Network Rail
Human Resources Business Partner Support (Talent Pool)

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Who We Are
Join our HR Talent Pool and help shape the future of Britain's railway.
Are you ready to make a difference in people's lives? At Network Rail, we connect passengers and freight customers, ensuring safe and efficient transportation across the country. We're an organisation where people truly matter, and when you join us, you matter to us and millions of others. Click here to watch our inspiring video to learn more about us!
You will be part of the North West & Central Region (NW&C) which consist of three routes - North West, Central and West Coast - and a regional team supporting Regional Major Programmes & Professional services. You can learn more about our region here: North West & Central region - Network Rail.
In the North West & Central Region, we're proud to be building a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We know that inclusive teams make better decisions, drive innovation, and help us create a safer, more accessible railway for everyone. Even if you don't meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. If you're passionate about making a difference and believe you have the skills or potential to thrive in this role, we'd love to hear from you. We're committed to creating an open, supportive environment where everyone feels they belong. Your unique perspective and experience could be exactly what we need to keep Britain moving safely and sustainably. Discover more about our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail Equity, diversity and inclusion.
We're also a Disability Confident employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.
About The Role
We're building a talent pool for future HR Business Partner Support opportunities across Network Rail's North West & Central region. By joining our talent pool, you'll be considered for upcoming permanent and fixed-term opportunities across Birmingham, Manchester and Milton Keynes as they become available.
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I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?
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This is a fantastic opportunity for HR professionals looking to develop their career in a large, complex organisation where people make a real difference. Working alongside experienced HR Business Partners and business leaders, you'll support a wide range of people initiatives that help our teams perform at their best.
You'll gain exposure to workforce planning, talent and succession management, organisational change, employee engagement and HR projects, while developing valuable stakeholder management and project delivery experience.
No two days are the same. One day you could be supporting a business change programme, the next analysing workforce data, coordinating a people initiative or helping leaders make informed decisions about their teams. You'll play an important role in turning people strategies into practical actions that deliver real business outcomes.
These opportunities support hybrid working, with regular travel across the North West & Central region as required.
Salary: £25,950 - £30,000 depending on experience.
Location: Successful candidates can be based in Birmingham, Manchester or Milton Keynes.
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a large volume of applications is received.
What's In It For You
Here are a few of the benefits we have to offer:
- 28 days annual leave - with the opportunity to buy and/or sell up to 5 days
- Access to a range of contributory pension schemes
- The potential to top up your competitive salary with a bonus
- A subsidy of up to 75% on rail and underground season tickets if you travel to work on the train
- Privileged staff travel - Discretionary leisure travel discount of 75%
- We can offer you a season ticket loan, annual season tickets are discounted.
- A 35-hour-per-week contract with flexible working options available to help support your work-life balance
- Hybrid working where possible and enhanced family-friendly support
- Take advantage of healthcare offers (including discounted healthcare club membership), discounted cycle hire, and online shopping sites
- 5 days of paid volunteering leave
- 2 weeks paid reserve leave for the Armed Forces community


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Your Experience And Skills
What you'll be doing:
Join a people-focused HR team where you'll play a key role in delivering impactful people initiatives that support business success. Working closely with HR Business Partners and senior stakeholders, you'll help drive talent and succession planning, organisational change, workforce initiatives and performance improvement activities. You'll provide valuable insight through research, analysis and reporting, manage and coordinate HR projects, and identify opportunities to continuously improve the support we provide to the business. This is a varied and rewarding role for someone who enjoys building relationships, taking ownership, solving problems and contributing to meaningful change across the organisation while continuing to develop their professional HR expertise.
What You'll Have/be
- Demonstrates strong customer service skills.
- Experience of working within a large, complex and fast-moving organisation.
- High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong time management, organisation and prioritisation skills and the ability to work under pressure and to deadlines.
- Resilient, Adaptable and Flexible.
- IT literate, strong excel, word and PowerPoint knowledge.
- Experience of event coordination and facilitation.
- Research and analytical skills.
- Strong relationship building skills.
- Experience of supporting the delivery of HR initiatives and projects.
We would also like but it isn't crucial to have/to be:
- CIPD Qualified or relevant HR Support experience.
- Graduate calibre
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