Equans UK & Ireland
Head of Talent
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Head of Talent
Equans is looking for a Head of Talent to join our team on a permanent basis. This is a full-time role working 37.5 hours per week, and can be based anywhere within UK. On offer is a competitive salary, company vehicle or allowance, bonus and benefits package.
Shape the future of talent, skills and capability across Equans!
Reporting to the Talent & Development Director and serving as a key member of the Talent & Development Senior Leadership Team, this strategic role will lead our approach to talent, capability and future-focused skills development for a workforce of approximately 10,000 employees.
Leading a team of specialists across Personal Development, Early Careers and Future Skills, you will be responsible for creating the frameworks, talent pipelines and development strategies that enable our people and business to thrive. Working closely with HR Directors, Business Operations and senior leaders, you will drive a culture of continuous learning, high performance and career growth, while ensuring the organisation is equipped to meet future capability demands.
As the owner of the end-to-end employee development journey, you will combine strategic vision, innovation and commercial insight to deliver impactful talent solutions, lead transformational initiatives and enhance our development infrastructure.
What will you deliver?
As Head of Talent, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth, compliant, and efficient delivery of development pathways and early careers strategies across the business.
You will be responsible for leading and continuously improving the delivery of talent programmes. You will ensure that initiatives are standardised across the organisation, scalable to support growth or restructuring, compliant with internal governance, and customer-focused, delivering an exceptional employee development experience.
In terms of Leadership & Governance, you will:
- Lead a team of senior functional specialists and leads
- Develop KPIs to measure programme performance
- Drive digital transformation in learning
- Collaborate with support functions (HRBPs, Finance, IT)
- Ensure alignment with organisational goals
In terms of Personal Development, you will:
- Oversee enterprise-wide frameworks for continuous learning, individual growth plans, and career architecture; including coaching and leadership development frameworks; ensure alignment with the broader HR strategy and Equans Group.
In terms of Early Careers, you will:
- Scale and oversee large-scale graduate, apprenticeship, and internship programmes
- Develop the early careers strategy to ensure a robust internal pipeline of foundational talent
- Manage relationships with external educational and professional bodies
In terms of Future Skills, you will:
- Lead strategic workforce capability mapping
- Proactively identify emerging industry trends, technological shifts, and skills gaps
- Design and implement upskilling and reskilling initiatives at scale
Strategic Program Ownership
As the owner of these critical pillars, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring that talent development is delivered consistently and effectively across UK & I. A breakdown of key responsibilities includes:
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- Strategy & Governance: Define the vision and strategy for personal development, early careers, and future skills. Align process goals with broader HR and business objectives.
- Program Design & Standardisation: Design programs to meet global development standards, ensuring consistency while allowing for necessary local adaptations. Document end-to-end pathways, including roles, responsibilities, and KPIs.
- Continuous Improvement: Monitor program performance using metrics and dashboards. Leverage technology and digital tools (e.g., LMS, AI-driven learning platforms) to enhance delivery.
- Stakeholder Management: Partner confidently with regional HR teams, business unit leaders, and senior executives to align talent initiatives with commercial priorities. Function as an escalation point for program-related adjustments.
- Change Management & Communication: Lead change initiatives related to capability shifts, system implementations, or workforce restructuring. Train and support teams on new developmental tools.
- Compliance & Risk Management: Ensure early careers and apprenticeship programs comply with employment and labour laws, educational funding regulations, and internal audit requirements.
What can we offer you?
On offer is a competitive salary, car or car allowance, bonus and benefits package, which includes:
- 25 days annual leave (+ public holidays)
- Life Cover
- Private Medical Insurance
- Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
- Gym membership discounts
- Cycle to work scheme
- Holiday purchase scheme
- 2 corporate social responsibility days per year
- Broad range of learning opportunities, such as professional qualifications, collective/individual training, and personalized support programmes
- Attractive Employee Referral Rewards Scheme
- Access to our growing employee networks including AccessAbility (representing those with physical and mental disabilities), Encompass (representing the LGBTQ+ community), RISE (representing people from ethnic backgrounds), WOMEN Together(representing women in Equans), Working Parents, Veterans and Reservists, and Young Professionals.
- 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
Who are we looking for?
- Proven track record driving talent strategies within large, complex, matrix organisations (ideally 5,000+ employees).
- Experience managing senior functional leads or managers, fostering autonomy while maintaining strategic alignment.
- Proven track record in managing employee development lifecycles, capability mapping, or succession frameworks.
- Familiarity with HR technologies and learning systems (e.g., Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or similar platforms).
- Experience in designing, standardising, and optimising talent processes across multiple business units.
- Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale transformation initiatives, including system implementations and organisational change.
- Strong knowledge of strategic workforce planning and talent acquisition, learning theories, and early-career frameworks.
- In-depth knowledge and experience managing or interfacing with enterprise L&D, graduate schemes, or organizational development frameworks.
- The ability to influence, coach, and consult effectively across all levels and C-suite stakeholders.
- A focus on utilising quality data and in-depth analysis to make informed decisions and report current and future talent trends.
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Who are we?
Equans is a world leader in energy services with nearly 100,000 employees working in more than 50 countries, with an annual turnover of over 17 billion euros.
In the UK & Ireland, Equans is a provider of technical, FM, regeneration and energy services – with specialist capabilities in smart buildings, green mobility, district & embedded energy and decentralised renewables.
Equans’ 13,500 UK & Ireland employees combine these activities to help businesses, public sector organisations and government to embrace the energy transition towards net zero, and also the digital & industrial transitions that are redesigning the way we move, work and live.
Equans is a Bouygues group company.
What's next?
If this role is of interest to you, please click below to register, apply, and track your progress! A member of our Resourcing Team will review your application and be in touch.
At Equans, we’re committed to building a diverse, respectful and inclusive workplace that truly reflects the communities and markets we serve.
Joining Equans means being part of a culture where every voice is valued, supported by vibrant employee led networks championing inclusion and diversity across gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBTQ+, veterans, parents, and young professionals.
Guided by our core values, we foster a culture of respect, integrity, collaboration, and excellence - empowering our people to deliver outstanding results and be their authentic selves every day. Our approach means we welcome candidates with transferable skills who may not meet every specific requirement, and where possible we support flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments to enable success.
For this role, you must have evidence of the right to work in the UK. Certain roles may require applicants to undergo a Disclosure check or security vetting, as noted in the role requirements. A criminal record will not necessarily be a barrier to obtaining a position with us.
As part of our recruitment process, EQUANS uses StaffVetting, our trusted third-party provider, to support the completion of employee background checks. StaffVetting delivers professional screening services in a friendly, efficient, and customer-focused way, helping us ensure the right checks are completed from the start of the application journey.
We are Disability Confident Level 2 members, and we offer the Guaranteed Interview Scheme as part of this commitment. Where feasible, if a candidate applies under the Disability Confident Scheme and they meet all of the essential criteria, we will offer an interview. To find out more about this scheme please click here.
The Equans Resourcing Team manage this requirement. Agency involvement is not required. All related enquiries should come to the resourcing team not direct to Equans Managers.
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