Strategic People Partner - Colleague Experience

Strategic People Partner – Colleague Experience

Location: Flexible (with travel to Anchor sites as needed; head office is Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Department: People & Culture Directorate
Reports to: Director of People & Culture

Are you a big-picture thinker with a passion for putting people first? At Anchor, England’s largest provider of housing and care for the over-55s, we’re on a mission to help people love living in later life—and our colleagues are at the heart of that. We’re looking for a Strategic People Partner to lead our Colleague Experience Team, shaping a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and inspired to thrive. If you’re ready to drive change and make Anchor an exceptional place to work, this is your chance to shine!

About the Role:

As part of our People Leadership Team, you’ll report to the Director of People & Culture and lead a transformative approach to the colleague journey—from attracting top talent to fostering engagement, development, and wellbeing. You’ll partner with senior leaders across our 1,700 sites and 10,000-strong workforce to align our people strategy with Anchor’s goals, creating a culture of innovation, inclusion, and continuous improvement. This is a pivotal role in making sure every colleague’s experience reflects our not-for-profit ethos: putting people before profit.

What You’ll Do:

Lead the Colleague Experience Strategy: Bring together talent acquisition, leadership development, reward, wellbeing, and people insights into one seamless framework that boosts satisfaction and retention.

• Drive Transformation: Develop and roll out a bold people strategy, working with the Business Services team to embed change that supports our 65,000+ residents and colleagues.
• Partner with Leaders: Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, translating business needs into people-focused solutions.
• Use Data Smartly: Leverage analytics to spot trends, measure impact, and keep our colleague experience evolving.
• Champion Innovation: Lead change initiatives and introduce HR tools and practices to keep us ahead of the curve.  

Who We’re Looking For:

You’re a strategic HR leader with a knack for collaboration and a heart for people. We’d love to see:

• Proven experience shaping colleague experience strategies in a dynamic, evolving organisation.
• A track record of working with senior leaders to deliver people-focused results.
• Expertise across the colleague lifecycle—think talent acquisition, development, engagement, and wellbeing.
• Strong analytical skills to turn data into actionable insights.
• Stellar communication and influencing skills to inspire at all levels.
• Proven experience managing budgets.

Why Join Anchor?

For over 60 years, we’ve been passionate about creating choice and opportunity in later life. As a not-for-profit, every penny goes back into our homes, services, and people. You’ll:

• Shape the future for 10,000 colleagues and 65,000+ residents across nearly 1,700 sites.
• Work in a collaborative, forward-thinking team that values your ideas.
• Enjoy brilliant benefits like a pension scheme, gym discounts, holiday buy/sell options, digital GP, colleague recognition, and training to grow your skills.

Why It Matters:

Your leadership will make Anchor a standout employer, driving engagement, retention, and performance while supporting our mission to help people enjoy later life. This is about more than HR—it’s about building a workplace where everyone thrives.

Ready to Make a Difference?

If you’re excited to lead with purpose and transform how we support our people, we’d love to hear from you. Apply today and let’s build a brighter future together—for our colleagues and the communities we serve.

“We look forward to welcoming a leader who shares our passion for people.” – Julie Brayson, Director of People & Culture

Anchor – a great place to work

Anchor is England’s largest not-for-profit providers of care and housing for older people. Our heartfelt ambition is to transform housing and care so everyone can have a home where they love living in later life.

We’re not-for-profit which means every penny we make or save is invested in the people who live with us, the places they live and the people who work here. That means a better standard of care and customer service, better wages, more investment in training and development and improved facilities.

A rewarding environment

From health and happiness to finance and your career, we’ll give you all the support you need.

Health & happiness

• Gym, fitness and wellbeing discounts
• Mental health support
• Flexible working options
• Access to online GP appointments

Finance

• Pension plan – contribute between 4% and 8% and we’ll match it or better
• Quick and easy pension transfer service
• Savings and financial advice, loans, free life assurance
• Discounts on shopping, holidays, phones, technology and more

Career

• Ongoing personal and professional development programme
• Leadership Pathways online learning resources
• Career progression and promotion opportunities

To see our full range of benefits, check out our dedicated being well website Please follow the link or copy and paste https://anchorbeingwell.co.uk/ into your browser 

Celebrating diversity, celebrating you

Anchor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We aim to celebrate diversity and inclusion in all that we do, as we know that the more diverse our colleagues are, the better care and support we can give to our residents and each other.  

We are proud to have an LGBT+ group for our residents, and also Disability, LGBT+ and race and ethnicity colleague networks. These work to celebrate diversity, address concerns, review policy and practice and empower their members.  We also have an Inclusive Ambassador network to allow all colleagues to be part of promoting diversity and to be an ally to others.

We are a Gold Standard Inclusive Employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Menopause Friendly and a signatory to the Care Leaver Covenant, HouseProud Pledge and Age Friendly Employer Pledge schemes.