CAREERS AT CHESTER ZOO

People & Culture Partner

Job reference:001646

Salary:£34,853.88 per annum (FTE £39,833)

Closing date:22/03/2026

Department:People Team

Location:Chester

Employment type:Fixed Term

Hours Per Week:35

Job Description

People & Culture Partner

Are you passionate about people, purpose, and making a positive impact? If you are, then why not join the UK’s number one zoo and play a key role in creating an inspiring, inclusive, and high-performing workplace, one that helps us achieve our mission of protecting wildlife, engaging communities, and delivering unforgettable visitor experiences.

About the Role

As a People & Culture Partner, you’ll collaborate with managers and teams across the zoo to bring our People Strategy to life. You’ll offer expert HR advice, support and coach leaders, and play a key role in shaping a culture that reflects who we are, and supports our mission and values.

You’ll take ownership of the full employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to wellbeing, performance and development, and employee relations matters, all while ensuring our people feel supported, valued, and able to thrive.

Key Responsibilities
• Take full accountability for the employee lifecycle and people service delivery for your designated teams, maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and care
• Manage key people activity including recruitment, employee relations, occupational health, and absence management
• Coach, upskill and empower line managers to lead and manage high-performing, engaged teams
• Use data and insight to inform decision-making and provide proactive people solutions
• Partner with departments to design and deliver robust people plans that align with organisational goals
• Contribute to wider People & Culture priorities such as ED&I, wellbeing, and employee engagement
• Lead and support projects that drive continuous improvement and business impact
• Ensure people policies and processes are fit for purpose, consistently applied, and compliant with legislation

About You
You’ll be a confident, solutions-focused HR professional with experience partnering with managers in a complex organisation. You’ll bring strong employee relations skills, a collaborative approach, and a genuine passion for making a difference.

Ideally, you’ll have:
• Experience in a busy, generalist people role
• CIPD Level 5 qualification (or equivalent experience)
• Excellent communication and coaching skills
• A proactive and data-driven mindset
• A commitment to inclusivity, wellbeing and organisational values

And as we’re currently going through a period of change, if you have significant experience of implementing People systems, or Project Management experience, this would be an advantage.

Why Join Us?

At Chester Zoo, you’ll be part of a unique community. Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office; where else can you stroll among rare giraffes and orangutans on your lunch break?

You’ll be working 35 hours per week, between Monday – Friday and our core hours are 8.30am – 5pm. We’d be happy to agree with the successful candidate how you would prefer to work the 35 hours between these times.

We offer hybrid working; however, we believe in a zoo-first approach as most of our colleagues work on site at our amazing zoo, meaning you will be in the office the majority of the time and work from home 1 day per week.

We Offer:
• A Fixed-Term maternity cover contract for 12 months
• Starting salary of £34,853.88 per annum based on 35 hours per week (FTE £39,833 based on 40 hours)
• 33 days annual leave per year (inclusive of bank holidays)
• Excellent pension scheme
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family
• Access to EAP and our cash healthcare plan
• Access to exclusive staff previews and events
• Payment of annual CIPD membership (if required)
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more
• Plus so much more! See here for more details.

If this sounds like the perfect next step for you, just click the link below to apply online, we’d love to hear from you!