DFS Group - Senior People Business Partner - South

Reporting to a Head of HR, the Senior People Business Partner for DFS Retail will partner the Divisional Director, 5 Regional Managers and a number of Branch General Managers in the South to deliver a comprehensive people plan in line with the overall retail strategy. In addition to leading the People plan there will be key projects to support the people agenda. The role is a key role within the DFS people team and will play a key role in shaping the people strategy for retail.

This role is field based and will provide support to around 60 stores in the south including ROI and some stores across the East Midlands. This role will partner all senior leaders within Retail South.

There are c1300 colleagues within Retail and c700 within our south division.

• Partner directly with the Divisional Director to support the people planning to drive the organisational design and development.
• Deliver the strategic people plan for Retail South in line with the four year group people strategy
• Support the Head of HR on key strategic projects across all of Retail including the North division.
• People team contact for functional leaders providing coaching and guidance across the employee lifecycle including:
  • Employee experience and engagement
  • Employee relations
  • Inclusion
  • Talent development
  • Data
  • Resourcing
  • Reward
• Work with the Centre of Excellences to identify development requirements for each business area
• Lead and manage the people elements of change projects across the business
• Build strong networks and relationships within the function in order to gain a deep understanding of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges
• Build strong relationships with HR colleagues within the Centre of Excellence to ensure a joined up approach across the function, and to bring insight about wider business activities to each business area
• Support/lead wider group HR projects as identified

• CIPD Chartered Membership (or equivalent experience)
• In-depth experience in organisational design and leading change
• Proven HR generalist senior leader with a detailed understanding of all HR disciplines
• Experience in partnering corporate functions
• Exceptional people leader with proven track record of raising capabilities
• High intellectual capability and personal gravitas which instils confidence
• Tenacious & resilient with a determination to success
• Exceptional partnering skills with the ability to build big and trusted relationships across a wide and varied stakeholder network
• Excellent coaching skills with the ability to listen, question and support individuals and teams to lead change
• Project management skills with experience of leading change projects
• Continuous improvement mentality
• Bigger picture thinking and making connections wider than current business area
• Experience of developing and delivering people plan inline with the business strategy
• Builds trust of leaders through credible, business focussed advice and recommendations.
• Communicates clearly and honestly and adjusts personal style to influence others
• Able to use a range of people and business data to diagnose, interpret and evaluate people risks and opportunities
• Experience of facilitation and coaching
• Comfortable working with ambiguity

This role is within our wider team at the DFS Group.

It takes a whole lot of passion to be at the centre of what makes a house feel like home — and that’s just what we do at DFS.

We’re the leading sofa retail specialist in the UK, helping people find a comfy seat on their great quality sofas since 1969.

We're a market leader in the UK because of one thing: our people. Our people made us who we are and will drive us into our ambitious future, together.

We offer incredible opportunities to get stuck into fun and meaningful work as well as learn new skills — so you can really ‘find your thing’.

Are you ready to make yourself at DFS Group?

We want you to really feel at home at DFS Group, with the support you need to do your best work, as well as a range of great benefits:

• Performance Related Bonus Scheme
• A huge 30% colleague discount, plus 15% friends & family discount across our Group (DFS, Sofology, Dwell)
• Holiday allowance – the time you need to rest and relax (and the longer you’re with us, the more time you’ll get!)
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave to give you the time you need to settle in with your new family member
• Access to a range of high street & online discounts from: Sainsbury’s, ASOS, Currys PC World, IKEA, John Lewis and more.
• Discounted Gym and Cinema memberships to help you unwind
• Progression and Development opportunities to grow your skills
• Group Pension Scheme
• Group Sharesave Scheme
• Life Assurance & Company Sick Pay