King's College London

Job id: 151185 . Salary: £45,031 to £49,871 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance . Posted: 29 June 2026 . Closing date: 30 August 2026 . Business unit: Human Resources . Department: HR Business Partnering . Contact details: Holly Creedon . holly.creedon@kcl.ac.uk Location: Lavington Street . Category: Professional & Support Services . Back to job search About us: The HR Business Partnering team is the face of HR at King’s, working in close partnership with Faculties and Directorates to support the delivery of the University’s people strategy. We provide pragmatic, high‑quality HR advice within a diverse and complex organisation, supporting managers and staff across a wide range of people matters and organisational priorities. About the role: As an Associate HR Business Partner, you will play a key role in delivering a high‑quality, responsive HR service to a defined faculty client group. Working closely with the Senior HR Business Partner and HR Advisor, you will support managers and leaders on a wide range of people matters, with a particular focus on employee relations casework and the application of HR policy and best practice. You will lead on formal and informal employee relations cases, providing clear, risk‑based advice and guiding managers through processes such as disciplinary, grievance, performance and absence management. You will be expected to manage a varied and fast‑paced caseload, ensuring that issues are progressed in a timely and consistent way, while maintaining strong attention to detail and professional standards. Alongside casework, you will contribute to the delivery of local People Plans and wider HR initiatives, including organisational change activity, workforce planning and management capability development. You will also work collaboratively across the Business Partnering team, sharing knowledge and supporting colleagues to ensure a consistent and joined‑up service across Faculties. This role requires a proactive and visible approach, building strong working relationships with stakeholders through both in‑person and remote engagement. It is well suited to an HR professional who thrives in a dynamic environment, is comfortable dealing with complex people issues, and enjoys balancing independent responsibility with collaborative working. This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract. About you: To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: Essential criteria Demonstrable experience of managing a high volume of employee relations casework, advising managers on a full range of ER issues, and taking both formal and informal cases through to effective and timely resolution. Up‑to‑date knowledge of employment law and HR best practice, with sound judgement and the ability to apply this in a practical, risk‑based way. Experience of taking a commercial and risk‑based approach to HR advice, balancing organisational, legal and employee considerations. Experience of supporting and advising managers on a broad range of generalist HR matters within a large and/or complex organisation. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence, challenge and coach stakeholders effectively. Confident engaging with stakeholders at all levels, both in person and remotely, adapting approach and communication style to suit different audiences and situations. Highly organised, with the ability to prioritise workload effectively, maintaining focus, professionalism and sound judgement when dealing with competing priorities, ambiguity and complex or sensitive people matters. Able to balance working collaboratively as part of the wider Business Partnering team with working independently to deliver for a dedicated client group. Desirable criteria Experience of working in a complex and unionised environment. Experience of working in Higher Education sector. CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent experience), or working towards it. Downloading a copy of our Job Description Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process. Further information At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university. The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension. We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination. When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance. We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible. Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here . We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day. We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application. To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages. Interviews are due to be held on Thursday 10th September in person at King’s College London. Apply now Apply now

• As an Associate HR Business Partner, you will play a key role in delivering a high‑quality, responsive HR service to a defined faculty client group.
• Working closely with the Senior HR Business Partner and HR Advisor, you will support managers and leaders on a wide range of people matters, with a particular focus on employee relations casework and the application of HR policy and best practice.
• You will lead on formal and informal employee relations cases, providing clear, risk‑based advice and guiding managers through processes such as disciplinary, grievance, performance and absence management.
• You will be expected to manage a varied and fast‑paced caseload, ensuring that issues are progressed in a timely and consistent way, while maintaining strong attention to detail and professional standards.
• Alongside casework, you will contribute to the delivery of local People Plans and wider HR initiatives, including organisational change activity, workforce planning and management capability development.
• You will also work collaboratively across the Business Partnering team, sharing knowledge and supporting colleagues to ensure a consistent and joined‑up service across Faculties.
• This role requires a proactive and visible approach, building strong working relationships with stakeholders through both in‑person and remote engagement.
• It is well suited to an HR professional who thrives in a dynamic environment, is comfortable dealing with complex people issues, and enjoys balancing independent responsibility with collaborative working.
• This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

• To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
• Demonstrable experience of managing a high volume of employee relations casework, advising managers on a full range of ER issues, and taking both formal and informal cases through to effective and timely resolution.
• Up‑to‑date knowledge of employment law and HR best practice, with sound judgement and the ability to apply this in a practical, risk‑based way.
• Experience of taking a commercial and risk‑based approach to HR advice, balancing organisational, legal and employee considerations.
• Experience of supporting and advising managers on a broad range of generalist HR matters within a large and/or complex organisation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence, challenge and coach stakeholders effectively.
• Confident engaging with stakeholders at all levels, both in person and remotely, adapting approach and communication style to suit different audiences and situations.
• Highly organised, with the ability to prioritise workload effectively, maintaining focus, professionalism and sound judgement when dealing with competing priorities, ambiguity and complex or sensitive people matters.
• Able to balance working collaboratively as part of the wider Business Partnering team with working independently to deliver for a dedicated client group.
• Experience of working in a complex and unionised environment.
• Experience of working in Higher Education sector.
• CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent experience), or working towards it.