Head of People & Talent

**Head of People \& Talent** This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced People professional to shape and drive a company’s people strategy. You will be the sole HR professional in the business and a trusted strategic partner to the leadership team. You will lead all aspects of People and Talent across a growing consultancy, from strategy through to execution. This role requires someone equally comfortable setting direction and rolling up their sleeves, a pragmatic, commercially minded operator who thrives in a fast\-paced, growth\-oriented environment. **Key Responsibilities** **People Strategy \& Business Partnering** * Develop and implement a people strategy aligned with business objectives and growth plans * Partner closely with the senior leadership as a trusted advisor on all people matters * Act as a strategic partner to senior leaders, providing commercially sound HR guidance * Support organisational design and workforce planning * Lead succession planning to identify and develop critical talent pipelines **Talent Acquisition \& Onboarding** * Own and drive the end\-to\-end talent acquisition strategy, including employer branding, sourcing, selection, and offer management * Build scalable, repeatable recruitment processes and manage relationships with external agencies and suppliers * Own the ATS and ensure an excellent candidate experience throughout the hiring journey * Design and manage a structured onboarding programme to set new starters up for success **Learning, Development \& Performance** * Own employee development and training programmes, fostering a culture of continuous learning * Design and manage performance management frameworks aligned with business objectives * Lead initiatives to support employee engagement, well\-being, and retention **Change Management \& Culture** * Lead and support change management initiatives, ensuring effective communication and stakeholder engagement * Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment * Drive a culture of collaboration, accountability, and excellence **Reward, Compliance \& HR Operations** * Design and manage competitive compensation and benefits programmes * Ensure compliance with UK employment law and regulations * Own and optimise HR systems, leveraging data and analytics for decision\-making * Manage the full employee lifecycle from onboarding through to offboarding **Qualifications \& Experience** * CIPD qualified (Level 5 minimum; Level 7 preferred) or equivalent experience * Proven experience in a senior, generalist HR leadership role — ideally as a standalone or first HR hire * Experience within a consultancy, professional services, or similar fast\-paced environment is advantageous * Demonstrable track record of developing and executing people strategies that support business growth * Experience leading or supporting change management programmes * Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice **Skills \& Competencies** * Strong commercial acumen with the ability to link people strategy to business performance * Confident stakeholder manager with the ability to influence at senior and board level * Strategic thinker who can operate hands\-on in a lean environment * Excellent communication and interpersonal skills * Resilient, adaptable, and comfortable working with ambiguity * Collaborative mindset with a passion for people, culture, and organisational effectiveness If you want, I can also tailor this for a recruiter ad (more punchy/shorter, with a hook and selling points) or anonymise it further to make it even less traceable.