Head of HR, Engagement & Delivery

Innovative Service Group
c£85-95,000 plus attractive package, flexible working & outstanding corporate environment

This is a fantastic opportunity to join one of the country’s most innovative business and consumer services groups in a highly influential position.

Almost 20 years after inception, they continue to lead their unique B2B/B2C/B2R market place, delivering an invaluable service whilst working with their clients on a path of continuous improvement.

Even in these unprecedented times, not only has their business activity continued as normal, they have utilised an already present technological infrastructure to enable every member of staff to work as normal and the business’s security to be ensured.

Differentiating themselves by remaining totally independent and providing bespoke solutions through numerous highly qualified and focussed teams to provide swift solutions and resolutions, whilst creating maximum value for their client & consumer bases underpinned by highly principled humility and passion for what they do.

Replicating that human-focus internally, they have created an upbeat, friendly, innovative, and fast-paced environment with, crucially, market-leading opportunity for advancement. But they seek to continue the development of that culture and environment for the personal and professional benefit of all employees.

This is an energised and innovative culture, which every employee works diligently to foster and continually improve. They are an opportunistic growth company that seeks to deliver long-term prosperity to all employees. 

Their innovative approach has won them significant recognition with not only an enviable client list but also as a genuine employer of choice. Two decades of achievements and award wins set this inventive business apart from their competitors, and with continued demand for their services, an increased capability in their product and service portfolio and their quest to continually strive to innovate and keep both them, and their clients ahead of the curve, their future is as impressive as their history and even more exciting.

Based within their impressive North-West Head Office, the Head of HR will quickly become a key member of the Senior Leadership Team. They will commercially connect the business’s prime resource, its people, with the business’s needs and add the people dimension to the all future development plans. They will also be key in communicating the group vision to the entire business and quickly become a custodian of the business’s culture and personality.

They will be tasked with developing strong, influential, collaborative relationships with all employees whilst adding strategic input to the Senior Leadership Team and driving the ‘people’ aspect of the business’s already impressive growth strategy and transformation project. The appointee will most definitely sit within the ‘business’, and take a P&L attitude, whilst ensuring cultural development of the team(s), their skills and motivations are such that the business will succeed in its aims and commercial objectives.

The appointee will be an experienced Human Resources leader, but this could well be their first ‘Head Of…’ appointment. They will possess strong HR knowledge but will be focused on the goals, performance and cultural development of the people rather than solely on processes and procedures. They will possess the commercial insight to understand the current position of the business whilst appreciating, and being motivated by the ambition for significant growth, cognisant of the challenges implicit in this and the critical importance of having a highly engaged and happy workforce.

Whilst the successful candidate will have a very commercial, cultural, achievement outlook, they are also vital to ensuring successful day to day operations within all partnership functions, and to ensure full engagement with every person in the business. 

Strategic Objectives

• Cultural change & development
• SME employer of choice
• Engaged, motivated workforce
• Visible liquid talent pool
• Embedded Competency Framework into every daily activity

Key Responsibilities

• Commercial understanding of the business’s activities and objectives; combining strategy, commerciality and culture….but with a remit to place people, communication and engagement at the heart of the business.
• Design and deliver the HR strategy as a key driver to business growth strategy through close partnerships with senior management teams but recognising the differences in that strategy required in different parts of the business.
• Foster a great appreciation for a broader HR framework for the growing international operation, designing and developing appropriate process, policies and best practice but always with an eye to the longer-term objectives more than short-term process compliance.
• Be seen as a true business partner, developing mature but closely synergetic, respectful relationships with internal customers, understanding their priorities.
• Be the voice of the “People Strategy”. Responsible for attraction and retention of key leadership talent. Fostering a dynamic succession-planning strategy, but recognising when external resources need to be employed.
• Input in design of an appropriate compensation and benefits framework for the business.
• Demonstrable ability to act as a coach & confidant across the business, in conflict resolution, organisational improvement and above all ensuring the people agenda lies at the heart of the planning and commercial strategies.

Talent Leadership/Acquisition

• Partner with senior management to design, develop and implement talent strategies that drive superior organisational performance.
• Serve as a credible and effective representative of senior management capable of making most decisions independently or with minimal consultation.
• Advise senior management on key learning and development issues as they impact the business.
• Ensure all talent and HR strategies and policies align with company objectives, business goals and above all, commercial objectivity.
• Consistently and positively contribute in a fast-paced, fluid work environment as well as prioritise multiple functions and tasks and manage work efficiently.
• Successfully and proactively identify and manage rapid growth issues as the group continues its expansion.
• Work to create a robust talent acquisition pipeline that allows business and project needs to be met with high quality.
• Develop recruiting channels that will work best for the business 
• Partner with Marketing in the development of collateral materials based on branding strategy that supports cementing the business as an Employer of Choice
• Lead employee engagement and communication efforts, staff meetings and performance management for team members.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable employment laws and best practices.

Cultural Leadership

• Identify and demonstrate the core values of the business with high levels of consistency and authenticity
• Create an environment where all issues get raised and addressed effectively
• Play a leading role in creating and executing programs to reinforce and secure the business’s unique work culture and corporate personality.

As with all appointments in this highly people-centric business, candidate profile and chemistry fit is critical, but never more so than for this for this pivotal role. Working within a fast-paced, innovative, entrepreneurial environment, attitude is as important as experience. The person is everything. The Head of HR will be instrumental in adding to the tone, energy and culture for the business. The gravity of success is all about having the right attitude, underpinned with demonstrable experience.

Suitable candidates will already be high achieving, HR and ‘People’ Leaders. They will possess a track record of personal success and be able to demonstrate how they have ‘done things differently’ to the benefit of company-wide engagement and cultural development. 

The appointee will possess a strong ethos in delivery through engagement, an innovative approach, informed collaborative insight, ideation and a ‘do’ not ‘think’ mindset. They will have complemented the achievement of eye-brow-raising results with driving (and reacting to) change, whilst at all time placing the people strategy and organisational culture at the heart of even the most commercial of decision making.

They will be P&L focused, seeing the people strategy and the vital resource contained within it as being their area of expertise; their lever to deliver the group wide commercial strategies.

They will be people, results and delivery oriented; hands-on and possess the ability to create a sense of mission and attentiveness to current and future requirements and challenges.

They should embrace, and be able to demonstrate the organisation’s Core Values:

• Courage
• Balance
• Empathy
• Openness

Skills and Experience

• Exceptional communication, organisational, and people skills.
• Most likely at least 5 years of progressive, strategic experience working in multiple aspects of organisational and people leadership, including staffing, culture-building, employee relations, training, leadership development, performance management, organization design, and project management.
• Successful experience building a culture of learning, innovation, and entrepreneurial energy in multi-cultural settings.
• Set their prime focus on delivery and achievement rather than being solely obsessed with process and procedure.
• Experience of supporting cross-functional teams and ensuring effective communication across them.
• Ability to effectively interact and communicate with senior management and employees across all levels of the company.
• Experience in working at senior levels in effectively and successfully managing start-up/early stage high growth issues.
• Adept problem solver with superior conflict resolution skills.
• Strategic thinker: ability to develop, evaluate and articulate talent strategies that address business and operational goals.
• Hands on; comfortable moving from design through implementation with autonomy.
• Able to meet aggressive deadlines.
• Thrives in an energetic and dynamic environment; passionate, focused, flexible and resilient.

The Head of HR will be a leader. They will be an influencer and they will be the custodian of the corporate culture, seen as many as the key driver behind the business’s already impressive people focus, and as a result, their impressive growth track record.

They will be self-motivated & able to work on their own initiative whilst putting team and company needs before own and possess the ability to think flexibly and laterally.

The successful candidate will have creative and innovative ability and desire, and be hugely excited by a very high paced environment, thick with USPs – their People leadership strength will be underpinned by a real “Just Do It” attitude, and a sense of humour.

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