People Director
About the Role
This is a leadership role, not a process one. As People Director you will own the entire People and Culture function, partnering directly with the CEO and COO to move Amber Labs from founder-led and reactive to structured, accountable and scalable. You will set the direction, build the operating model, and raise the standard of how we manage and develop our people.
We already have junior HR capacity. What we need is a senior leader who can set direction, challenge where needed, and be one accountable owner for everything People and Culture.
About Amber Labs
At Amber Labs, we are a cutting edge UK and European technology consultancy that prioritises empowering autonomy, promoting experimentation, and facilitating rapid learning to provide exceptional value to our clients. Our company culture is centred around collaboration, where all colleagues, regardless of their role, work together to minimise risk and shorten delivery times. Our team consists of highly skilled cross functional consultants, analysts, and support staff.
What You Will Own
- People strategy: design and deliver the People roadmap in partnership with the CEO and COO.
- Performance culture: build a performance management framework, address existing issues, and improve manager capability across the business.
- Retention and engagement: identify key talent, build retention plans, benchmark reward, and create clear career pathways.
- Organisational design: lead workforce planning across permanent and contractor populations as the business scales.
- Leadership development: coach managers, close leadership gaps, and raise the standard of people leadership across the business.
- HR operations: ensure policies, processes and compliance are robust and fit for a scaling business, including IR35 obligations.
- Team leadership: develop and guide the existing junior HR team.
What We Are Looking For
- Proven experience as a People Director or senior People leader in a scaling business, ideally in technology or professional services.
- A track record of building People functions and improving performance culture, not just operating within existing frameworks.
- Confident advising at CEO and board level, with the credibility to challenge as well as support.
- Experience managing blended workforces including contractors and FTCs, with working knowledge of IR35.
- Comfortable in a business of 50 to 200 people moving at pace: you know what good looks like at this stage of growth.
What We Offer
- 25 days annual leave plus public holidays, so you can actually switch off
- Private medical insurance with Bupa
- Remote-first working with a base at Liverpool Street when you want it
- A personal training budget to invest in your growth, however that looks for you
- A very generous referral scheme, because the best people tend to know the best people
- Perkbox, giving you access to hundreds of perks and discounts across eating out, shopping, wellness, entertainment and more
- EV scheme after one year of service, supporting you in making the switch to electric
- Regular team socials with a group of people who genuinely enjoy working together
- Employer pension contributions
- And most importantly, the chance to be part of something from the ground up. Amber Labs is growing fast and the people joining now will shape what this business becomes