URBN HR Business Partner

URBN UK Limited is part of the URBN Group, a global retailer, with its European Head Office located in London. Its retail offering in Europe takes the form of three brands.

With stores in more than 10 European countries and a strong e-commerce presence, we’re driven by the same core values as our customers, and we approach our work with a sense of community and purpose that sets our brands apart. We love what we do.

This role sits in URBN, our shared service function within the HR & Talent Department. 

The ideal candidate will already be working at Senior HR Advisor or HR Business Partner level ideally for a retailer or similar. Personality and approach will be as important as your experience.  You need to be resilient, driven and have a strong ability to multi-task and be focused on continuous improvement and achieving results.  Building strong relationships with our Head Office employees will be critical to the success of this role.

This is a critical member of this high performing and very credible team working closely to execute projects across our three Brands for UK Head Office.

General

• Collaborate with managers, employees and the wider HR team to provide expert advice on HR policies, procedures, and people matters
• Monitor turnover, promotion and development at all levels in Head Office
• Develop and monitor strategies that will maximise employee engagement and motivation at all levels
• Build credible relationships with the Head Office teams, in particular the senior stakeholders to support them in delivering the business’s people strategy
• Develop and lead initiatives that boost employee engagement and maintain a positive, inclusive environment. You’ll run surveys, analyse feedback, and work with leadership to bring our team’s ideas to life.
• Own & drive internal comms, making sure our employees are always in the loop. Whether it’s company news, HR updates, or new initiatives, you’ll ensure that everyone gets the message.
• Proactively drive exciting HR initiatives through the HR Roadmap to keep us ahead of the curve—whether it’s improving employee engagement, diversity, or talent retention strategies
• Analyse HR data, such as the Engagement Survey and exit interviews to effectively to identify trends and make recommendations for change initiatives to drive retention
• With support from the wider HR team, management of all KPI's including LTO, Absence and Performance
• Ensure all Head Office teams are effectively inducting all new starters and acting on feedback
• Support implementation of new HR Systems and processes, ensuring continuous improvement
• Management of the HR Assistant 

Employee Relations/Employment Law

• Proactively manage and provide guidance for a variety of ER cases, ensuring a best practice approach and adherence to legislation and policies
• Proactively identify performance issues with line managers and recommend a best practice approach, providing support as appropriate
• Responsible for the creation, updating and implementation of all policies and procedures, ensuring they reflects the commercial needs of the business and are legally compliant
• Ensure URBN is compliant with all UK employment law and proactively seek updates.
• Support the HR Advisor on managing parental leave across all employees
• Advise on procedure and assist managers in dealing with employees with long term absence, including any home visits, wellbeing check ins and welfare meetings
• With guidance from the Senior HR Manager, support leadership with any change management initiatives 

Learning and Development

• Colloborate with L&D team to create a strong relationship, sharing internal feedback and training needs
• Support the L&D team with delivering ad-hoc training sessions where needs have been assessed through training needs analysis
• Support the Performance Management cycle including meeting requirements and timescales for objective setting, mid/end of year reviews
• Drive and continually improve the appraisal process
• Support line managers to develop knowledge and good performance management practice and further embed the Performance Management processes
• Proactively drive and implement employee succession and development with Talent Mapping Succession Plans 

Reward/ Compensation and Benefits

• Understand and be knowledgeable on reward and benefits across the UK
• Take the lead on researching and building new reward ideas
• Comprehensive knowledge of the pay and benefits structures internally with relevant external/competitor intelligence

• Proven experience in a HR Advisory role at a Senior level, ideally within a retail environment
• In-depth knowledge of UK employment legislation
• Ability to combine a creative, innovative approach with commercial ideas
• Self-motivated and able to take initiative 
• Ability to build strong, credible relationships quickly and to be trusted at all levels
• Strong persuading and influencing skills and ability to give feedback to all levels of employees/managers
• Results driven and delivery focused, with a high level of integrity
• Strong communicator with an approachable style
• Organised and able to multitask with an eye for detail
• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment
• Good problem-solving skills
• Strong team player
• Project management skills
• Good business acumen/commercially aware
• Clear and concise communication skills

#URBN #LI-JM2

• Work-life balance:
• • Flexible start and finish times
  • Bring your dog to work
• Wellbeing:
  • Employees Assistance program to support with mental, physical and financial health
  • Fully equipped free gym and on-site wellness room in Brick Lane and discount on external gym memberships
  • Private Medical Insurance

• Employee Discount:
  • Up to 40% off at all URBN Brands 
• Community:
  • One paid day to either volunteer or fundraise for a charity of your choice
• Travel:
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • Season ticket loan
• Continued Development:
  • We offer structured support within the business alongside continued learning and development

URBN is an Equal Opportunities Employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We provide equal employment opportunities regardless of age, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, marital status, religion, race, or disability. We base all our employment decisions on merit, job requirements and business needs.