The client is seeking a People Director to deliver the people strategy and ensure effective operation of the People function across a multi-business professional services environment. The role supports business leaders to drive organisational effectiveness, develop people capability, and embed people practices aligned with business goals, typically across a workforce of around 300 people.
Key responsibilities include leading and managing the People & Development function and providing leadership across HR, Talent Acquisition, and Learning & Development. The People Director will deliver and implement people initiatives supporting organisational objectives, partner with senior leaders to drive engagement, performance, and cultural development, and serve as an escalation point for complex employee relations matters. The role will also lead change management initiatives to support organisational transformation and ensure people policies, processes, and practices remain effective, compliant, and commercially focused.
The ideal candidate will combine strong people leadership with commercial awareness and the ability to influence at all levels. They are expected to have team leadership experience within a commercial environment (typically managing teams of three or more), experience leading and developing multi-disciplinary people teams, strong stakeholder management skills, proven change management capability, and a pragmatic, commercially focused approach to HR. Additional attributes include high emotional intelligence and resilience, the confidence to challenge and influence senior leaders, and strong communication and coaching skills, with experience in professional services or similarly knowledge-based businesses considered advantageous.