Role: Senior People Partner

Contract Type: Permanent, Full or Part Time (4 days per week)

Location: Shoreham-on-Sea

Role ID: 2026 – 3408

About Ricardo

Ricardo is a trusted engineering partner specialising in complex propulsion, driveline, and energy systems. We collaborate with customers globally to deliver end-to-end solutions from initial design through to full production.

Our manufacturing business has world-class expertise in niche volume, high quality manufacturing and assembly programmes, complex supply chain management, industrialising innovation, and niche new product introduction. This expertise is developed over decades of experience in the most demanding automotive, motorsport, defence, and aerospace sectors.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior People Partner to join our HR community, effectively partnering with our business to achieve commercially sound and pragmatic solutions whilst working to balance the needs of people with the needs of the business. You will provide HR expertise and address a wide range of associated people matters in accordance with best practice methodology, internal compliance and legal requirements.

A problem solver with the autonomy to drive improvements and develop innovative solutions to challenges, you will be a subject matter expert with strong business acumen and the ability to influence and communicate at all levels.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide HR expertise to the business and address a wide range of associated people matters in accordance with best practice methodology, internal compliance and legal requirements
• Work in partnership with senior managers in business area, understanding the key performance issues, objectives and drivers and proactively driving people initiatives
• Champion HR initiatives across the business unit, gaining acceptance from key stakeholders
• Challenge and coach line managers on how to engage employees, address any performance issues and build people capabilities effectively.
• Lead on change management programmes, ensuring legal compliance, and with the aim of positively influencing employee engagement 
• Responsible for development and ongoing review of policies and processes, providing guidance to HR colleagues on interpretation and application
• Support the design of HR policies, projects, methodologies and solutions that encourage greater co-ordination and consistency
• Develop subject matter expertise on a range of people-related and compliance matters, including IR35, international assignment approach, visa-related compliance, Job Evaluation and pay progression
• Leading and supporting a range of HR projects as required, ensuring effective and professional delivery
• Providing guidance and mentorship to other members of the HR team 

Key Competencies and Experience

• Experienced in the range of people practices across the employee lifecycle to enable effective management of people processes
• Commercially aware, with an understanding of the impact of good people management upon business results
• Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Teams and Sharepoint
• CIPD qualified to level 7 or equivalent

Desirable

• Change management process and application experience
• Project management experience

Working here

You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.

We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.

Next steps

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.

Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via recruit@ricardo.com if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.

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