, organisational priorities, and how HR practices support performance and growth.
• Strong communication and executive presence, with confidence to raise issues, recommend solutions, and influence decision-making at multiple levels.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across a matrixed organisation and build trusted working relationships with a broad stakeholder group.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field preferred; professional HR certification may be advantageous.

Benefits at Inizio Ignite

We offer a competitive benefits package designed to support your health, financial wellbeing, and everyday life at Inizio. This includes private medical cover from the start of employment, access to a cycle-to-work scheme after probation, and a pension contribution. Permanent employees also benefit from income protection at four times basic salary. In addition, employees have access to an Employee Assistance Programme for confidential personal and wellbeing support, as well as an employee discounts portal offering savings and cashback.

Inizio may use AI technologies to support certain aspects of our recruitment process, but all hiring decisions are made by our human recruiting team. We are committed to fair, inclusive, and human-led hiring practices. Don't meet every requirement? That's okay! We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't perfectly fit every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this role or others.

Don't meet every job requirement? That's okay! Our company is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If you're excited about this role, but your experience doesn't perfectly fit every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this role or others.