People Partner (HR Business Partner) at Rolls-Royce Power Systems in East Grinstead, UK

Job Overview

Rolls-Royce Solutions UK Ltd, the UK arm of Rolls-Royce Power Systems and home of the mtu brand, is recruiting a People Partner to take charge of the human resources agenda at its East Grinstead site. This is a senior, standalone HR role: the successful candidate will be the only on-site People lead, sitting on the local leadership team and reporting into the EMEA Vice President of People. The position is offered on a full-time, permanent basis with hybrid working arrangements.

Rather than a generalist HR administration role, this position is framed as a strategic partnership function. The jobholder is expected to work directly alongside senior site leaders, translating wider business goals into concrete people and organisational plans — spanning workforce planning, talent development, reward, performance management, employee relations and broader cultural change initiatives.

Because East Grinstead operates within a larger European and international structure, the role also requires close coordination with People colleagues and specialist HR teams based elsewhere in the UK (including Derby and Bristol) as well as across Europe and India, ensuring that HR practice on-site stays aligned with the wider group approach.

About the Role

Rolls-Royce Power Systems is the division of Rolls-Royce that designs, manufactures and services power generation and propulsion systems under the mtu brand, covering gas and diesel engines as well as electrified and hybrid drive systems for marine and infrastructure customers worldwide. The East Grinstead site is a significant UK location within this business, and the group has publicly described the facility as an active hub for engine overhaul work and rail-related engineering activity, alongside apprenticeship and early-careers programmes.

Within this operational context, the People Partner functions as the human capital advisor to site leadership — someone who can both coach individual managers through difficult people situations and step back to advise on structural, organisational-design-level questions. The role is deliberately broad rather than narrowly transactional, and is described as carrying real influence over how the site’s leadership team makes decisions about its workforce.

Job Summary

Reporting Line and Team Context

The role reports directly to the EMEA Vice President of People and is positioned as a core member of the East Grinstead site leadership team, rather than sitting purely within a shared HR function. Day to day, the successful candidate will also work in partnership with People Services teams, HR centres of excellence, and colleagues in Employee Relations and Legal, particularly when handling more complex or sensitive casework. This “hub and spoke” structure means the jobholder needs to be comfortable operating independently on-site while still drawing on specialist support from a wider international People organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the strategic HR advisor to the East Grinstead site leadership team, converting broader business objectives into practical people and organisational plans
• Own core annual people-cycle processes on-site, including pay and bonus review cycles, performance calibration, talent reviews and succession planning
• Build and maintain workforce plans that anticipate the site’s future skills and headcount needs
• Coach and develop individual leaders, including on sensitive or difficult people matters, in line with Rolls-Royce’s internal leadership standards
• Provide advice on complex employee relations cases, working closely with specialist Employee Relations and Legal teams
• Apply organisational development tools and techniques to identify ways of improving team performance, capability and culture
• Help embed the group’s People Team operating model locally, liaising with People Services and centres of excellence rather than running every process in isolation
• Lead or support both local and group-wide People projects, including culture-change work tied to the company’s broader “People Deal” initiative

Candidate Requirements

Education

• Degree in a relevant field
• CIPD Level 7 qualification (or equivalent professional HR accreditation)

Professional Experience

• Substantial prior experience in a People Partner, HR Business Partner, or senior HR generalist capacity
• Background working within an international, matrixed industrial organisation is preferred
• Experience operating inside a large corporate structure, ideally within manufacturing or engineering environments
• Track record of using change-management, organisational-development or project-management methods to drive measurable improvements in team effectiveness
• Direct experience managing TUPE transfer processes and negotiating with trade union representatives; prior involvement in pay negotiations is viewed favourably

Technical Skills

• Broad, well-rounded HR knowledge, ideally built within a centre-of-excellence operating model
• Comfort using organisational-development frameworks to diagnose and address performance or capability gaps

Language Skills

Not explicitly specified by the employer beyond a general expectation of cultural awareness and the ability to work effectively with colleagues across different languages and regions, given the international structure of the wider People function.

Other Qualifications

• Strong commercial awareness, with the confidence to constructively challenge business strategy from a people perspective
• Excellent coaching, influencing and stakeholder-management skills, with credibility at senior leadership level
• A growth mindset and willingness to share knowledge and learning across the wider People Team
• Comfort working across cultures, languages and regional contexts

Salary

Not publicly specified by the employer.

International Candidates

Candidates should independently verify work authorization, visa, and relocation requirements with the employer.

How to Apply

Applications for this role are handled entirely through Rolls-Royce’s official Workday careers portal. Candidates should apply directly through the listing rather than via EUJOBHUB: Apply for People Partner (Job Reference JR6159717). The listing also notes that candidates in some locations may be asked to complete an online assessment, including cognitive and behavioural testing, as part of the selection process — full instructions are provided by the employer if this step applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a standalone HR role or part of a larger on-site HR team?

Based on the listing, the successful candidate will be the sole HR/People lead based at the East Grinstead site, working within a wider international People organisation rather than a large local HR department.

Is the role fully office-based?

No. The listing specifies hybrid working, meaning a mix of on-site presence at East Grinstead and remote work, though the exact split is not detailed by the employer.

Does this role involve trade union negotiation?

Yes. The listing states that proven experience leading TUPE activity and negotiating with trade unions is required, and that prior experience negotiating pay agreements is desirable.

What HR qualification level is expected?

The listing asks for a degree-qualified HR professional holding CIPD Level 7, alongside substantial hands-on experience in a People Partner or HR Business Partner role.

Is relocation or visa sponsorship offered for this role?

The employer does not confirm this in the listing. Candidates should independently verify work authorization, visa, and relocation requirements directly with Rolls-Royce.

What does the “People Deal” reference in the listing mean?

The listing refers to it as an internal Rolls-Royce culture-change initiative that this role is expected to help support locally, though further detail is not provided in the public posting.

EUJOBHUB Disclaimer

This job listing is published by EUJOBHUB.COM as an independent job-information website and editorial summary based on publicly available information from the Rolls-Royce Workday careers portal. EUJOBHUB is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representing Rolls-Royce Power Systems or Rolls-Royce Solutions UK Ltd. All applications must be submitted directly through the employer’s official application system linked above. For the most current and authoritative details, please refer to the original listing on the Rolls-Royce careers portal.