Senior HR Business Partner (MAT Cover)

Job description

Thought Machine's mission is bold – to properly and permanently rid the world's banks of legacy technology. To achieve this, we have developed the foundations of modern banking through core and payments technology which run natively in the cloud. What we are attempting is hard and means we need great people working together to build great technology. We have grown rapidly in the past few years – growing our team to more than 550 individuals across offices in London, New York, Singapore, Sydney and our newly established Engineering Hub in Lisbon. We have raised more than £500m in funding and our investors include Molten Ventures, Eurazeo, Intesa Sanpaolo, Temasek, Nyca Partners, JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investments, Standard Chartered Ventures, and more. We have created a culture that enables our team to produce the best work in the industry while ensuring we have fun along the way. We're regularly cited as having a fantastic workplace culture and have been recognised by Sifted magazine as having one of the highest Glassdoor ratings for a UK fintech company and the industry's most generous employee share package. Named one of the world's most innovative fintechs by Global Finance Magazine, we were also recognised by the Financial Times as one of Europe's fastest-growing companies for two consecutive years—and a UK Best Employer for 2026. We are seeking an experienced, commercial, and hands-on Senior HR Business Partner to step into a 12-month maternity cover jointly partnering our Engineering Division. Because of the nature of the division and current business priorities, this role demands deep expertise in UK employment law and complex ER case management, paired with a proven ability to coach managers, drive engagement, and support global mobility as we grow. Key Responsibilities - Strategic Business Partnering & Engagement: Partner closely with assigned Engineering leadership teams and managers to understand, measure, and improve employee engagement, organisational structure, capability, and culture. - Complex UK Employee Relations: Act as the subject matter expert on all UK ER matters. Autonomously manage complex absence cases, disciplinary processes, and grievances with a professional, solution-focused, and pragmatic approach. - Manager Coaching & Guidance: Act as a proactive coach and guide for line managers across the team, supporting them through organisational change, difficult conversations, and leadership development. - People Plan & CPO Projects: Own key elements of the People Plan and work closely with the wider HRBP team on strategic projects including talent & performance management, pay & benefits, L&D, career progression, and culture during periods of headcount growth - AI-Driven HR Innovation: Continuously review and modernise HR processes across the employee lifecycle—leveraging AI-powered HR tools, automation, and best practices to streamline workflows, enhance employee experience, and ensure practices remain agile, culture-aligned, and fit for business requirements. - People Analytics & MI: Provide the Senior Management Team with insightful HR metrics (MI) to inform decisions and measure the impact of HR initiatives. - Talent & High-Performance Culture: Drive end-to-end talent management and succession frameworks that cultivate and embed a high-performance culture. Partner with Engineering leaders to identify critical roles, map succession risk, and turn exit data into actionable talent retention strategies. Requirements & Qualifications Essential - Strong UK ER Expertise: Exceptional, up-to-date knowledge of UK employment legislation with proven experience resolving complex ER cases. - HR Business Partnering Experience: 4+ years of generalist HR experience at HRBP / Senior HRBP level, with strong stakeholder management, resilience, and business acumen. - Engineering / Tech Sector Exposure: Proven track record of business partnering with technical or engineering divisions (understanding technical team dynamics and rhythms). - Manager Coaching & Development: Experienced in developing and supporting line managers through change (a coaching qualification or willingness to undertake one is a plus). - Communication & Discretion: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to build rapport quickly, exercise diplomacy, and handle confidential matters with complete discretion. - CIPD Qualification: CIPD accredited (or equivalent demonstrable experience). - Autonomy: Self-motivated, resourceful, and capable of working independently while maintaining close alignment with the CPO. Desired - International HR experience in one or more of the below countries - APAC - Singapore - Australia - AMER - US - EMEA - Portugal - HR Operations experience, designing and implementing standard operating procedures for the people team, focused on delivery excellent employee experience - Workday HRIS system experience Benefits - Highly competitive salary - Pension plan (match up to 5%) - Life insurance - three times annual salary - Competitive maternity (six months fully paid) and paternity leave (four weeks fully paid) - Shared parental leave (matched to our maternity leave for the same point in time) - 25 days holiday and bank holidays - Flexible working hours - Cycle-to-work scheme - Electric car scheme - Season ticket loan - Access to outstanding learning materials and courses - Sports and hobby clubs, subsidised by Thought Machine - All the latest tech you need - Start the day properly with fresh fruit and cereals - Huge range of healthy (and not-so-healthy) snacks, smoothies and drinks - A talented and experienced team as your colleagues - An environment where we encourage learning and progress - Two charity days a year - Weekly food pop-up We actively hire candidates who demonstrate technical excellence in their field and welcome people of all ages and backgrounds, providing everyone with equal access to professional development. You are encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't accurately match the job description. We also encourage applications from those with different abilities, including candidates with ADHD, autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia.