We’re West Coast Partnership Development (WCPD) and we’re shaping new high-speed train services for the UK. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring about a step change in rail travel and we are excited to play an important part. Working in partnership with HS2 Ltd, FirstGroup, Trenitalia, and the Department for Transport, we’re designing and developing the new services which will run on the new High Speed 2 railway and the existing West Coast Main Line.

Our goal is to maximise the government’s investment to create a world-class railway with faster journey times, more capacity, and a customer experience that’s second to none.

Our vision is for the High-Speed Services to be the best travel experience in Britain. One that is easy, comfortable, and impressive. We’ll do this by keeping things simple, removing sources of stress, and prioritising our customers.

We would like to present an exciting opportunity to join the WCPD team as HR Analyst – Assistant Business Partner.

As Hr Analyst, you will join the Business Development and Organisation Team (BDO), which is helping to prepare for the launch of high-speed services and establishing integrated services (IS). You will also co-ordinate HR and Organisational Design (OD) research, analysis and support within the BDO team with the following:

• Staff Engagement Plan and its associated delivery plan: this exciting piece of work will define our staff engagement strategy as we take West Coast Partnership’s existing workforce, and partners, on the journey through the mobilisation, introduction and embedding of future services.
• Business Structure & Integrated Services Staffing Plan: the design and development of the new organisation structure, job roles and Terms & Conditions

The key responsibilities of the role include:

• Gathering, interpreting, analysing and presenting HR/OD data in a concise and comprehensive manner.
• Undertaking research and analysis to support the development of new strategies and action plans, seeking out best practice in all areas of HR/OD strategy and delivery (HR practices, Staff engagement and communications, talent management, leadership, culture and change).
• Supporting the submission of our  Business structure proposal, responding to feedback, liaising with legal team and stakeholders as required.
• Keeping up to date information on development of new practices and trends in the HR environment (terms and conditions, new roles, pay practices and engagement activities)
• Building, organising and maintaining a library of HR/OD research including role profiles for future operations, job families, terms and conditions, HR policies
• Responsible for continuous improvement/innovation regarding how we develop HR practices and keep information. Research/case studies up to date
• Providing support and recording on sensitive issues affecting the BDO team

You will ensure productive, effective and efficient relationships with key stakeholders including:

• Working closely with subject matter experts internally within WCPD. Building effective working relationships with colleagues and managers at all levels, providing advice and guidance on a range of HR policies and HR related issues to support understanding and ensure effective communication of good HR practice across team.
• Organising and facilitating engagement events with a wide range of colleagues from across the business. Helping to set up workshops, working groups and presenting on the work being delivered, analysis and writeups.
• Using relationships to inform, to change, to influence the deliverables across HR/OD and to DfT.
• Supporting benchmarking exercise with external organisations/suppliers

The role is based in London and with the requirement for some travel on our network at times. The expectation will be a minimum of 3 days per week in the office.

West Coast Partnership Development

West Coast Partnership comprises two distinct parts – Avanti West Coast and West Coast Partnership Development. Avanti West Coast runs the InterCity West Coast train services from London to north England, north Wales and Scotland.

Our work in WCPD is focused on developing plans for what the new high-speed services will look like (customer experience), how they will work (railway operations) and how we will start running new services and trains (mobilisation). Over the next 10 years we will develop and implement a programme (HS2 Ltd are building the new railway and associated infrastructure).

https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/about-us/a-pioneering-partnership

Your application

At WCPD, we value the differences that make each of us outstanding! We recognise the benefits of building a diverse workforce and employing people from diverse backgrounds, which includes their race, religion, age, gender, gender identity, disability and sexual orientation.

Everyone who joins us becomes part of our close-knit team. We're committed to ensuring that we are expansive and a place where people are encouraged to be themselves, and not an edited version to fit in. A place where differences are encouraged, recognised, accepted and put to good use!