HR Business Partner

Job summary

Are you an HR Business Partner looking for an opportunity where you can operate as a trusted and strategic partner to add value to an organisation that’s a leader in its sector?

Are you interested in joining an organisation committed to being inclusive, entrepreneurial, and disruptive?

We are here to collect and preserve the public record, to connect citizens with their history through unrivalled collections and to partner with archives everywhere.

We’ve set ourselves the challenge of becoming the living digital archive of the state by 2038. This means we are often at the forefront of innovation including advances in preserving the physical record and in digital technologies and solutions.

You will therefore be joining an organisation steeped in history that is also constantly evolving to meet the challenges of the modern world. As a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales, we are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic documents from the Domesday Book and Shakespeare’s Will, to Government tweets and everything in between.

Job description

We are seeking a highly credible HR Business Partner to join our friendly and supportive team on a part time basis for a 12 month period, operating as a strategic partner to support the delivery of positive business outcomes.
In this role you will provide specialist HR expertise, supporting and challenging business leaders to achieve our strategic goals. Using your strong relationship-building skills, you’ll coach and advise managers in order to raise capability and engender a culture of high performance.

You’ll drive consistency of approach in workforce planning, managing and developing talent to support current and future needs, in line with our strategic goals and strategic workforce plan.

You will design and deliver high impact people solutions which align with our values, using management information to inform business decisions and anticipate trends. Working collaboratively across our wider People, Inclusion and Change team, you will proactively share best practice, raise capability and continually improve the level of service we provide.

Person specification

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate the following: -
• Qualified to MCIPD, or equivalent practical experience

• Significant HR experience operating in a strategic business partner model in complex organisation(s) with multiple stakeholders

• Demonstrable experience of using communication skills to explain HR concepts clearly to deliver business impact

• Extensive experience of handling complex employee relations cases and applying relevant legislation to achieve positive outcomes

• In-depth experience of managing the HR technical aspects of change across organisations.

• Strong relationship builder – ability to work in collaboration with team and across other functions to fully understand the needs of the business

• Innovative thinker with the ability to offer solutions to the organisation which reflect current thinking in HR trends
This is a part time post working 2 days a week. A combination of onsite and home working is available.

Application Process:•

Interview: Interviews will be held on-site in Kew in March 2026.

Personal Statement: We ask all applicants to submit work history details and a personal statement, not exceeding 1200 words. Selection for interview will be based on the criteria listed above so please ensure that your statement demonstrates in detail how you meet these criteria.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,000, The National Archives contributes £15,933 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development.

Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk;

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Reasonable adjustments:

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact us via the Contact Point below as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Talent Acquisition team
• Email : careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk
• Telephone : 020 8392 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…