Senior HR Business Partner, Europe

We are hiring: Senior HR Business Partner, Europe

Location: Worthing, UK

The Senior HR Business Partner, Europe partners Watlow’s enabling functions in Europe – Finance, IT, Marketing & Communications and Legal – and holds regional accountability for employee relations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden. The role combines strategic partnering on organisational design, talent and capability with hands-on ownership of complex employee relations and employment law across three jurisdictions.

WhatYou’llDo

Strategic Partnering with Enabling Functions

• Act as principal HR partner to the European leaders of Finance, IT, Marketing & Communications and Legal, translating functional strategy into practical people plans.
• Use a deep understanding of each function’s operating model and capability needs to shape organisational design, role clarity and ways of working.
• Coach managers on leadership, team effectiveness and people decisions, and support workforce planning and resourcing with Talent Acquisition and Total Rewards.

Employee Relations – United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden

• Own the employee relations agenda for all employee groups in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden, irrespective of function.
• Lead and resolve complex cases – disciplinary, grievance, performance, absence, wellbeing, conduct and exits – fairly, consistently and on sound evidence.
• Advise authoritatively on UK employment law and, with local advisers, on Irish and Swedish requirements; keep leaders informed of legislative change and its practical impact.
• Maintain constructive relationships with employee representatives and trade unions, manage consultation obligations, direct external employment counsel, and turn case trends into preventative manager education.

Organisational Change and Transition

• Partner with leaders to design and deliver organisational and workforce change within scope, from concept through to embedding.
• Assess impact on people, identify risks and build practical mitigation, engagement and communication plans.
• Ensure change meets local legal and consultation requirements, and guide managers and employees through transition without loss of engagement or continuity.

Talent, Culture and HR Excellence

• Drive the annual people cycle within scope – performance review, calibration, talent review, succession and compensation planning – and close capability gaps in critical roles.
• Champion Watlow’s values, using engagement data and employee listening to agree and track focused local actions.
• Keep HR policies for the three countries legally current and aligned to the global framework and use HR data and metrics to generate insight and support local compliance.
• Act as trusted and collaborative team members within Europe HR as well as Watlow global HR organizations

Success Indicators

• Enabling-function leaders treat the role as trusted adviser and involve it early in business and people decisions.
• Employee relations matters are resolved promptly, fairly and consistently, with low levels of escalation or claim.
• Policy and practice in the three countries are legally current and consistently applied, with managers increasingly confident handling people matters themselves.
• Change activity is delivered to plan with engagement maintained, succession plans for critical roles are in place, and retention within scope is stable or improving.

WhatYou’llNeedToSucceed

• Degree in Human Resources, Business, Law, Psychology or a related discipline; CIPD Level 7 or equivalent preferred.
• Minimum eight years’ progressive HR experience, including several years partneringsenior leaders in a multinational, matrixed organisation.
• Deep, hands-on UK employment law and employee relations expertise, including theAcas Code of Practice and current awareness of the Employment Rights Act 2025 “reforms. This is the most important requirement of the role.
• Employee relations experience in Ireland and Sweden, or the proven ability to build it quickly with local advisers; familiarity with Irish WRC practice and the Swedishco- determination environment is an advantage.
• Experience supporting corporate or enabling functions preferred; industrial ormanufacturing sector experience an advantage. Proven track record of guiding leadersand employees through organisational change and transition.
• Strong business acumen and confident use of HR data; excellent influencing, coachingand communication skills, with sound judgement, discretion and the credibility tochallenge constructively at senior level.
• Basic AI skills with willingness to develop as the advanced AI user
• Fluent English; additional European languages an advantage.

Why Join Watlow’s Team

• Join a collaborative European HR community, working closely with colleagues across the UK, Ireland, Sweden and beyond, while staying aligned with Watlow’s global HR organization – a role that offers both the variety of multi-country exposure and the support of a regional network.
• We offer comprehensive benefits package including private healthcare, life assurance, income protection, a matched pension scheme and dedicated mental health and wellbeing support.
• Working Pattern:Monday to Friday, 7.5 hours/day, 4 days from the office, 1 day of home office per week
• Contract Type:Permanent, full-time position

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