Medical Retirement Pensions HR Business Partner (Project Management)Temporary | 24 Weeks | Inside IR35
Location: Chelmsford, Essex (Agile working – regular attendance across Essex & Kent)
Hours: 37 hours per week (between 8am–5pm)
Start Date: 28 February 2026
Rates:
*PAYE: £26.57 per hour
*Umbrella/Ltd: £34.60 per hour
Role OverviewRibble Recruitment is supporting a public sector organisation with the appointment of an experienced Medical Retirement Pensions HR Business Partner to lead and manage complex medical retirement and police pension casework.
This is a specialist HR project role, providing expert advisory support on police pension regulations, medical retirement governance, and compliance across two large police forces. The post holder will operate at a senior level, influencing policy, managing appeals, and ensuring statutory and regulatory obligations are met.
Key Responsibilities*Provide expert HR and pensions advice across the full employee lifecycle, focusing on complex and sensitive medical retirement cases
*Advise Scheme Managers and senior leaders on police pension regulations, medical retirement policy, and statutory compliance
*Manage complex casework including medical appeals, IDRP complaints, pension forfeiture, discretionary benefits, and ill-health retirement
*Act as the force representative at medical appeal boards (PMAB) and liaise with pension administrators and external authorities
*Attend and advise Pension Boards, preparing reports and papers in collaboration with Payroll & Pensions leads
*Lead the development, review, and implementation of medical retirement and pension-related HR policies and processes
*Analyse medical retirement data and management information to identify trends and inform strategic decisions
*Support and implement legislative and regulatory change, including national police pension reforms
*Undertake statutory reviews of medical retirement pension recipients on behalf of the Scheme Manager
*Line manage an HR & Pensions Adviser, ensuring high-quality service delivery and workload management
*Build strong relationships with trade unions, staff associations, and key stakeholders across both forces
Essential Experience & Qualifications*Fully qualified Chartered Member of CIPD (Level 7) or equivalent
*Minimum 5 years’ experience in a senior/generalist HR role advising middle and senior managers
*Strong working knowledge of police pension regulations, medical retirement processes, and the policing environment
*Proven experience managing complex HR and pension casework, including appeals and regulatory compliance
*Sound understanding of employment law, HR policy, and public sector governance
*Strong project management capability, with experience delivering change and managing competing priorities
*Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to operate at senior level
*Advanced IT skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, email systems, and HR management information systems
*Willingness and ability to travel across Essex and Kent