Senior HR Business Partner
ABM UK · Heathrow
JOB TITLE: Senior HR Business Partner- Aviation
LOCATION: London, Heathrow
HOURS: 40 hours per week, flexibility required to support a 24/7 operation
CONTRACT: Permanent
ROLE OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE
You will need to be a versatile, diverse and experienced HR generalist who has a proven successful record of leading and delivering all aspects of HR and IR with dedication and passion, whilst keeping abreast with changes in employment legislation. You be responsible for shaping the performance and development systems for all ABM Aviation UK Ltd team members as well as designing and supporting the company talent frameworks. This includes performance management, succession planning and workforce/human resource planning whilst guiding and managing Human Resources services for the Company.
Confidentiality is key as well as loyalty to the operational Directors, HR and the Company. You need to be able to give a clear picture with full understanding of how each division or site is running and what is happening at all levels. Effective people skills are critical to always ensure good relationships with all team members and external contacts.
You will also be responsible for developing and implementing the HR planning of each division or site and l produce accurate and timely HR reports monthly in order to provide accurate information to the Senior HR Director and operational leads.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Senior HR Business Partner is the strategic People partner for ABM's London Heathrow Passengers Requiring Support (PRS) contract. Partnering with the Account Director and senior operational leadership team, the role translates the contract strategy and ABM UK & I People Strategy into a focused account people plan with clear priorities, ownership and measurable outcomes.
Reporting initially to the VP, HR UK & Ireland, the role is accountable for ensuring people priorities support safe and consistent service delivery, colleague experience, operational performance and client confidence within a complex, high-profile 24/7 aviation environment.
This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports. It delivers outcomes through influence: coaching operational leaders, building manager capability and bringing together the right People specialists and business stakeholders to deliver agreed priorities.
The role has a critical focus on strategic workforce planning, frontline leadership capability, talent and succession, colleague engagement and voice, attendance, retention, performance, inclusion and workforce stability. It uses people, operational and client insight to identify root causes, anticipate risk and target action where it will have the greatest impact.
The role also provides senior People leadership for organisational change, employee and industrial relations, business-critical people risks and people-related client governance, working closely with Employee Relations, Recruitment, Learning & Development, Talent, Engagement, Communications Shared Services, People Insights, HR Technology and People Programmes.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Account Partnership and Client Alignment
- Lead the development and delivery of the London Heathrow PRS account people plan, aligned to the contract strategy, ABM UK & Ireland People Strategy, operational priorities and Enterprise strategy.
- Act as a trusted adviser to the Account Director and senior operational leadership team, providing commercially focused, practical and insight-led People advice.
- Build effective relationships with relevant client stakeholders and contribute to people-related client governance, reviews and improvement plans.
- Translate operational priorities, service requirements and client expectations into clear workforce, leadership, culture and colleague-experience outcomes.
- Ensure people activity supports contract performance, service continuity, colleague experience and client confidence, escalating material risks to the HR Director.
Leading Through Influence and Integrated People Support
- Deliver outcomes through influence rather than formal authority, setting clear expectations with leaders and maintaining accountability for agreed people outcomes.
- Coach and challenge operational leaders and managers to build ownership, capability, consistency and confidence in people leadership.
- Bring together Employee Relations, Recruitment, Learning & Development, Talent, Engagement, Shared Services, People Insights, HR Technology, Communications and People Programmes around the account's priorities.
- Establish clear ownership, handoffs, timescales and escalation routes so specialist support is joined up, timely and aligned to operational need.
- Act as a senior escalation point for complex people risks, stakeholder challenges and cross-functional dependencies, ensuring the VP HR has early visibility of material issues.
Culture, Engagement and Team Member Voice
- Develop and drive a practical account culture and engagement plan that supports an inclusive, respectful and high-performing frontline environment.
- Strengthen team member voice and communication across shifts, locations and workforce groups, ensuring leaders listen, respond and visibly follow through on feedback.
- Use engagement, retention, attendance, employee-relations and operational insight to identify themes, address root causes and prioritise targeted interventions.
- Coach leaders to improve performance, attendance, wellbeing, recognition and the quality and consistency of the day-to-day colleague experience.
- Work with Communications, Engagement and other specialist teams to ensure account activity is coordinated, accessible and relevant to frontline colleagues.
Workforce Planning, Talent and Organisational Effectiveness
- Lead strategic workforce planning for the London Heathrow PRS contract, aligning workforce capacity and capability to service demand and operational requirements.
- Work with leaders to identify recruitment and retention pressures, future skills, critical-role dependencies, capability gaps and succession risks.
- Partner with Talent, Recruitment and Learning & Development to strengthen frontline leadership, critical-role succession, career pathways and workforce capability.
- Support organisational design, structure reviews and changes to ways of working, ensuring accountabilities, spans and interfaces enable effective service delivery.
- Bring relevant external insight from aviation, facilities management and frontline service environments to challenge thinking and inform practical solutions.
People Change and Contract Readiness
- Lead the business partnering contribution to organisational change, service improvement, technology and process implementation, TUPE, mobilisation and demobilisation activity affecting the account.
- Work with People Programmes and specialist teams to confirm the right delivery model, roles, governance and account support for each activity.
- Provide senior stakeholder management, business context, people-risk insight and local implementation support so change is effectively coordinated, adopted and embedded.
- Identify people risks, dependencies and colleague impacts that may affect service continuity, operational performance or client confidence, and ensure effective mitigation is in place.
Employee and Industrial Relations
- Maintain effective relationships with employee representatives and trade unions, supporting constructive engagement and early resolution of workforce issues.
- Support the VP and Industrial Relations & HR Policy Centre of Expertise with pay negotiations, collective consultation and other industrial-relations activity affecting the account.
- Partner with Employee Relations on complex, high-risk or business-critical matters, ensuring decisions balance legal, commercial, colleague, operational and client considerations.
- Use employee-relations data and case themes to identify systemic issues, strengthen manager capability and reduce repeat risk.
Insight, Governance and Continuous Improvement
- Establish a clear account people scorecard and governance rhythm, combining people, operational and relevant client measures to track delivery and impact.
- Use workforce data and qualitative insight to identify emerging risks, trends and opportunities and turn them into focused action.
- Provide clear, timely updates to the Account Director, account leadership team and HR Director on progress, risks, decisions and support required.
- Evaluate the impact of people interventions and adjust priorities where outcomes are not improving at the required pace.
- Contribute to continuous improvement of the People Operating Model, ensuring the account receives proactive, joined-up and value-adding support.
Measures of Success
- A clear, measurable London Heathrow PRS account people plan is agreed, owned and delivered in line with contract and client priorities.
- Progress is demonstrated against agreed baselines and targets for colleague engagement, retention, attendance, workforce stability, manager capability and other priority people outcomes.
- Workforce capacity, capability and succession risks are identified early and translated into practical action that supports service delivery.
- Frontline leadership capability, critical-role succession and accountability for people outcomes are strengthened.
- Complex employee and industrial relations risks are managed proactively, with repeat themes reduced and service disruption minimised.
- Change is effectively coordinated and embedded, with colleague impact, operational continuity and client confidence actively managed.
- Specialist People support is joined up and timely, with clear ownership, handoffs and accountability for outcomes.
- People insight informs decisions and people activity makes a visible contribution to colleague experience, operational performance and client confidence.
Requirements
- Significant senior HR business partnering experience in a complex, unionised, frontline, customer-service or regulated environment; aviation or facilities management experience is desirable.
- Demonstrable experience of developing and delivering strategic account people plans that improve workforce, leadership, culture and business outcomes.
- Strong track record of influencing senior operational and client stakeholders, delivering through others and retaining accountability without formal authority or direct reports.
- Experience of strategic workforce planning, organisational effectiveness, talent and succession, manager capability and employee engagement in a large operational workforce.
- Strong employee and industrial relations experience, including complex case management, trade-union engagement, collective consultation and pay negotiations.
- Ability to use people, operational and commercial data to diagnose issues, establish priorities, measure impact and communicate clear recommendations.
- Experience of leading or supporting organisational change, TUPE, mobilisation, technology or process implementation in a business-critical environment.
- Strong commercial judgement and an understanding of how people outcomes affect contract performance, service delivery, colleague experience and client confidence.
- Resilient, credible and collaborative, with the ability to work at pace, navigate ambiguity and maintain effective challenge in a high-profile 24/7 operation.
QUALIFICATIONS
- CIPD qualification required.
- Degree-level education or equivalent experience.
- Further development in HR business partnering, change, employee relations or organisational design desirable.
***Please note that obtaining an airside pass is an essential requirement of this role. As part of this process, the successful candidate will be required to complete a full five-year background check, including a criminal record check***
Benefits
We’re proud to offer a great range of benefits including:
- 24/7 GP: Both you and your immediate family can speak to a UK-based GP from the comfort of your own home
- Mental Health support and Life Event Counseling
- Get Fit Programme
- Financial and legal support
- Cycle to work scheme
- Access Perks at Work, our innovative employee app where you can find:
- Perks: discounts, gift cards, cashback, and exclusive offers
- Life: Search for resources and tools on topics ranging from family and life to health, money and work
- Support: Online chat or telephone service for urgent support in a crisis
For more information about ABM’s benefits, visit our
About ABM:
ABM (NYSE: ABM) is one of the world’s largest providers of integrated facility, engineering, and infrastructure solutions. Every day, over 100,000 team members deliver essential services that make spaces cleaner, safer, and efficient, enhancing the overall occupant experience.
ABM serves a wide range of market sectors including commercial real estate, aviation, mission critical, and manufacturing and distribution. With over $8 billion in annual revenue and a blue-chip client base, ABM delivers innovative technologies and sustainable solutions that enhance facilities and empower clients to achieve their goals. Committed to creating smarter, more connected spaces, ABM is investing in the future to meet evolving challenges and build a healthier, thriving world. ABM: Driving possibility, together.
For more information, visit .
ABM are committed to employment practices that promote diversity and inclusion in employment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, sex, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief. We are proud members of the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme.