Pickle
Interim VP of People / Head of People - FTC 10 months (UK - Remote)
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About Us
Pickle is a business enablement service. We provide fractional, embedded, human-led support across the functions that quietly keep growing businesses moving. EA and executive support, admin, customer support, operations, bookkeeping and HR.
We work alongside founder and operator-led businesses at the moments when they need more capacity, more structure, or more support than they currently have. Our people embed into client businesses and take genuine ownership of the work. No task-ticking, no arm's-length delivery. Just real judgement and follow-through.
About Our Client and the Role
- Location: Remote (UK-based applicants only)
- Contract: Fixed-Term (Approximately 10 months)
- Start: Mid-July (or as soon as available)
- Salary: £75,000–£90,000 pro rata (depending on experience)
About the Opportunity
We're partnering with a rapidly growing, profitable, remote-first technology business that is transforming the education sector and supporting millions of users every month.
As the business continues to scale, they are seeking an experienced Interim VP of People / Head of People to provide maternity cover and lead the People function during an exciting period of growth.
This is an excellent opportunity for a senior People leader who enjoys operating in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments and is comfortable balancing strategic leadership with hands-on operational delivery.
The Role
Reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with the leadership team, you will lead all aspects of the People function while ensuring continuity across people operations, culture, performance, compliance, and employee experience.
This role requires someone who can quickly build relationships, gain credibility across the business, and confidently lead an established People function from day one.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and oversee the People function across the business.
- Partner with the CEO and leadership team on organisational design, workforce planning and strategic people initiatives.
- Provide expert guidance on employee relations, performance management and employment matters.
- Own the delivery of the People strategy and ensure effective execution across the employee lifecycle.
- Maintain compliance with UK employment legislation and HR best practice.
- Lead performance review processes and support existing progression and development frameworks.
- Partner with managers on compensation, benefits and workforce planning.
- Foster a high-performing, collaborative and inclusive company culture.
- Identify opportunities to leverage AI and automation to improve People processes and operational efficiency.
- Ensure payroll and core People operations continue to run smoothly throughout the contract.
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About You
You'll be an experienced People leader who enjoys working in scaling businesses where priorities evolve quickly.
You'll be comfortable switching between strategic conversations with senior leadership and the practical delivery of day-to-day People operations.
We're looking for someone who is:
- Hands-on, pragmatic and commercially minded.
- Comfortable working independently within a fully remote environment.
- Calm, adaptable and highly organised.
- Passionate about building positive employee experiences and strong company cultures.
- Curious about emerging technology and excited by the opportunity to utilise AI to enhance People operations.
Experience Required
- Minimum 3 years' experience as a Head of People, VP of People or senior HR leader.
- Experience leading a People function within a high-growth technology, SaaS, startup or scale-up environment.
- Strong knowledge of UK employment law, including GDPR, IR35 and statutory employment requirements.
- Proven experience managing complex employee relations cases, including disciplinaries, grievances and performance management.
- Experience working directly with executive leadership teams.
- Experience using AI tools or automation to improve HR processes would be highly advantageous.
- Previous experience within remote-first organisations is beneficial.
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Why Join?
This is an opportunity to join a collaborative and ambitious team where you can make an immediate impact. You’ll work on meaningful projects, help drive operational excellence, and play a key role in ensuring successful delivery across the business.
Contract Details
- Salary of £75,000–£90,000 pro rata.
- Fully remote working within the UK.
- Flexible working hours with core collaboration hours.
- Pension scheme.
- Annual bonus opportunity.
- Life insurance.
- Enhanced family leave benefits.
- Annual learning and development budget (pro rata).
- Cycle to Work scheme.
- Generous annual leave allowance (pro rata).
- A collaborative, people-first culture with regular virtual and in-person team events.
Recruitment Process
- Chat with Pickle
- Initial introductory interview with their team
- Short take-home task or case study.
- Final competency interview.
- Informal executive leadership conversation.
Diversity & Inclusion
Pickle People recognises the benefits of a diverse workforce and strives to be an inclusive organisation. We are committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect regardless of race, culture, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief and we promote diversity of thought. We would appreciate your help to enable us to measure the diversity within our recruitment process. Completing this form is voluntary and the information provided will remain anonymous. Please submit your information here.
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