Head of People Operations & Services

Reporting into the Group People Director, and being a key figure on the People SLT, you will lead a multi-stream HR function of;

• People services / shared services
• People systems and data
• People advisory / employee relations
• People acquisition / talent acquisition
• Total reward
• Payroll

All of which will be supported by additional centres of excellence in business partnering, and talent & OD. The entire People function supports approx. 5,000 people in the UK.

Although leading the entire people operations team from strategic level, your immediate key focus of attention will be;

• To lead and develop a more finely tuned shared services, systems & data, and employee relations function in the short to medium term, to develop stronger foundations to support the partnering stream in delivering more commercial initiatives at a further strategic level
• You will also be required to conduct an immediate gap analysis of the HRIS & payroll system - and decide to either enhance the incumbent systems capabilities, or decided to procure and implement a new system
• Policy: overhaul and / or develop new policies that reflect a commercial approach, yet supports a progressive line to DE&I and lived experience
• Process: significant process improvement to support new systems and drive a stronger self-service and automation model

Medium to long term you will;

• People advisory / employee relations: drive a more strategic and partnering approach to developing a stronger manager toolkit and colleague experience to drive down average casework load
• Talent acquisition: develop a more strategic approach to senior / exec hires, and look to improve contingency hires process to drive down agency hire cost
• Develop stronger suites of data and analytics for key stakeholders
• Thought leadership: Supporting the divisional managers of Talent Acquisition and Reward to understand the strategic vision of the people strategy and ensure that the short-, medium- and long-term delivery aligns with that vision
• Leadership, people development and mentoring; leading a collaborative function that supports the growth and development of its own people to enhance the service to the wider business

The business has grown recently through acquiring new services to deliver upon, and is looking to develop stronger prowess for integration (structurally and culturally), and they see that being underpinned by a strong People operations function.

The foundations are considered 'good', and the Group People Director defines this role as being a strategic lead for gap analysis, conceptualisation for change, whilst working with senior stakeholders and the partnering team to defining how the function elevates and supports further infrastructural and cultural change - think policy, process, automation, through to change management, operational excellence, integration.Your main office 'home' base will be Manchester - and have a hybrid relationship with office and home working, with two to possibly three days in the office. There is a requirement to travel to London every fortnight to meet with key stakeholders.