People Partner

About the Role

As People Partner, you'll play a key role in shaping the employee experience at Origin during an exciting time of growth and evolution for our People function.

This is a hands-on, operational role where you’ll support our 130-strong team across wholesale, retail, and e-commerce. Working closely with our Director of People & Culture, you’ll help ensure our people processes run smoothly and meaningfully, from onboarding and compliance to engagement, development, and wellbeing.

We're looking for someone with solid experience in talent sourcing, building and supporting high-performing teams, leading recruitment, and delivering impactful learning and development initiatives. You’ll be confident working across the full employee lifecycle and excited to bring fresh energy and ideas to a collaborative and fast-moving team.

As Origin continues to grow, this fixed-term parental cover role offers the chance to grow with us, contributing to our people strategy while developing your own career. While the role is initially maternity cover, depending on the business's needs, there is a strong possibility of a permanent opportunity beyond the contract.

What You’ll Do

Employee Engagement & Wellbeing

• Coordinate our engagement initiatives, including employee surveys, analysing data and supporting follow-up actions.
• Regularly review and improve our health and wellbeing offer, conducting research to recommend new benefits or approaches.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to foster stronger engagement and cultivate a more vibrant company culture.
• Lead or support wellbeing campaigns, mental health initiatives, and recognition programmes that reflect our values.

Employee Support & Development

• Act as a trusted first point of contact for employee queries and line manager support.
• Support and advise on probation, performance, and capability processes, track progress, prompt reviews, and identify development needs.
• Provide confident and empathetic guidance on employee relations cases, escalating as necessary.
• Support the implementation of learning and development opportunities, including internal training programmes and external providers.

HR Administration & Compliance

• Own HR administrative processes across departments, supporting the Director of People & Culture with consistent, compliant and efficient delivery.
• Manage employee lifecycle processes in our HRIS (Bob), including onboarding, contracts, changes, and accurate reporting of starters, movers, and leavers.
• Lead the coordination of payroll input and data accuracy in collaboration with our Finance team.
• Maintain and develop our suite of HR policies to ensure legal compliance, including RTW, GDPR, and ACAS best practices.
• Maintain our employee and manager handbooks to ensure accuracy and compliance.

• Oversee the People@ inbox to triage queries, provide first response guidance, and ensure timely issue resolution.

• Coordinate customer visits to our HQ, collaborating with internal teams and local partners to ensure a welcoming experience, highlighting our culture and community.

People Analytics & Data

• Collect and analyse people metrics, including absenteeism, ED&I, turnover and engagement trends.
• Generate monthly reports using analytical dashboards to prepare the monthly Board Report, supporting strategic decision-making.
• Support the Director of People & Culture with annual HR budget planning and tracking People-related costs (e.g., recruitment, training, and benefits).
• Maintain accurate pay and role records within HR systems and provide support during annual reviews.

Recruitment & Retention

• Partner with hiring managers on job descriptions, attraction strategies, shortlisting and selection.
• Manage job postings, ATS workflows (Teamtailor), and pre-employment checks, including right to work and references.
• Deliver a consistent, values-led onboarding and offboarding process that ensures legal compliance and a positive experience.
• Support the development of talent pipelines and proactive retention initiatives.

HR Systems & Processes

• Manage and maintain HRIS and ATS platforms, ensuring data integrity and ease of reporting.
• Monitor and track the completion of key HR documentation, including performance reviews, one-on-ones, and ER case notes.
• Continuously seek ways to improve processes and automation within the People function to save time and improve employee experience by keeping updated with monthly feature releases across all people systems.

What You’ll Bring

Skills & Experience

• CIPD Level 5 qualified (or working towards, with strong demonstrable experience).
• Solid generalist HR background with experience across the full employee lifecycle.
• Proven working knowledge of UK employment law and best HR practices.
• Experience in fast-paced, people-first environments such as hospitality, retail or production.
• Confident working with data, systems, and employee communications.
• Organised, proactive and solutions-focused with the ability to work autonomously.

Values & Mindset

At Origin, our values are more than words; they guide how we work, lead and grow. In this role, you’ll be expected to bring the following mindset to everything you do:

• You’re committed to continuous improvement, both for yourself and for others and for the business.
• You take ownership, seek feedback, and seek more innovative working methods.

• You value meaningful relationships and take the time to support, coach and uplift others.
• You bring empathy, patience and a belief in everyone’s potential to develop.

• You actively contribute to an inclusive and respectful workplace.
• You collaborate generously and bring people together with purpose and care.

Why Join Us?

At Origin, we’re proud to do things differently.

We’re a purpose-driven, B Corp-certified business rooted in speciality coffee but powered by people. Our values and commitment to doing the right thing for people, the planet, and our products guide every aspect of our journey, from farms to cafes.

As People Partner, you’ll play a key role in shaping the experience of working here. You’ll join a passionate, growing team where your voice will be heard, your ideas welcomed, and your work will have real impact.

You’ll have the space to lead, the support to grow, and the opportunity to be part of something meaningful every day.

Everyone is Welcome at Origin

We believe that different perspectives make life richer and more inspiring. At Origin, we welcome everyone with open arms, regardless of race, colour, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, parental status, or age. Even if your skills or experience don’t perfectly match a specific role, we encourage you to apply nonetheless. Your unique experience could be exactly what we’re looking for.

Salary is negotiable and will be determined based on experience and qualifications.