Bruin
Deputy Head of HR
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Deputy Chief People Officer / Head of HR
A senior leadership opportunity - and a potential pathway to Chief People Officer - within a mid-sized, boutique financial institution
Our client - a well-regarded, mid-sized institution with a boutique culture operating within UK financial services - is seeking an exceptional Deputy Chief People Officer / Head of HR to join their senior leadership team. This is a rare opportunity to step into the role of genuine "number two" to the Chief People Officer, with real delegated authority, Board-level visibility, and the mandate to shape how HR delivers across a well-established yet close-knit organisation.
The Opportunity
This is not a supporting role - it is a pivotal leadership position at the heart of the organisation's people agenda, and one that has been deliberately shaped as a potential succession pathway to the Chief People Officer role itself. For the right individual, this represents a genuine long-term career trajectory into the most senior HR seat in the organisation, working in close partnership with the current CPO to build the experience, exposure and credibility needed to be ready for that step.
Importantly, this is not a purely strategic or governance-focused role - it retains genuine HR Business Partnering responsibility, with direct stakeholder management across business area leaders and senior management. You will remain close to the business, providing hands-on partnership and advice, while also holding the broader leadership remit of the function. This combination of strategic oversight and direct business partnering is central to the role's success and its development into a future CPO.
A central part of this role's mandate is breaking down silos. HR delivery points across the organisation have historically operated with a degree of independence, and this role will be instrumental in bringing them together - creating a genuinely joined-up, consistent HR service where specialist teams (talent, reward, employee relations, learning, organisational development) work in concert rather than in isolation. This is a real opportunity to build bridges across the function, establish shared ways of working, and ensure that HR speaks with one voice to the business.
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The organisation offers the best of both worlds: enough scale to present real complexity, structure and challenge, but a boutique culture where relationships with senior leadership remain close and direct, and where this role carries genuine weight and visibility from day one. You will take ownership of the day-to-day operational leadership of HR, translating strategic vision into consistent, commercially effective delivery, while acting as a trusted adviser to the Chief People Officer, Executive Committee and senior leaders across the business.
You'll bring order, pace and grip to a well-established HR function - owning governance, service standards and delivery discipline - while also playing a hands-on role in shaping culture, workforce planning and organisational change. You will deputise for the CPO in senior forums, prepare and assure Board and ExCo-level papers, and be trusted to resolve complex, sensitive people matters with judgement and credibility.
What You'll Be Doing
- Providing delegated senior HR leadership, creating capacity for the CPO and driving operational excellence across the function
- Retaining hands-on HR Business Partnering responsibility, building and maintaining close working relationships with business area leaders and senior stakeholders
- Breaking down silos between HR delivery points, embedding shared standards, ways of working and a genuinely collaborative operating model across specialist teams
- Owning the governance rhythm of HR - from service standards and controls to Board and ExCo readiness
- Acting as a senior adviser on complex employee relations and people-risk matters
- Leading, coaching and developing a capable, close-knit HR team
- Driving strategic workforce planning, organisational design and culture change
- Representing HR - and the CPO - in senior stakeholder and governance forums
- Building the breadth of exposure, stakeholder relationships and strategic credibility required for future CPO-level succession
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What We're Looking For
We are seeking a senior HR leader with a genuine track record of operating as a true "number two" to a CPO, CHRO or senior executive - someone with the gravitas to influence at Board level, the discipline to bring structure to a demanding function, and the commercial acumen to connect people strategy to business performance. Experience within a regulated financial services environment is essential; exposure to the public sector or organisations with strong external scrutiny would be a distinct advantage.
You will bring a natural instinct for connecting people and teams - someone who has successfully unified previously siloed or fragmented functions, and who understands that a truly effective HR service depends on collaboration, not just individual excellence within specialisms. You will also be comfortable operating close to the business - this role is as much about hands-on stakeholder partnership as it is about strategic leadership, and candidates should be energised by both.
This role will suit someone who values the scale and stability of a well-established institution, while thriving on the accessibility, pace and impact that comes with a genuinely boutique senior leadership environment. Critically, this role suits an ambitious HR leader who is ready to be developed into a future Chief People Officer - someone who sees this as a career-defining step rather than a lateral move, and who is motivated by the opportunity to grow into the top HR seat over time.
You will be CIPD chartered (or equivalent), educated to degree level or above, with a proven ability to lead through change and build credibility quickly with the most senior stakeholders in the organisation.
Why This Role
This is a genuinely rare opportunity to take a senior seat at the table of a mid-sized, purpose-driven institution - combining strategic leadership with genuine business partnering, unifying a talented but currently siloed function, and with a clear line of sight to the very top of the HR function.
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