Location Field based with weekly travel to our support centre. Why The Works? We don’t just sell products. We inspire reading, learning, creativity and play. The Works. It literally means everything. And whatever your story or background, we’re all about unlocking imagination and making creativity accessible to everyone. Whether you’re engaging with customers on the frontline or supporting our colleagues behind the scenes, your impact can be profound and far-reaching. This is more than toys and books and art supplies. This is about inspiring people to read, learn, create and play. So, with the right passion, it all starts with you. Become a Retail People Partner Aligned with our Retail division, you will play a key role in cultivating an engaging and supportive workplace for our store colleagues by partnering with the Retail field operations teams. As a member of the Colleague Experience team, our mission is to deliver an exceptional colleague experience lifecycle. This journey begins with talent attraction, hiring, onboarding, and training, and continues through ‘life in the role’, ongoing development, and eventual farewell from role/progressing with us. As our Retail People Partner, you will guide and support our retail colleagues throughout their time with us: You will partner with our Regional Managers to recognise and nurture the potential in our colleagues, always upholding our core values. By collaborating closely with various departments, you will help enhance both organisational and employee capabilities, ensuring a positive and productive journey for all colleagues. Through partnering, you will drive the implementation of the People Plan, fostering a culture of growth, collaboration, and high performance. Your Mission Collaborate with the Head of Colleague Experience and Head of Retail to define and implement the People Plan. Partner with Regional Managers to ensure the People Plan supports business objectives. Build trusted relationships with leaders, providing feedback and challenging activities that don’t align with our values. Advise, coach, and challenge the retail team to develop solutions and handle people initiatives. Ensure resourcing needs are met, identify development needs, and address ER trends. Embed a performance management culture and maintain succession plans. Lead the Colleague Voice agenda and use people data to identify areas for improvement. Collaborate with other People Partners, and DE&I & Wellbeing to ensure consistency across business areas. Experience That Will Set You Apart Previous People Partnering Experience: Ideally across multiple sites, with a proven track record of making a positive impact. Fast-Paced Business Experience: Experience in a fast-paced business environment (experience in a value-driven business is ideal but not essential). Generalist HR Experience: Broad experience in generalist HR roles. Change and Project Management: Demonstrable experience in effectively managing change and/or projects. Skills/Behaviours That Will Set You Apart Self-Belief: Confident in your ability to make a difference to the business. Determined and resourceful, you are committed to delivering the best results for our colleagues. Organisation: Capable of prioritising your work and meeting deadlines, even when juggling multiple tasks. Future Focused: Able to look ahead and plan your time to meet the needs of the business and partnering area. Communication: As an experienced people partner, you have a high level of emotional intelligence interpersonal skills. You are diplomatic and confident working across a wide range of stakeholders, quickly establishing and maintaining credibility with Senior Managers, Managers, and Colleagues. Team Player: Willing to ask for and offer help and equally roll up your sleeves. Problem Solving: Use your common sense, knowledge, and experience to proactively identify and resolve issues and challenges. Listening: Take the time to get to know colleagues, their skills, motivations, and what’s important to them. Growth: Have a desire to develop and grow, providing support, encouragement, and opportunities for more junior team members to develop. Drive: Possess the drive and tenacity to achieve results and continuously improve performance. Data: Able to accurately and confidently handle data, using effective judgement and decision-making skills alongside critical thinking to create innovative and flexible solutions to business issues. Commercial Acumen: Strong commercial acumen with excellent questioning and analytical skills, critical for adding value to the business. The role requires high levels of initiative and attention to detail, with a creative approach to problem-solving. IT Skills: Proficient in IT, with experience in Microsoft Office and the confidence to explore and try new Being a great leader As a great leader with wonderful people skills, you'll create an environment that's more than just co-workers — it's a team. • Align Goals with Values : Ensure that your team’s goals are clearly connected to the company’s values and purpose. This helps colleagues see the bigger picture and understand how their work contributes to the overall mission. • Clear Communication : Ensure that your team understands the goals, expectations, and their roles. Regularly share updates, encourage open dialogue and have regular check-ins. • Role Model : Lead by example. Demonstrate the behaviours and attitudes you expect from your team, such as punctuality, responsibility, and being a brand ambassador. • Provide Feedback : Offer constructive feedback regularly. Recognise achievements and address areas for improvement in a supportive and continuous growth manner. • Empower Your Team : Delegate tasks and trust your team to handle them. This builds confidence and promotes professional growth. • Conflict Resolution : Address conflicts promptly and fairly. Foster an environment where issues can be discussed openly and resolved amicably. • Empathy : Understand and consider the feelings and perspectives of your team members. This helps in building strong, supportive relationships And let's not forget about the most important part… your team's well-being and aspirations. You'll be their biggest supporter, cheering them on. You'll have amazing everyday conversations with your team, discussing everything from their performance to their wildest career aspirations. Our PERKS really are ‘The Works’ 25% Colleague Discount - Plus, exclusive Double Discount days MyWorks - Access exclusive online discounts across hundreds of retailers, holidays, utilities deals, tech and more Holiday – 33 days including bank holidays. Holiday Purchase - Purchase an additional 5 days Can-Do Academy - Grow your skills and career with instant access to further training and development in areas that interest you. Wagestream - Claim early access to 50% of your wages as you earn them – for when ‘life’ happens Share Scheme - Unleash your inner Monopoly mogul and own a piece of The Works 24/7 support for you and your family - Through our partnership with the Retail Trust who provide an Employee Assistance Programme and so much more Healthcare Cash Plan – To support your everyday healthcare costs And loads more – Long Service Awards, pension, life assurance, Cycle to Work and optional charity giving. Our Purpose To inspire reading. learning, creativity and play - making lives more fulfilled. Our Values We are Crafty | We are Caring | We are Can-do We Listen. We Care Each year, we run an anonymous colleague engagement survey. This is so important for us to hear your feedback and suggestions. We want to know what’s going great, and what needs a couple of tweaks to help make The Works the best place you’ve ever worked You’ll have opportunity to help give us that direction. Promoting Diversity, Inclusion, and Applying Reasonable Adjustments At The Works, we are proud to have an inclusive culture where everyone truly feels able to be themselves. Our roles are open to all, including under-represented groups such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, carers & members of the LGBTQ community (including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bi, trans, non-binary, or use another term). We are open to discussions around working hours and flexible working. And, where possible, we'll try to support this. If you need reasonable adjustments for an interview you might attend with us, let us know in your application and we’ll be happy to help