Strategic HR Leadership

• Develop and deliver the Group People Strategy.
• Lead organisational design, restructuring and change management initiatives.
• Develop long-term workforce planning strategies.
• Lead cultural transformation and employee engagement initiatives.
• Act as executive sponsor for diversity, inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
• Support acquisitions, business integrations and growth projects where required.

Policy, Governance & Compliance

• Own and maintain the Group HR Policy Framework.
• Ensure policies, procedures and employment practices remain compliant and commercially effective.
• Lead employment law reviews and implement legislative changes.
• Ensure robust governance structures exist across all people processes.
• Oversee audits, compliance reviews and risk mitigation activities.

Talent Acquisition Leadership

• Develop and oversee the Group Recruitment Strategy.
• Support the Talent Acquisition Manager in building talent pipelines for critical and future roles.
• Review recruitment effectiveness, time-to-hire and quality-of-hire metrics.
• Build employer branding initiatives that strengthen the Group's ability to attract talent.
• Oversee succession planning for key leadership and specialist positions.

Learning & Development Leadership

• Develop and implement the Group Learning & Development Strategy.
• Ensure management development programmes are delivered across all levels of the business.
• Create leadership development pathways for future managers and senior leaders.
• Build apprenticeship, graduate and internal development frameworks.
• Measure learning effectiveness and return on investment.
• Ensure competency frameworks are established and maintained across all functions.

Employee Relations & Organisational Performance

• Act as final escalation point for high-risk, complex and sensitive employee relations matters.
• Personally lead significant disciplinaries, grievances, capability processes and appeals.
• Drive consistent performance management standards across the Group.
• Implement initiatives that improve productivity, retention and employee engagement.
• Support leaders in managing organisational change and workforce challenges.

Operational Leadership & Business Continuity

• Directly manage, coach and develop the HR Officer, HR Administrator, Learning & Development Manager, Talent Acquisition Manager, Reception Team and Cleaning resource.
• Conduct formal performance reviews and succession planning for all direct reports.
• Ensure effective succession and contingency planning exists across the People Function.
• Provide senior operational support during periods of absence, vacancies or peak workload.
• Maintain oversight of all HR operations to ensure continuity of service.
• Act as departmental lead for tenders, award submissions and social value initiatives where relevant.

Technical Skills & Experience

• Proven experience operating in a senior HR leadership role within a fast-paced, commercially focused and rapidly growing organisation.
• Demonstrable experience developing and implementing People Strategies that support business growth, operational objectives and organisational change.
• Strong leadership capability with experience managing and developing multi-disciplinary teams, including Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, Reception and Administrative Support functions.
• Extensive knowledge of UK Employment Law, HR best practice and employee relations, with the ability to balance legal compliance with practical commercial decision-making.
• Proven ability to act as a trusted advisor, coach and business partner to Directors, Senior Leaders and Managers.
• Experience leading organisational change, cultural transformation, restructures, business integration and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Significant experience managing complex employee relations matters, including disciplinaries, grievances, appeals, capability, performance management, absence management and workplace investigations.
• Demonstrable experience designing, implementing and embedding performance management frameworks that improve accountability, management effectiveness and organisational performance.
• Proven ability to train, educate, mentor and challenge managers to confidently manage people matters in line with company policies, procedures and employment legislation.
• Experience developing, reviewing and implementing HR policies, procedures, governance frameworks and management toolkits to support a growing organisation.
• Proven experience establishing and maintaining HR systems, controls and processes that ensure consistency, compliance and operational excellence across multiple sites.
• Strong workforce planning and organisational design experience, ensuring the business has the structure, talent and capability required to support current and future growth.
• Experience leading recruitment and talent acquisition functions, including succession planning, employer branding, talent pipelining and workforce forecasting.
• Proven experience developing and implementing Learning & Development strategies, management development programmes, apprenticeship schemes and succession planning frameworks.
• Ability to identify capability gaps across the organisation and implement development programmes that improve leadership effectiveness and employee performance.
• Demonstrable experience creating and delivering people-focused projects that positively impact employee engagement, retention, culture and productivity.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to understand business objectives and align people strategies to operational and financial goals.
• Highly analytical with the ability to interpret people data, identify trends, measure performance and provide meaningful recommendations to senior leadership.
• Experience producing and presenting management information, board reports, KPI dashboards and people metrics to Directors and Senior Leadership Teams.
• Proven experience developing, monitoring and reporting against departmental objectives, budgets, KPIs and service level agreements.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the confidence and credibility to influence and challenge at all levels of the organisation.
• Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills, with the ability to adapt communication styles to suit a wide range of audiences.
• Excellent conflict management, negotiation and problem-solving abilities, maintaining objectivity and professionalism in challenging situations.
• High levels of integrity, discretion and professionalism when handling confidential and sensitive information.
• Strong project management and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, competing deadlines and changing business demands.
• Self-driven, resilient and results-orientated, with a proactive approach to identifying opportunities and solving problems.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and thrive within a rapidly expanding and evolving business environment.
• Advanced IT skills, including Microsoft Office Suite, HRIS systems, workforce reporting tools and data analytics platforms.
• Ability to build credible working relationships with employees at all levels, from operational staff through to Executive Leadership.
• Demonstrated commitment to continuous professional development and maintaining up-to-date knowledge of employment legislation, HR best practice and industry developments.
• Ability to role model company values, behaviours and standards at all times.
• Proven track record of creating a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, engagement and high performance.
• Strong attention to detail, accuracy and quality, whilst maintaining a pragmatic and commercially focused approach.
• Experience supporting business tenders, audits, accreditations, award submissions and social value initiatives would be advantageous.

Leadership