People Relations Partner

Duration: 9- 12 month contract

Location: London or Potters Bar

Client group supporting: IT and Customer Services

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.

Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.

Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.
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Job Purpose
As a People Relations Partner you'll act as a true people partner to the business in providing commercially focused solutions, specialist coaching and expert advice to effectively support your business leaders in delivering their goals. More specifically, you will provide tactical advice and guidance to the management of your business area(s) on all people matters relating to capability, skills required and performance output.

The focus of the People Relations Partner is to drive a people-oriented high performance culture that emphasises empowerment, goal attainment, productivity and high quality standards across the business area. You will provide strategic guidance and support to Executive team members and their management team on a wide range of themes / outputs / projects / areas. This will include leading and providing advice on organisational design, recruitment, training and development, local employment law, compensation and benefits, employee relations, succession planning and talent management.

To be successful in the role, you'll need to utilise your sound knowledge of the people principles and best practices, and work collaboratively and proactively with other members of the People Experience team on cross functional projects.

Key Accountabilities
•Work through all people related matters or concerns with the business line Executive, in particular on employee relations and performance management issues, and establish resolutions, handing off actions to the relevant teams within the People and Strategy function as required to deliver a resolution. In doing so, advise and coach managers across a wide range of employee relations issues taking into account best practice, legislative framework, regulatory environment and commercial factors.

•Analyse and derive insight from people data to help proactively identify opportunities to improve performance, resolve resource gaps and address under-utilisation/under-capacity at the earliest opportunity in order to generate a culture of well-being, maximum performance and high quality service and output over the longer term and maintain a thorough oversight of people motivation, morale and overall performance levels.

•Support and collaborate with the People and Strategy team and relevant Executive and management teams on all People annual processes, such as the appraisal cycle, salary review, talent management and succession planning. This includes the financial planning of people costs and efficiencies of the business liaising with the relevant People Services team members and subject matter experts SMEs in the Centre's of Expertise where needed.

•Work with the business to identify diversity focus areas, develop and deliver a diversity plan.

•Deliver organisational development projects and support of major organisational change initiatives within the business lines, including to conducting diagnosis, analysing findings, generating options and building commitment to solutions that maximum the performance of the business line.

•Work in collaboration across the People and Strategy Team to develop and manage a resourcing strategy that considers the needs of the business and improves/maintains the brand in each of the employment markets. Monitor changes in organisational needs and the availability of skills in each market to ensure Canada Life is an employer of choice and attracts high calibre people.

•Input into the organisation's risk register, through ongoing discussions with the Risk & Compliance representative and the business line lead, to record, monitor and manage all People related risks and mitigating actions and ensure constant focus is maintained on eliminating or removing potential risks to the successful performance of the business line.

•Act as a Culture Champion for the organisation, ensuring that ways of working and underpinning governance and structure support CL culture and values.

Desired Knowledge / Experience / Skills
•Extensive demonstrable hands on experience as a commercially-focussed People Relations Partner.
•Solid knowledge of various People disciplines - Diversity, Compensation, Employee Relations, Performance Management, Change Management, Absence Management, Talent Management, Workforce Planning and Organisational Effectiveness
•Strong up to date technical expertise in employee relations and local employment law
•Some experience in Financial Services would be advantageous and a broad understanding of regulatory remuneration environment
•Proven ability to understand client needs and related business drivers
•Strong analytical and problem solving skills, with the ability to make decisions independently
•Demonstrable ability to influence, challenge and negotiate with management at all levels and execute with excellence
•Proven ability to operate strategically and tactically
•Diplomatic individual with the ability to adapt to, coach and be effective with diverse leadership styles.
•Positive attitude, motivated, action oriented, and a preference for working as part of a team.
•Project management or process management skills are hugely desirable for success in this role
•Strong relationships management skills
•Strong commercial acumen skills and an interest in understanding how our business works

Qualifications

•Bachelor's degree or relevant experience in Human Resource Management at a senior level
•Ideally Membership Level 5-7 CIPD status

What you'll like about working here
As a Canada Life UK colleague, you'll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance, along with a generous pension and bonus scheme. You'll also receive the support you need with your personal and professional development.

Diversity and inclusion
Canada Life is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Our role as an employer of choice is to provide the right environment for talented people to do their best work, by respecting, understanding and valuing individual differences