Head of HR, UK
The senior HR leader for the London office of an international financial services group, sitting on the UK leadership team. Part of the job is the full HR toolkit: employee relations, organisational change and leadership development. The bigger part is making HR visible and trusted in the office again, and building the UK team around it.
The work
This group runs HR globally, with a central service model and the group HR function setting much of the direction. London needs a senior HR leader on the ground: someone the UK leadership team relies on, and someone employees come to with the things they would never type into a ticket. The UK HR team is small today and needs building out. The group is growing through acquisition, so the remit is likely to grow with it.
What you'll own
The UK People Agenda, co-created with local leadership and aligned with group HR priorities. You'll be the trusted advisor to the UK leadership team, and the person who makes HR worth using again.
- Advise UK leadership on organisational effectiveness, succession, engagement, culture and leadership development
- Set the direction on complex employee relations, conduct and performance matters, sensitive exits, redundancies and settlements, working with Legal when needed
- Lead workforce planning, organisational design and the HR side of restructurings, acquisitions and integrations
- Partner with group Reward and Finance on annual compensation decisions and workforce cost planning
- Keep HR compliant with UK employment law, data protection and internal governance, and oversee audits and HR risk
- Represent UK priorities in group HR discussions, and build a strong working relationship with the central HR functions
What you'll need
Judgement and personality matter as much as the CV here. You know when to challenge, when to hold back and when to de-escalate, and you can keep local leadership and group HR on side at the same time.
- 10+ years in senior HR leadership, HR business partnering or broad generalist HR, in an international, matrixed business
- Strong UK employment law and employee relations: you've seen most cases before
- A track record in organisational change, restructuring and senior stakeholder advisory
- Experience working alongside a central or outsourced HR service model
- Financial services, banking or another regulated industry is an advantage, as is M&A, integration or reward governance experience
What happens next
A screening call with me first. If it's a fit, I'll make the Candidate Submission, then three stages, all in person at the London office: HR leadership, the UK Country Head, then a final sign-off. The client wants to move quickly. I'll share the client name once we've had a confidential conversation.
If it is a fit, you will get a straight read on the process and the comp. If it is not, I will tell you that too.