Chessington World of Adventures Resort
People Director
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What you'll bring to the team
People Director
Role Purpose
As a People Director, you will be a strategic partner to the leadership team, helping to shape and deliver the people agenda across a large, complex attraction or region within Merlin. You will play a critical role in aligning business goals with people strategies, building leadership capability, driving organisational effectiveness, and creating an inclusive, high-performing culture.
Working closely with senior leaders, you will provide insight, challenge, and support to ensure our people strategy translates into meaningful business outcomes. You'll influence change, develop talent, strengthen employee engagement, and help create an environment where our teams can thrive.
What You'll Be Responsible For
Strategic People Partnership
- Partner with senior leadership teams to align people priorities with business objectives.
- Translate commercial goals into workforce and talent plans that drive performance.
- Provide strategic advice on organisational design, workforce planning, and change initiatives.
- Use people insights and data to inform decision-making and identify opportunities for improvement.
Leadership & Talent Development
- Coach and support leaders to build high-performing, accountable, and inclusive teams.
- Lead talent and succession planning to ensure strong pipelines for current and future business needs.
- Partner with specialist teams to strengthen leadership capability and employee development.
- Champion a culture of continuous learning, growth, and performance excellence.
Change & Organizational Effectiveness
- Lead and support organizational change initiatives, ensuring successful adoption and sustainable outcomes.
- Embed new ways of working that improve agility, collaboration, and decision-making.
- Drive workforce planning and organizational effectiveness initiatives that support operational goals.
Employee Engagement & Culture
- Partner with leaders to develop engagement strategies that improve the employee experience.
- Leverage employee feedback and insights to identify priorities and implement meaningful actions.
- Promote Merlin's employer brand internally and externally, helping attract and retain exceptional talent.
- Foster an inclusive culture where colleagues feel valued, respected, and empowered.
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Reward, Recognition & Inclusion
- Support the delivery of reward and recognition programmes, ensuring fair and consistent processes.
- Embed pay equity principles and recognition strategies within the business.
- Translate diversity, equity and inclusion strategies into impactful local initiatives.
- Partner with leaders to create a workplace where everyone can belong and succeed.
Operational Excellence
- Use people analytics and workforce insights to measure impact and inform future priorities.
- Ensure compliance with employment legislation and Merlin policies.
- Partner with shared services and specialist teams to deliver a seamless employee experience.
- Lead complex employee relations matters and provide expert guidance to leaders on sensitive cases.
Qualifications & Experience
Experience
- Significant experience partnering with senior operational leaders in a strategic HR or People Partnering role.
- Strong background in talent management, organisational development, workforce planning, and change management.
- Experience influencing and delivering results within complex, matrixed organisations.
- Proven ability to manage complex employee relations matters and stakeholder relationships.
- Experience supporting diverse and geographically dispersed teams.
Skills & Capability
- Strong commercial awareness and the ability to connect people strategies to business outcomes.
- Exceptional stakeholder management, coaching, and influencing skills.
- Excellent analytical capability with experience using data and insights to drive decisions.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to engage audiences at all levels.
- Highly collaborative, adaptable, and solutions-focused.
- Passion for developing people and creating inclusive, high-performing cultures.
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Success in This Role
The successful People Director will:
- Build trusted relationships with senior leaders.
- Drive measurable improvements in engagement, leadership capability, and organisational performance.
- Develop strong talent pipelines and succession plans.
- Successfully lead and support strategic business change.
- Create an inclusive and high-performing culture that enables our people and business to thrive.
Our Leadership Expectations
At Merlin, our leaders are:
Soulfully Curious
- Always learning, seeking different perspectives, and exploring new possibilities.
Results Focused
- Setting clear priorities, taking accountability, and delivering meaningful outcomes.
Extraordinary Teammates
- Collaborating across teams, sharing expertise, and supporting the success of others.
Developers of People
- Creating opportunities for growth, coaching talent, and helping others achieve their potential.
This is an opportunity to shape the future of our people strategy while making a meaningful impact on the success of the business and the experience of our employees.
Benefits
We’re growing fast and alongside a fun and friendly environment, we offer a fabulous package and amazing prospects – ideal if you’re already fantastic and want to become even better (our magic can help here). Benefits include Pension, Life Assurance, discretionary company bonus, 33 days’ holiday including bank holidays, a Merlin Magic Pass which gives you and your friends and family free admission to all of our attractions worldwide, an Enjoy the Ride pass which entitles you and 5 loved ones unlimited entry into your regional attractions, 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants and 40% discount on LEGO, plus lots more!
Pay Range
Competitive
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