Location
Milton Keynes, GB
Department Name
Human Resources
About Network Rail
🌟 Join Our Team at Network Rail! 🌟
Are you ready to make a difference in people's lives? At Network Rail, we connect passengers and freight customers, ensuring safe and efficient transportation across the country. We're an organisation where people truly matter, and when you join us, you matter to us and millions of others. Click here to watch our inspiring video to learn more about us!
We're dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the passengers we serve. To achieve this, we're committed to becoming an open, diverse, and inclusive workplace, leveraging the skills and expertise of our talented workforce.
Network Rail has been recognised as one of the Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equity for the fourth consecutive year! 🎉 You can find out more about this here: The Times Top 50 Listmakers 2024 - Business in the Community (bitc.org.uk)
Together, we strive to create a safe and accessible railway for everyone. Discover more about the importance of Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail by clicking here .
Investing in our people is key to enhancing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our railway system. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact, then this opportunity is for you!
About our people and the recruitment process - We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us , whilst you have a healthy work life balance.
We're also a Disability Confident Leader employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.
You will be part of the North West & Central Region (NW&C) which consist of three routes – North West, Central and West Coast South – and a regional team supporting Regional Major Programmes & Professional services. You can learn more about our region here: North West & Central region - Network Rail .
Brief Description
This HR placement offers a unique opportunity to learn from people function experts in a large and complex organisation, develop experience that will complement the knowledge you’ve gained from your studies, give you an appreciation of the rail industry and the role Network Rail plays within this.
The primary goal of the Human Resources Business Partner Support role is to provide proactive HR support to HR Business Partner teams. The role focuses on supporting the organisational people plans, which are strategic plans aimed at managing and developing the workforce to achieve the organisation's goals.
The proactive support you'll provide includes a range of activities such as talent management, workforce and succession planning, performance planning, and providing project management support for HR initiatives. It also involves maintaining up-to-date professional HR knowledge to contribute to the development of both operational and value-added HR initiatives. By effectively carrying out these responsibilities, the HR Business Partner Support role plays a crucial part in ensuring that HR initiatives and people plans are successfully implemented and contribute to the overall success of the organisation.
The placement will start in September 2025 and is expected to end in August 2026.
- PLEASE NOTE: This opportunity is only open to current students that are looking for a placement year as part of their course/studies*
About The Role (External)
Every day will be different, but you can expect to be involved in the following activities:
- Support HR Business Partner teams in talent management, workforce and succession planning, and performance planning, ensuring the maintenance of appropriate data within the associated processes.
- Provide support for organizational change programs throughout the full development and implementation phases.
- Offer project management support to the HR Business Partner team, including tracking, measuring, and communicating progress throughout the project timeline.
- Assist with research, reporting requirements, analysis, and the production of reports to support the implementation of HR initiatives.
- Continuously seek, identify, and develop solutions to improve HR support to the business.
- Maintain up-to-date professional HR knowledge to contribute to the development of both operational and value-added HR initiatives.
- Take ownership of the delivery of assigned work within HR programs and initiatives.
- Provide ad hoc administrative and operational HR activity support to the associated HR Business Partner team.
In order to be successful in this role, we would like you to have/to be:
- Demonstrates strong customer service skills.
- Experience of working within a large, complex and fast-moving organisation.
- High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong time management, organisation and prioritisation skills and the ability to work under pressure and to deadlines.
- Resilient, Adaptable and Flexible.
- IT literate, strong Excel, Word and PowerPoint knowledge. Basic Excel skills may be tested at interview stage.
- Experience of event coordination and facilitation.
- Research and analytical skills.
- Strong relationship building skills.
- Experience of supporting the delivery of HR initiatives and projects.
We would also like but it isn't crucial to have/to be:
- CIPD Qualified or relevant HR Support experience.
- Graduate calibre
How To Apply (External)
Salary : £22,932
Closing date : Monday 30 June 2025. Late applications will not be accepted. We may close the advert early if we receive a large volume of applicants.
Please note : once you apply, you will be sent a form to complete and provide some further information regarding your suitability for the scheme. If this form is not complete, your application cannot be considered. The form may take several days to arrive, but it will be sent by email so please keep your eye on your inbox and junk mail folder.
As this is a role in a regional team, occasional travel across NW&C is required. Candidates should be comfortable with frequent travel to client sites, regional offices, or other business locations as needed.
Click
apply now to apply.
You can visit Evenbreaks Career Hive for advice on accessibility support if you're unsure of the options available. Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please add a note to your application.
Network Rail Benefits
- 28 days annual leave – with the opportunity to buy and/or sell up to 5 days
- Access to a range of contributory pension schemes, and the potential to top up your competitive salary with a bonus
- A subsidy of up to 75% on rail and underground season tickets if you travel to work on the train
- We can offer you a season ticket loan, annual season tickets are discounted.
- A 35-hour-per-week contract with flexible working options available to help support your work-life balance
- Hybrid working (3 days a week in the office/on site) and enhanced family-friendly support
- Take advantage of healthcare offers (including discounted healthcare club membership), discounted cycle hire, and online shopping sites
- 5 days of paid volunteering leave
- 2 weeks paid reserve leave for the Armed Forces community
To find out about what benefits we offer, click here
All offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Click here for more information
