CBRE UK
HR People Partner and ER CoE Lead
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The Role
This is a role with dual accountability: a commercial strategic partner to the London Markets leadership team, and the UK & Ireland Employee Relations (ER) Centre of Excellence (COE) Lead. Both mandates report to the Senior Director, People.
The person in this role is first and foremost a business leader who brings deep people expertise. In the London Markets pillar, that means sitting alongside the Managing Director and senior leadership team as a genuine peer, challenging commercial decisions, shaping growth strategy, and holding the business accountable for the people agenda that drives performance. In the ER COE pillar, it means owning the legal and risk framework that protects the business across UK & Ireland, and building a People team capable of operating to the same standard.
This is not a role for someone who waits to be asked. It requires a confident, commercially literate leader who understands the business model, reads the commercial environment, anticipates where people risk and opportunity intersect, and acts accordingly.
Pillar 1: Commercial Strategic Partner, London Markets
London Markets is one of the most commercially significant parts of the UK & Ireland business, with core transactional teams in Investment and Leasing operating at the heart of the Central London market. This is a high-performance, high-expectation environment where the people agenda is a direct lever for revenue growth, talent retention and competitive advantage.
This role operates as a true leadership team member, not as a People function representative embedded in the business. The expectation is that this person understands the P&L, knows the market, challenges strategy, and brings a commercial perspective to every people decision. People expertise is the tool; business performance is the objective.
Commercial Leadership and Strategic Partnership
- Sit as an active member of the London Markets leadership team, contributing to commercial strategy, growth planning and business performance discussions with a people lens that sharpens, not softens, the conversation.
- Develop a deep understanding of the London Markets P&L, revenue drivers, client relationships and competitive dynamics, using that knowledge to make the people agenda commercially relevant and directly tied to business outcomes.
- Challenge the leadership team on people decisions that carry commercial risk or limit growth potential, acting as a constructive but direct voice at the table.
- Anticipate the people implications of commercial decisions, including new mandates, client wins, market shifts and structural changes, and get ahead of them before they become problems.
Talent, Growth and Organisational Performance
- Lead the talent strategy for London Markets, identifying the capability the business needs to win in the market and building a plan to acquire, develop and retain it.
- Drive workforce planning in direct alignment with the commercial pipeline, ensuring the business has the right people in the right roles ahead of demand, not in response to it.
Operational People Partnership
- Provide expert HR advice and guidance to senior managers and the broader leadership population on all people matters, including employee relations, policy application and risk.
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Pillar 2: ER COE Lead, UK & Ireland
CBRE UK & Ireland operates across multiple service lines, client accounts and legal entities. The people risk and compliance landscape is significant. As ER COE Lead, this person owns the employee relations framework, people risk, health and safety people agenda, PAGE (policies, procedures and governance), ER data and reporting, and the approach to M&A and TUPE across UK & Ireland. Critically, this person also leads the upskilling and capability development of the wider People team in all ER-related matters.
Employee Relations Leadership
- Own the ER framework for UK & Ireland, ensuring policies, practices and guidance are legally compliant, commercially appropriate and consistently applied.
- Personally manage complex, high-risk and sensitive ER cases including senior-level disciplinaries, grievances, protected disclosures and matters with potential legal or reputational exposure.
- Provide first-line escalation for the broader People team on ER matters, offering expert guidance and clear direction on how to proceed.
- Maintain a current and thorough working knowledge of UK employment law, ensuring the business is protected and proactively briefed on legislative changes.
- Work closely with the in-house employment legal team, providing clear and timely instruction on matters requiring legal input and acting as the primary HR interface for cases escalated to internal legal counsel.
ER Capability Building and Team Development
- A core accountability of the ER COE Lead is to raise the ER capability of the entire UK & Ireland People team, moving the function from a place where ER expertise sits with one person to a community of confident, consistent and commercially grounded practitioners.
- Design and deliver a structured ER capability programme for the People Business Partner community, covering case management, employment law application, risk assessment and decision-making.
- Provide regular coaching and guided case review to People Business Partners, building confidence and consistency in how ER matters are handled across the business.
- Develop practical ER guidance, toolkits and case frameworks that equip the team to manage a wider range of cases independently and to a consistent standard.
ER Data and Management Information
- Own the ER data framework for UK & Ireland, ensuring case data is captured accurately, consistently and in a format that enables meaningful analysis.
People Risk and PAGE (Policies, Procedures and Governance)
- Own the people risk register for UK & Ireland, identifying, assessing and tracking people-related risks across the business and ensuring appropriate mitigations are in place.
- Lead the PAGE agenda for the People function, ensuring all People policies and procedures are current, legally compliant, accessible and fit for the CBRE UK & Ireland context.
Health and Safety (People)
- Act as the People function's lead on health and safety matters affecting employees, working in close partnership with the Health and Safety team.
- Provide HR guidance on cases involving workplace injury, occupational health, reasonable adjustments and fitness for work, ensuring decisions are legally sound and people-centred.
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M&A, TUPE and Collective Programmes
- Act as the lead HR contact for all M&A activity in UK & Ireland, working with Corporate Development, legal and finance from the earliest stage to assess people risk and plan for integration or separation.
Person Specification
Experience
- Proven track record as a senior HR Business Partner who operates as a genuine commercial partner to the business, influencing strategy and driving performance rather than delivering HR process.
- Experience working directly with senior leadership teams, including MDs and C-suite leaders, in a commercially driven, revenue-generating environment.
- Demonstrable ability to connect people strategy to commercial outcomes, including revenue growth, organisational performance and competitive positioning.
- Deep employee relations expertise, including personal experience managing complex disciplinary, grievance and investigation processes to conclusion.
- Demonstrable knowledge of UK employment law, with the confidence to apply it practically and advise with authority.
- Experience owning or leading a policy and governance (PAGE) agenda, including managing a policy review cycle and advising on regulatory change.
- Experience managing people risk, including contributing to a risk register and escalating appropriately within a governance framework.
- Practical experience of TUPE transfers and collective consultation processes, managed to a high legal and commercial standard.
- Exposure to M&A activity from an HR perspective, including due diligence, people risk assessment and integration or separation planning.
- A track record of building ER capability in others through coaching, structured programmes and toolkit development.
- Line management experience, with the ability to develop and delegate effectively.
- Background in a large, matrixed, commercially driven organisation. Real estate, professional services or financial services is an advantage.
- Human resources degree or equivalent. Chartered Member of the CIPD (MCIPD or FCIPD) preferred.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Excel, and experienced with HR systems (Peoplesoft preferred).
Why CBRE
When you join CBRE, you become part of the global leader in commercial real estate services and investment that helps businesses and people thrive. We are dynamic problem solvers and forward-thinking professionals who create significant impact. Our collaborative culture is built on our shared values - respect, integrity, service and excellence - and we value the diverse perspectives, backgrounds and skillsets of our people. At CBRE, you have the opportunity to realize your full potential.
Our Values in Hiring
At CBRE, we are committed to fostering a culture where everyone feels they belong. We value diverse perspectives and experiences, and we welcome all applications.
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