The National Archives

HR Business Partner

Kew, England, United Kingdom (city only)

Full-time

First seen by offpeak October 22, 2026

See your drive time Apply on The National Archives's site

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history.

We’ve set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won’t become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.

That’s where you come in. Because we can’t do this without you.

Job Overview

Salary: £54,000 - £56,000 per annum

Contract type: fixed-term appointment for 6 months

Band: G / Grade 7

Closing date: Sunday 25th October at midnight

Are you an HR Business Partner looking for an opportunity where you can operate as a trusted and strategic partner to add value to an organisation that’s a leader in its sector?

We are here to collect and preserve the public record, to connect citizens with their history through unrivalled collections and to partner with archives everywhere.

We’ve set ourselves the challenge of becoming the living digital archive of the state by 2038. This means we are often at the forefront of innovation including advances in preserving the physical record and in digital technologies and solutions. The realisation of this vision won’t happen overnight though. It will take time, and continued focus, effort and daring.

You will therefore be joining an organisation steeped in history that is also constantly evolving to meet the challenges of the modern world. As a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales, we are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic documents from the Domesday Book and Shakespeare’s Will, to Government tweets and everything in between.

We are seeking a highly credible HR Business Partner to join our friendly and supportive team for a 6 month period, operating as a strategic partner with a particular focus on delivering organisational change.

In this role you will provide specialist HR expertise, supporting and challenging business leaders to achieve our strategic goals. You will apply your significant experience of managing the HR technical aspects of change to deliver our operating model. Using your strong relationship-building skills, you’ll coach and advise managers in order to raise capability and engender a culture of high performance.

You will design and deliver high impact people solutions which align with our values, using management information to inform business decisions and anticipate trends. Working collaboratively across our wider People, Inclusion and Change team, you will proactively share best practice, raise capability and continually improve the level of service we provide.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department. A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

Application Process:

• Interview: Interviews will be held on-site. Candidates will be asked to prepare a short, informal presentation.

• Personal Statement: We ask all applicants to submit work history details and a personal statement, not exceeding 1200 words

Selection for interview will be based on the ‘essential’ requirements in the job description below so please ensure that your application demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements.

If we receive a large number of applications candidates will initially be assessed on the following criteria:

• In-depth experience of leading and managing the HR technical aspects of change across organisations including formal consultation and restructures.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Job Description

Job Purpose

To operate as a trusted and strategic partner, providing specialist HR expertise, support and challenge to enable the organisation to deliver people change and achieve its strategic goals.

Role and Responsibilities

Deliver the people elements of organisational change, partnering effectively with colleagues to implement changes successfully in accordance with Civil Service protocols.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with dedicated management teams to ensure HR operates as a strategic partner and adds value to support delivery of business outcomes.
Drive consistency of approach across the organisation in workforce planning, managing and developing talent to support current and future organisational needs, in line with The National Archives' strategic goals and strategic workforce plan.
Support the ongoing development of our HR policy offer, collaborating with HR colleagues, subject matter experts and trade unions as required to ensure an inclusive, best practice approach which is user-friendly and reflects our organisational context.
Coach and advise Heads of Department and managers to be effective people managers, raising capability, engendering a culture of high performing teams and alignment with our values.
Provide expert advice across a range of HR issues, designing and delivering high impact solutions that meet the needs of the business.
As the route into HR, work collaboratively with People, Inclusion and Change colleagues, commissioning work from subject matter experts and ensuring clarity of responsibilities. Proactively share best practice and intelligence with colleagues to foster a ‘one team’ approach.
Actively support cultural change to influence new ways of working and identify, develop and introduce new cultural change interventions, working in partnership with the Head of Workforce Strategy.
Work openly and constructively to continually improve the level of service offered, raise the HR and Business Partnering team capability and provide support to colleagues.
Utilise management information to inform business decisions and respond to and anticipate trends affecting the business. Work with HR colleagues to ensure that reporting continues to meet business needs.
Work closely with and coach HR Advisors on employment relations cases and take the lead on cases of a complex or sensitive nature.
Work closely with trade unions to resolve issues and maintain positive industrial relations.

Working Conditions

Normal office environment
Display Screen Equipment user

Person Specification

Essential criteria:

Qualified to MCIPD, or equivalent practical experience
Significant HR experience operating in a strategic business partner model in complex organisation(s) with multiple stakeholders
Demonstrable experience of using communication skills to explain HR concepts clearly to deliver business impact
Extensive experience of handling complex employee relations cases and applying relevant legislation to achieve positive outcomes
In-depth experience of leading and managing the HR technical aspects of change across organisations including formal consultation and restructures.
Strong relationship builder – ability to work in collaboration with team and across other functions to fully understand the needs of the business
Innovative thinker with the ability to offer solutions to the organisation which reflect current thinking in HR trends

Other Requirements

A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site.
Must be prepared to travel to other Government departments as required.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is
found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service
D&I Strategy.

Benefits

Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development. Annual leave entitlement of 25 days per calendar year (rising to 26 days after 2 year’s service, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum.

Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk; (opens in new window)

Selection process details

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact The National Archives via careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
Complete the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks. (opens in new window)

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in new window)
relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code  (opens in new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. (opens in new window)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. (opens in new window)

Contact point for applicants

Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team
Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/ (opens in new window)