Junior People Partner

We are looking for a Junior People Partner to join our People Team at OakNorth. This role provides hands-on support to our Senior People Partners across UK and US employee populations across all business lines. The role is well-suited to someone who is early in their HR career, keen to develop across a broad generalist remit, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. You will get exposure to real partnering work, employee relations, performance processes, people projects, from day one.

Key Responsibilities

UK People Support

• Support Senior People Partners in delivering day-to-day employee advice across business areas.

• Help build and maintain strong relationships with managers and employees as a reliable first point of contact.

• Assist with the preparation of materials for management meetings, organisational design and workforce planning activities.

Employee Relations

• Lead on employee relations matters with sound judgement and discretion, navigating sensitive situations with confidence and care.

• Demonstrate sound judgement in recognising when cases require senior involvement, escalating appropriately and supporting Senior People Partners on more complex or high-stakes matters.

• Ensure cases are managed in line with OakNorth policies and relevant employment law, taking accountability for compliant case management.

• Manage end-to-end case administration including note-taking, preparing documentation and tracking case progress to resolution.

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date records across all ER activity, ensuring full case visibility and audit readiness.

U.S. People Support

• Act as People Partner support for managers and employees across the US employee population.

• Support leaders on employee relations matters, including performance management, investigations, disciplinary processes, terminations and organisational change.

• Provide administrative and coordination support for people processes affecting the US employee population.

• Help track and document US-specific people activity, including ER cases, onboarding and offboarding.

• Partner with external legal counsel and employment advisors to ensure compliance with US employment legislation and market practice

• Develop awareness of US employment practices and regional differences under the guidance of the team and provide guidance to managers on U.S.-specific people considerations, risk and best practice.

• Collaborate with the People Operations team to support people processes impacting US employees.

• Support the development and implementation of globally aligned people practices whilst recognising regional requirements and cultural differences.

People Projects & Change

• Contribute to People Team projects and change initiatives, providing research, coordination, documentation and delivery support leveraging AI tools to enhance efficiency and output quality.

• Support performance and talent processes across the employee lifecycle, including performance reviews, calibration prep, probation tracking and development planning, applying an AI-first mindset to streamline and improve these processes

• Assist with employee engagement initiatives, maintaining action plans to support follow-through utilising AI tools to surface insights and drive more effective outcomes..

• Help drive consistency across people processes championing the use of AI and emerging tools to improve scalability, speed and the overall employee experience.

Data, Reporting & Operations

• Support people data reporting across headcount, attrition, , ER engagement and performance, preparing summaries to support People Partner decision-making.

• Ensure people processes are completed accurately and on time, working closely with People Operations and Talent Acquisition.

• Handle general people queries, escalating to Senior People Partners where appropriate, and maintain confidentiality across all matters.

About You

• Experience in a HR role within a fast-paced, scaling or high-growth environment.

• Employee relations experience confidently managing complex and sensitive matters independently.

• Strong understanding of UK employment law and practical exposure to US employment practices and employee relations considerations.

• Experience supporting employee populations across multiple jurisdictions, ideally including both the UK and US.

• Comfortable partnering with external legal counsel and advisors where appropriate to manage risk and ensure compliance.

• Commercially minded with the ability to balance business priorities with employee experience.

• Bring a forward-thinking, AI-first mindset to all people work, actively seeking out opportunities to adopt and embed AI tools that improve how the team operates.

• Comfortable working with data and HR systems; picks up new tools quickly.

• Organised and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple tasks at once.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• A proactive, can-do approach - someone who is happy to roll up sleeves and get things done.

• Collaborative team player who builds good relationships across all levels.

• Curious and eager to learn, with a genuine interest in developing a career in People.

Desirable Experience

• Experience using HRIS platforms (HiBob experience a bonus).

• Interest or exposure to financial services, fintech or a regulated environment.

• CIPD qualified or working towards qualification (or equivalent experience) preferred.

• Proven experience redesigning HR processes and ways of working using AI tools, translating traditional people workflows into smarter, more scalable solutions.

We are looking for a minimum of 3 days in office

Benefits and Perks

• 25 days holiday

• Personalized benefits – opt-in to what matters to you

• Subsidised Private Medical Insurance with Bupa

• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

• Wellbeing and social events

• In-house Barista Bar in London office

• Support causes that matter to you – Volunteering time off

• Salary sacrifice schemes (Cycle to work, nursery, gym, electric car scheme)