Soundbyte

HR Business Partner - Travel Head Office
Based London

Job Description

Here at WHSmith Travel it’s all about our people. They are the ones that deliver for our customers. The ones that enable our growth. That’s why our HR team is passionate about creating an environment where people can thrive and do their best work. Join us as a People Partner delivering day to day HR support to our Head Office travel teams and you’ll be given the freedom to make a real impact.  This is a great time to be joining our travel team as we're going through an exciting period of growth.

About us

Life moves quickly at WHSmith travel. We never stand still. We’re constantly innovating, looking for our next commercial opportunity. Our laser focus on great customer service and product proposition means we’ve been around for a while, over 225 years and continue to thrive. Already a leading travel retailer in the UK, we have plans to expand our operations here and internationally. With a keen eye on profit, a forensic focus on space and a spotlight on new & unique formats - there’s lots happening!

Why join us?

In terms of what you want to achieve, and what you could be, you’ve only just begun. There are ‘no limits’ to what you can accomplish. It’s perfect for people who are happy to use their initiative, be ready to make big decisions and are adept at finding commercial solutions. It’s fast paced here so you’ll need to think on your feet and be prepared to work hard. But the autonomy, variety and development you get is incredible - anything is possible.

What you’ll be doing

• Support Head Office delivery of the WHSmith Travel people plan aligned to business objectives
• Support employee engagement, culture, resourcing, and capability plans
• Drive operational efficiency with a firm grasp on cost
• Drive best-practice ways of working across HR policies and facilitate the resolution of people-related issues
• Support talent management and succession planning
• Own UK people data across WHSmith Travel Head Office teams and provide insights to drive improvements
• Input into and execute strategic projects as required
• Support the HR Director for Travel in delivering the wider people agenda
• Collaborate with the wider People Team, ensuring that all HR Shared Service tasks are processed effectively, and Employee Relations cases managed efficiently

What you’ll have

• A broad, generalist understanding of all HR processes and activities including employee relations, engagement & capability, organisational development, talent management
• Ideally with a CIPD qualification
• Experience working in a complex, fast moving environment
• Ability to think strategically and creatively when it comes to problem solving, identifying pragmatic and measured solutions
• Commercial awareness, able to balance employee experience and cost
• Strong analytic skills with ability to pull and synthesize data into meaningful insight
• Business savvy and judgment to make independent decisions
• Exceptional stakeholder management, influencing and challenging with impact
• Emotional intelligence, able to understand and relate to people and navigate through tough situations and change
• Resilient and ableto flex, refocus, and reprioritise

What you’ll need to show

• Customer focus – Keep customer at the heart of all you do
• Drive for results – Tenacity for ambitious and competitive results delivered with pace
• Value our people – Respect and value our people in an honest, open environment
• Accountability – Personal responsibility for actions and deliver what you say you will