Lead Specialist, HR Business Partner

About the role

We’re looking for an exceptional Senior HR Business Partner to join our People team at a pivotal moment in our transformation journey. Pearson School Qualifications (PSQ) is a successful, growing business with 1,400 colleagues across the UK and international markets. With a bold people agenda and major strategic programmes underway, this role will play a critical part in shaping the future of our organisation.

You’ll partner with senior leaders across PSQ and Global HR, driving high‑impact people initiatives, leading cross‑business programmes, and supporting organisational transformation across multiple technical and customer‑facing functions. This is a role for someone who brings pace, expertise, and a proactive mindset, someone who can elevate the capability of the HR team and deliver meaningful business outcomes.

Location: This is a hybrid role and candidates should be flexible to work from either or central London or Manchester offices.

You’ll play a key role in shaping and delivering our people strategy across PSQ and Assessment & Qualifications, working closely with senior leaders and supporting approximately 500 colleagues. Your work will span strategic partnering, major transformation programmes, and long‑term capability building.

Key responsibilities include:

• Partnering with senior leadership to provide proactive, commercially focused HR advice that influences organisational decisions.
• Building strong, trusted relationships at VP and executive level, acting as a strategic advisor across PSQ and A&Q.
• Leading and embedding core People & Culture initiatives such as Career Architecture, Enhanced Performance Management, Leadership Uplift, Talent, Pearson Promise, and broader performance culture programmes.
• Taking ownership of large‑scale A&Q people initiatives.
• Developing a more strategic, insight‑driven approach to engagement that drives long‑term cultural improvement.
• Strengthening workforce planning capability by forecasting future skills, building talent pipelines and reducing reliance on reactive restructuring.

• Significant HR Business Partnering experience in a complex, fast‑paced organisation
• Proven ability to lead large‑scale people programmes end‑to‑end
• Strong organisational design, workforce planning, and change management capability
• Experience partnering with senior leaders and influencing at VP/Executive level
• Comfortable working across technical, customer‑facing, and global teams

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Proactive — anticipates needs and takes initiative
• Commercial — understands business drivers and connects people strategy to outcomes
• Execution‑focused — delivers at pace with high quality
• Energetic and resilient — thrives in transformation and ambiguity
• A true HR expert — credible, confident, and solutions‑oriented
• Project Management — able to run programmes with clarity and structure

This is a rare opportunity to influence the direction of a major business area, shape the future of our people strategy, and work on transformation programmes with real organisational impact. You’ll join a passionate, collaborative HR team and play a central role in delivering our strategic OKRs.

If you’re an experienced HR leader who thrives in change, enjoys partnering at a senior level, and wants to make a meaningful difference, we’d love to hear from you.