Head of People & Culture
- Fully remote with fortnightly travel or as required to a location just outside of Leeds
- Salary dependent on experience
A leading and fast-growing SME is partnering with us to recruit a Head of People & Culture to join their Senior Leadership Team. This is a newly created opportunity for an experienced HR / People professional to take ownership of the people agenda and play a key role in supporting the business through its next stage of growth.
Working closely with the Founders / CEO, you’ll act as a trusted adviser on all people-related matters, providing senior-level guidance while taking ownership of culture, employee experience, performance and people strategy across the business.
This is a genuinely hands-on role within an entrepreneurial environment. The successful candidate will need to be comfortable rolling up their sleeves, getting involved and making things happen, while bringing greater structure, consistency and best practice to the people function as the business continues to grow.
The role offers significant autonomy and the opportunity to shape the position around your experience, with the chance to have a real influence on the culture, people strategy and future direction of the organisation.
Key Responsibilities of the Head of People & Culture:
People Strategy & Leadership
- Lead the people and culture function, working closely with the Founders / CEO and as part of the Senior Leadership Team.
- Act as a trusted partner and sounding board to the Founders / CEO, taking ownership of people-related issues and providing pragmatic, commercially focused advice.
- Develop and implement the people strategy in line with the wider business objectives and future growth plans.
- Introduce greater structure, consistency and best practice across the people function without creating an overly corporate environment.
- Provide senior-level support and guidance on complex and sensitive employee matters, using strong emotional intelligence and sound judgement.
Culture, Engagement & Employee Experience
- Take ownership of company culture, employee experience, engagement and team cohesion.
- Help shape and embed the organisation’s values, culture and ways of working.
- Act as a visible, approachable and trusted point of contact for employees across the business.
- Lead on employee engagement initiatives, team events and internal programmes that create a positive and memorable employee experience.
- Identify opportunities to strengthen retention, engagement and overall employee satisfaction.
Performance & People Development
- Drive a consistent and effective approach to performance management across the organisation.
- Support managers and senior leaders with people management, coaching and development.
- Identify opportunities to develop talent and strengthen the capability of teams as the business grows.
- Ensure the employee experience continues to evolve alongside the organisation’s growth.
HR Partnership & Business Growth
- Work closely with the existing HR Manager, who is responsible for HR administration, payroll, onboarding, policies and legal / compliance.
- Partner with the leadership team on organisational development and people-related projects.
- Proactively identify people challenges and opportunities, taking ownership of solutions from conception through to implementation.
- Support the business through its next stage of growth, ensuring people strategy, culture and capability remain aligned with business objectives.
Key Requirements for the Head of People & Culture:
- Proven experience within a senior HR, People or People & Culture position, ideally within a fast-growing SME or entrepreneurial environment.
- Strong understanding of people strategy, culture, employee engagement and performance, preferably with this experience gained within a remote first business.
- Demonstrable experience working directly with Founders, CEOs and senior leadership teams.
- Strong employee relations experience, with the confidence and emotional intelligence to manage complex and sensitive situations.
- A proactive, hands-on approach, with the ability to identify what needs doing and take ownership without being asked.
- Ability to introduce structure, process and best practice while maintaining a flexible, entrepreneurial culture.
- Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
- Commercially minded, pragmatic and confident operating at both strategic and operational levels.
- Genuine passion for people and creating a positive, high-performing working environment.
- Experience supporting a business through a period of growth and organisational change would be highly advantageous
- CIPD qualification or equivalent professional experience would be advantageous.
If you're an experienced HR professional who enjoys working across a broad generalist remit and wants to make a genuine impact within a growing organisation, we'd love to hear from you.
If you are interested in this Head of People & Culture position and feel your experience matches the criteria, then please apply now for immediate consideration or for more information please contact Kerry Norman.
Medlock Partners are a professional services recruitment specialist. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and circumstances, including minorities and those with disabilities. Please note our advertisements use years' experience and salary levels purely as a guide. We are happy to consider applications from all candidates who are able to demonstrate the skills necessary to fulfil the role. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
