People Manager in Brighton

People Manager.

Part-time .

About the role.

Bamboo Nine is an established digital marketing agency with an ambitious team and a culture built around collaboration and continuous development.

We are looking for an experienced People Manager to take ownership of our people function and recruitment activity.

This is a hands-on, part-time role for someone who enjoys leading a department.

You’ll ensure our people processes run brilliantly, support and coach our managers, help us attract and retain great people, and make sure Bamboo Nine remains a great place to work.

The Role

As People Manager, you’ll be responsible for the day-to-day management and continuous improvement of our HR and recruitment functions.

We use Bamboo HR (not related!) as our HR software, so any experience with this tool would be helpful.

You’ll work closely with the CEO, the leadership team and line managers across the business, providing practical advice and ensuring we have the right people, policies and processes in place as the agency evolves.

This role combines HR management, employee relations, recruitment, performance, engagement and people development.

Because this is a 2–3 day per week position, we're looking for someone who is highly organised, commercially aware and comfortable prioritising their workload.

Key Responsibilities

• HR & People Operations
• Own the day to day HR function across Bamboo Nine.
• Act as the first point of contact for managers and employees on HR and people related matters.
• Ensure HR policies, processes and documentation remain compliant with UK employment legislation and HR best practice.
• Manage employee relations matters including absence, performance, capability, disciplinary and grievance processes.
• Oversee onboarding, probation and offboarding processes.
• Maintain accurate employee records and HR system (Bamboo HR).
• Manage and improve our annual review and performance management processes.
• Support salary reviews, promotions and progression discussions.
• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve our people processes.
• Recruitment & Talent
• Own Bamboo Nine's recruitment process from initial brief through to offer.
• Work with hiring managers to understand recruitment needs and develop clear role requirements.
• Write and manage job advertisements and identify the most effective recruitment channels.
• Proactively source candidates where appropriate.
• Screen applications and conduct first-stage interviews.
• Coordinate interview processes with hiring managers.
• Ensure candidates receive a professional and positive experience throughout the recruitment journey.
• Manage offers, references and pre-employment processes.
• Monitor recruitment performance, including time-to-hire, cost-per-hire and quality of hire.
• Help build Bamboo Nine's employer brand and talent pipeline.
• Performance, Development & Retention
• Support managers in setting clear expectations and managing employee performance effectively.
• Coach managers on giving feedback, handling difficult conversations and developing their teams.
• Help develop clear progression and career development pathways.
• Identify learning and development requirements across the business.
• Support succession and workforce planning.
• Monitor employee turnover and identify opportunities to improve retention.
• Conduct and analyse exit interviews and identify recurring themes or areas for action.
• Culture & Employee Engagement
• Help protect and strengthen Bamboo Nine's culture as the business grows.
• Own or support employee engagement initiatives and surveys.
• Monitor employee sentiment and recommend practical improvements.
• Work with managers to support employee wellbeing and sustainable workloads.
• Help ensure our values are reflected throughout the employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding through to progression and recognition.
• Champion an inclusive, supportive and high-performance working environment.

People Data & Reporting - Provide the leadership team with clear, useful insight into our people performance, including:

• Headcount and workforce planning
• Recruitment activity
• Employee turnover and retention
• Absence
• Employee engagement
• Performance reviews
• Learning and development
• Other relevant people KPIs
• Use this data to identify trends, highlight risks and recommend actions rather than simply reporting the numbers.

About You

We're looking for someone who combines strong HR knowledge with a practical, commercial approach.

You will ideally have

• CIPD qualification level 7 – essential.
• Significant generalist HR experience, ideally within an SME or growing business.
• Experience independently managing a broad HR remit.
• Experience developing and implementing HR strategy.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Hands-on recruitment experience across the full recruitment lifecycle.
• Experience managing employee relations and performance matters.
• Confidence advising and challenging managers at all levels.
• Experience with performance management, employee engagement and retention.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence in presenting to the company and at senior leadership team meetings.
• Experience planning and managing HR expenditure, ensuring recruitment, training and other people-related costs remain within agreed budgets.
• A pragmatic approach – you're comfortable moving between strategic conversations and getting the job done yourself.
• Good commercial awareness and an understanding of how people's decisions affect wider business performance.

Experience working within a digital agency, marketing agency or other fast-paced professional services environment would be advantageous but isn't essential.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means

• We consistently attract and hire high-quality people.
• Recruitment is organised, efficient and provides a great candidate experience.
• New employees have a strong onboarding experience and become productive quickly.
• Managers feel confident and well-supported in managing their teams.
• Performance issues are identified and addressed early.
• Employees understand what is expected of them and how they can progress.
• Employee engagement and retention continue to improve.
• Our HR policies and processes are compliant, straightforward and consistently applied.
• Leadership has clear visibility of the key people metrics and emerging risks across the business.
• Bamboo Nine retains its culture while continuing to grow.

Why Bamboo Nine?

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of the people function within an ambitious, growing agency.

You'll have the autonomy to improve how we recruit, develop and retain our people, while working closely with the leadership team to make Bamboo Nine an even better place to build a career.

The part-time structure makes this an ideal role for an experienced People professional looking for a meaningful position where they can make a visible impact without working a traditional five-day week.