Head of People

Head of People - Defence Sector

Hybrid working - Leicester based office

Excellent salary + Bonus on Offer

9 Day fortnight

Our client is an ambitious and fast-growing organisation operating within the UK defence sector. Following continued growth and significant investment, they are seeking to appoint an experienced Head of People to join their senior leadership team.

Reporting directly to the CEO, this is a rare opportunity to influence business strategy while shaping the culture, leadership capability and organisational effectiveness of a business entering an exciting phase of expansion.

As the organisation continues to scale over the coming years, the successful candidate will play a pivotal role in ensuring its people strategy, organisational design and leadership capability evolve alongside the business.

This role will suit an experienced HR leader who enjoys balancing strategic thinking with hands-on delivery and is comfortable operating at both board and operational level.

The Opportunity

As Head of People, you will:

• Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO and senior leadership team, providing commercially focused HR guidance and strategic challenge.
• Develop and implement a People Strategy that supports the organisation's ambitious growth plans.
• Lead organisational design, workforce planning and change initiatives.
• Develop leadership capability through coaching, mentoring, succession planning and talent development.
• Champion a high-performance, inclusive culture that promotes accountability, engagement and collaboration.
• Oversee recruitment and talent acquisition strategies to attract and retain high-calibre employees.
• Lead employee relations, ensuring HR policies and practices remain fair, consistent and fully compliant with UK employment legislation.
• Use people data and workforce analytics to inform business decisions and measure organisational performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve HR processes, systems and ways of working.

About You

We're looking for an experienced senior HR professional who can quickly establish credibility with executive stakeholders and influence organisational direction.

You will ideally have:

• Chartered MCIPD or FCIPD status (Level 7 or equivalent).
• Experience in a senior HR leadership position such as Head of People, Head of HR, HR Director, People Director or Senior HR Business Partner.
• A proven track record of partnering with CEOs and executive leadership teams.
• Experience supporting organisations through periods of growth, organisational change and business transformation.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to align people strategy to business objectives.
• Excellent coaching, stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• A thorough understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience within defence, engineering, manufacturing, aerospace or another highly regulated industry would be advantageous.

What's on Offer

This is an opportunity to join an organisation where the People function is recognised as a strategic partner to the business.

You'll have the autonomy to shape the people agenda, influence executive decision-making and make a lasting impact on the organisation's future success while working alongside an experienced leadership team committed to growth and continuous improvement.

If you're an experienced People leader looking for a role where you can genuinely influence organisational success, we'd be delighted to speak with you in confidence.