Senior People Partner - Growth

Posting Start Date: 16 Mar 2026

Location: Home Based, West Midlands, GB

Company: Serco Plc

Senior People Partner – Growth

Location: Flexible (with travel to Hook, London and other Serco sites)
12 Month Fixed Term Opportunity
Salary - £70,000 - £75,000 dependent on experience + car/allowance, bonus, PMI and pension


 

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior People Partner to play a pivotal role in supporting a strategic bid within our Defence portfolio.

In this role, you will lead the people workstream for a high-profile bid, ensuring that our people strategy strengthens the overall proposition and enhances our competitiveness. Working in close partnership with colleagues across Growth, Commercial, Finance and Operations, you will design innovative and commercially grounded people solutions that align with customer requirements and support bid success.

You will bring strategic insight and practical expertise to workforce strategy, organisation design, employee value proposition and workforce cost modelling. Your ability to translate complex people strategies into deliverable plans will be key to shaping a compelling and credible bid.

If the contract is awarded, you will then lead the people mobilisation and transition, ensuring the organisation is ready to move seamlessly into business-as-usual operations. This includes supporting change activity, embedding compliant and effective people practices, and establishing strong people partnering for the future contract.

 

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead the people workstream for the bid, designing and delivering people solutions that strengthen the overall bid proposition.
  • Provide strategic people expertise, advising on workforce strategy, organisation design, people costs, risks and mitigation strategies.
  • Design innovative workforce and people solutions that address skills, culture, employee relations and organisational change.
  • Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, translating complex requirements into practical and sustainable people strategies.
  • Collaborate with Growth, Commercial, Finance and Operational teams to integrate people strategy into bid development.
  • Leverage Serco’s HR operating model and Centres of Expertise to build a compelling Employee Value Proposition aligned with customer needs.
  • Apply industry and market insight to enhance the quality and relevance of the people strategy embedded within the bid.
  • Support mobilisation, transition and change activity following contract award.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement, developing governance, implementation roadmaps and risk mitigation plans through a growth lens.

 

What You’ll Bring

Qualifications

  • CIPD membership (essential)
  • CIPD Level 7 or equivalent (desirable)

Experience and Knowledge

  • Strong understanding of the bid lifecycle and how people strategy supports successful bids
  • Senior HR experience, ideally within logistics, supply chain or complex operational environments
  • Expertise in organisation design, workforce planning, talent, culture and change
  • Ability to align people strategy with commercial and customer objectives, with a strong ROI mindset
  • Experience using data and insight to inform workforce strategy and cost modelling
  • Experience working in complex, matrix and unionised environments
  • Experience supporting mobilisation, change and workforce transition

 

Additional Information

  • Flexible location with regular attendance at bid team working locations
  • Ability to travel to Hook, London and other Serco sites
  • Ability to gain SC Clearance is essential

 

What we offer

  • Company car / £4200 cash alternative  
  • Private healthcare
  • Bonus scheme of up to 20%
  • Pension – 6%
  • Chance to contribute to innovation in the public services
  • A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
  • Serco discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping discounts, and discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
  • A range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family such as Employee Assistance Programme, Simply Health Cash Plans, and more.
  • A wealth of career development training to suit your future aspirations. These range from role specific training, leadership coaching, formal study and much more to support you to build your career with Serco.
  • A safe and supportive culture.



About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services.  We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.


By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging. 


Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. 


At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.  For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.
 

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.