Head of People Development in Portsmouth

Position: Head of People Development at Athena Sports Group

Location: Portsmouth

Contract: Permanent, Full-time

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Team: HR Administrator

About Athena Sports Group

The Athena Sports Group (ASG) is a high-performance sailing and marine business founded and led by Sir Ben Ainslie. It serves as a parent entity for elite British sailing teams, including the British America's Cup team (GB1, formerly Athena Racing), the Athena Pathway Programme, the 2025 champion Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team and the 1851 charitable trust.

About the role

This is a pivotal hire for our business. As Head of People Development, you will report directly to the CEO / Team Principal and operate as a trusted member of the management team. You will own two core remits: driving a high-performance culture through robust, fair, and motivating performance management frameworks; and in accordance with the team’s values, identify and build a talent pipeline to support the long-term sustainable development of the team. This is a hands‑on role that blends strategy with delivery. You will build people development frameworks where they don't yet exist, equip managers to bring out the best in their teams, be the trusted presence employees turn to when they need support, and ensure we are attracting and nurturing the right talent for today and the future.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and continuously improve a performance management framework that connects individual growth with company objectives.
• Build a culture of regular feedback, coaching, and recognition.
• Partner with line managers to strengthen their ability to develop their people, have honest performance conversations, and manage underperformance constructively.
• Own probationary and exit review processes and ensure they are applied consistently and fairly across all teams.
• Support line managers to identify high‑potential employees and work with the CEO / Team Principal to create clear development and progression pathways.
• Oversee learning and development activity, ensuring people at all levels have access to the skills and support they need to grow.
• Manage the committee for the annual pay review process and advise on how people are rewarded including input on bonus structures.
• Take ownership of the end‑to‑end recruitment process, ensuring a consistent, high‑quality candidate experience that reflects our culture and values.
• Partner with hiring managers to define role requirements, design effective assessment processes, and make confident, well‑informed hiring decisions.
• Develop and manage relationships with recruitment agencies, job boards, and talent networks to build a strong and diverse candidate pool.
• Design and lead an internship and apprenticeship programmes, including establishing partnerships with universities and colleges, creating structured placement experiences, and building a pipeline of future talent.
• Ensure the internship and apprenticeship programmes offers genuine development value, with clear learning objectives, mentoring, and the possibility of conversion to permanent roles.
• Be the first point of contact for employees navigating personal difficulties, health challenges, or workplace concerns.
• Oversee a wellbeing programme that supports physical, mental, and financial health.
• Manage complex Employee Relations cases — including grievances, disciplinaries, and long‑term absence — with sensitivity, fairness, and legal compliance.
• Act as a trusted, impartial advisor to staff at all levels, maintaining strict confidentiality.

People Operations

• Optimise our employee lifecycle: onboarding, development, performance, and offboarding.
• Maintain and update people policies, ensuring compliance with current UK employment law.
• Manage and mentor the HR administrator.
• Support CFO with HR administration.

Person Specification

Experience & Qualifications

• Minimum 6 years' HR or people development experience, with at least 1 in a senior or standalone role.
• Proven track record of designing and embedding performance management and development frameworks.
• Experience designing or running an internship, graduate, or early careers programme (highly desirable).
• Strong Employee Relations background.
• Experience operating in an SME or scale‑up environment (preferred).
• Up‑to‑date knowledge of UK employment law (desirable).

Skills & Attributes

• High emotional intelligence.
• A natural developer of others: energised by identifying potential, not just managing processes.
• Confident and credible managing key stakeholders including building university, agency, and professional networks.
• Courageous and direct: able to give honest feedback to managers and the CEO / Team Principal.
• Commercially minded, with an understanding that investing in people drives business performance.
• Organised and detail‑oriented, with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Discreet and professional and considered a trusted keeper of confidential information.