FitFlop
Head of People Partnering & Operations (FTC)
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Fixed Term Contract until November 2027
This is a broad and influential senior People role, combining business partnering, organisation change and day-to-day leadership of our People operating rhythm. Working closely with the Chief People Officer, you will act as a senior People partner to selected areas of the business while also helping our lean, global People team stay connected, prioritised and focused on delivery.
You will be the day-to-day go-to and first escalation point for the People Partnering and L&D team, bringing clarity to priorities, workload and delivery. A key part of the role is acting as a connector across the People team. Working closely with the Head of Reward, Head of Talent Acquisition and Office & Wellbeing Manager, you will help coordinate cross-functional People activity where priorities span more than one area of the team. This is about ensuring activity is joined up, dependencies are understood and delivery keeps moving, while functional ownership remains with the relevant People lead.
This is not a role for someone who wants to operate purely strategically or purely operationally. You'll need to be equally comfortable advising senior leaders, leading sensitive organisation change, coaching the team, resolving issues and making sure important People priorities actually get delivered.
We value work life balance at FitFlop and are happy to offer this role as either full time or a 4-day per week (Monday-Thursday with salary pro-rated at 80%) position. If your preference is part-time, please specify this in the cover letter section of your application.
The Responsibilities:
Strategic Business Partnering
- Act as a trusted People partner to selected senior leaders and business functions.
- Provide commercially grounded advice on organisation design, workforce planning, leadership, performance and talent.
- Coach and challenge leaders to strengthen accountability, capability and organisational effectiveness.
- Lead complex employee relations matters and sensitive people decisions.
- Lead and support organisation change, restructuring and consultation activity from design through to implementation.
- Support the business through significant organisational and capability changes, ensuring roles, accountabilities and ways of working are clear.
- Help leaders embed change effectively once new structures and teams are in place.
People Team Leadership
- Act as the day-to-day senior contact and first escalation point for the People Partnering and L&D team.
- Line manage, coach and develop the People Partner and Learning & Development Specialist.
- Create clarity around priorities, workload, ownership and expected standards.
- Help the team work effectively across functional boundaries rather than in individual workstreams.
- Build capability in the team and support appropriate development and stretch opportunities.
- Provide continuity and stability throughout the maternity-cover period while avoiding unnecessary dependency on the FTC role.
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Performance, Talent & Capability
- Work with People Partnering, Talent Acquisition and L&D to support a joined-up approach to performance, development, succession and critical talent.
- Support stronger performance and development conversations and clearer expectations of managers and leaders.
- Partner on critical-role and succession reviews and ensure agreed development actions translate into practical activity.
- Help embed FitFlop's leadership expectations, values and Move Well philosophy into performance, development and everyday people practices.
- Support capability-building in priority functions and areas undergoing organisational change.
Governance, Policy & Compliance
- Own the effective implementation of People policies and employment-related compliance requirements.
- Ensure appropriate standards of ER documentation, decision-making and governance.
- Maintain visibility of emerging People risks and ensure appropriate action is taken.
- Partner with Reward, Finance, Legal and other specialists where subject-matter expertise is required.
- Support the development of robust People data, reporting and operating discipline.
- Help ensure FitFlop's People practices and processes remain practical and scalable as the business evolves.
Global Growth & Business Priorities
- Support the People aspects of priority international growth and organisational activity, working with the relevant functional experts and local advisers.
- Bring a joined-up People perspective to organisation, workforce, talent, policy and compliance considerations.
- Support organisational and role changes arising from wider business transformation.
- Ensure global People activity remains commercially appropriate and proportionate to FitFlop's scale and operating model.
The Person:
You'll be an experienced senior People professional with the credibility to partner senior leaders and the pragmatism to operate effectively in a lean, fast-moving organisation.
You'll bring:
- Significant experience as a senior HR Business Partner, People Partner or People leader.
- Strong experience of organisation design, restructuring, consultation and complex employee relations.
- Excellent commercial and organisational judgement.
- The confidence to advise, coach and appropriately challenge senior leaders.
- Experience managing and developing People professionals.
- The ability to operate comfortably between strategic thinking and hands-on delivery.
- Strong prioritisation and project management skills, with the ability to bring order and momentum across multiple workstreams.
- A practical, solutions-focused approach — able to make good decisions without creating unnecessary process.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Experience in a fast-paced, commercial organisation.
- Experience operating across different countries or markets would be highly advantageous.
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You'll be particularly effective in this role if you naturally connect the dots: understanding what matters most to the business, bringing the right people together and ensuring decisions translate into action.
We recognise that not everyone will meet every requirement. If you’re excited about this role and feel like you could add value, we’d love to hear from you.
The Benefits:
- 👟 Product Allowance
- ⏰ Hybrid and flexible working hours
- ☀️ Summer Fridays (6 ½ days in July and August on Fridays)
- 🎂 A day off for your Birthday
- 🌴 25 days holiday + Bank Holidays
- 🗺️ Work from anywhere for 2 weeks
- 🚼️ WorkPlace Nursery (salary sacrifice scheme to save money on your nursery fees)
- 💆♀️ Wellbeing Program – Retail Trust, Sanctus Coaching and Calm App
- 📚 Career development allowance (Personal allowance to use on career development)
- 🏥 Private health care and or dental care (provided by AXA and DenPlan)
- 🤩 Socials organised by Wellbeing and Feel Good group
➡️ Check out our careers page to learn more!
Equal Opportunities:
FitFlop is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, neurodivergence, ethnicity, religion or belief, or any other characteristic protected by law.
We actively encourage neurodivergent candidates and individuals with disabilities to apply. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please let us know. We are committed to providing an accessible and supportive recruitment experience.
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