People Project Partner

About First Bus:

Are you ready to advance your career with one of the UK's leading bus operators? Join a forward-thinking company that embraces cutting-edge bus technology, from innovative mobile apps to environmentally friendly vehicles. We are passionate about delivering passenger journeys that are sustainable, comfortable, and efficient. We are at the forefront of innovation in the industry, connecting communities and shaping the future of public transport.

Location: Remote role (within the UK) with occasional travel as required

Contract: Fixed-Term, 6 Months

Start date: We're ideally looking for someone who can start at 1 - 2 weeks notice

We're looking for an experienced People Project Partner to join our Colleague Experience team on a six-month fixed-term basis. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in delivering several high-profile people programmes that will help shape the future employee experience across our business.

Working closely with senior leaders, People teams and subject matter experts, you'll support the  delivery of three critical projects: Job Architecture, Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA25) readiness, and Industrial Relations initiatives. You'll be responsible for creating structure, driving momentum and ensuring successful delivery against ambitious objectives.

What You'll Be Doing

Project Delivery and Governance

Lead the planning, coordination and delivery of three key people projects, ensuring milestones, risks and dependencies are effectively managed to achieve successful outcomes.

People and Employee Relations Support

Provide practical support and guidance to leaders, helping to implement employee relations, industrial relations and legislative requirements effectively.

Stakeholder Management

Build strong relationships with stakeholders across the business, facilitating collaboration and maintaining momentum to achieve project objectives.

Data, Insight and Reporting

Use data and reporting to monitor progress, identify risks and provide clear, actionable insights that support decision-making and project delivery.

About You

We're looking for an experienced HR professional with strong project management capability and a sound understanding of people practices, employee relations and stakeholder engagement. You'll have significant experience operating in an HR Business Partnering role within a large, complex organisation, ideally in a unionised environment, and be comfortable influencing senior leaders while driving business-critical people initiatives.

You'll have:

• Proven experience in an HR Business Partner, Senior HR Business Partner or similar people partnering role.
• Proven experience delivering complex people projects, organisational change programmes or business transformation initiatives.

• Excellent planning, governance and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

• Confidence influencing, supporting and constructively challenging senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills and advanced Excel capability, including working with large and complex data sets.
• The ability to translate data and information into clear recommendations, actions and meaningful reporting.

We will be reviewing applications as they come in, so we recommend you apply as soon as you can!

Rewards

Your health is important to us which is why we offer Simply Health & Smart Health for you and your dependents at no cost to you! This offering includes cash back benefits across optical & dental as well as virtual GP appointments, mental health support and nutrition and fitness advise. Our EAP provision offers 24hr, 365 days a year mental health support
• We are also committed to your financial wellbeing, and we offer a platform with many discounts on high street brands and supermarkets etc
• Working at First you also receive discounted train travel for you and your family after 6 months service as well as a free bus pass
• Cycle to work scheme
• Up to 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Pension scheme and chance to buy discounted First Group shares

Equal Opportunities

Public transport serves everyone, whatever their differences. At First Bus, we want to be an employer open to you, no matter what your differences are. We aspire to be an inclusive organisation because diverse backgrounds, thinking and experiences bring so many benefits to our customers, communities, and people. We welcome applications from all.