Matt Ryan Coles

HR Business Partner @Bangor University

Bangor, GB

Strategic Partnering: Serve as the primary HR Business Partner for a designated College Unit and Professional Services Units, collaborating with senior managers,(Exec Board, PVC, College Manager, HoS etc.) to align people plans with university objectives. Contribute to workforce planning and talent management strategies, ensuring HR initiatives are futurefocused and support the institution’s long-term strategy.• Employee Relations & Performance Management: Overhauled the employee relations approach and manage a wide range of ER cases including complex performance, grievance, harassment, and disciplinary cases, achieving swift resolutions with minimal legal disputes. Ensured high stakeholder satisfaction by balancing fair process with organisational risk management.• HR Policy and Projects: Led on multiple multidisciplinary HR projects such as collaborating with Executive to successfully launch the new Medical school, paving the way for upcoming launches of new Pharmacy and Dental schools. Spearheaded design and delivery of employee wellbeing and development programmes and refining the induction process, resulting in faster time-to-productivity for new employees. Updated key HR policies (e.g. Dignity at Work, Flexible Working, Paternity, etc.) in line with enhanced best practice and legislative changes, ensuring consistent application across the university. Took a leading role in successful RECand Athena Swann applications.• Inclusive Culture & Networks: Spearheaded the development and launch of several formal staff networks (Neurodiversity, Disability, Menopause, LGBTQ+, Women in Research, Carer’s, etc.), fostering an inclusive, supportive culture aligned with the university’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion strategy 2030. These networks provide safe, peer to peer communities and have increased employee engagement and cross-departmental collaboration on EDI issues.