People & Culture Lead in Loughborough

About Us

British Triathlon is the national governing body for triathlon, paratriathlon and related multisport in Great Britain. Everything we do flows from our purpose: to open up triathlon so athletes and communities can go further than they ever thought possible. Our mission is to grow the sport at every level, and we are passionate about creating an environment that makes Britain the world’s leading triathlon nation - enabling success on the international stage and increasing participation in swim, bike, run across diverse communities.

Our new strategy, "Going Further, Together", is built around four strategic pillars - Fuel Growth, Power the Podium, Ignite Momentum and Unlock Triathlon - underpinned by the enablers that make long‑term success possible. These enablers focus on Digital & Data Optimisation, Strong Core, Growth Mindset & Bravery, and Collaborative & Inclusive: the capabilities and cultural foundations that help us deliver for staff, athletes, members and communities.

The People & Culture Lead will play an important role in strengthening those foundations - helping us build a financially sustainable, future‑ready organisation with the culture, capability and people practices to deliver our ambitions. Our people are key to that journey. We want to build a workforce that brings energy, agility and a shared commitment to excellence - people who are comfortable evolving, working collaboratively, and helping create an environment where individuals and teams can perform at their best.

We are:

• Inclusive; welcoming and supporting people from all backgrounds, ensuring everyone can participate, feel safe and belong.
• People Centred; putting athletes, volunteers, colleagues and communities at the heart of decisions and ways of working.
• Ambitious; striving for high performance and continuous improvement, on and off the field of play.
• Do What’s Right; acting with integrity, transparency and fairness, even when that is the more challenging route.

If you can bring skills and ambition to an inclusive, people-centred workplace, are motivated by creating positive impact, and value doing what’s right above doing what is simply expected, we want to hear from you!

About the Role

As People & Culture Lead, you will lead and deliver a standalone, end‑to‑end people function for around 85 employees, operating in a hybrid environment across Loughborough and remote teams. You will own day‑to‑day HR operations and act as the organisation’s main people advisor, ensuring an effective, compliant and engaging people function. You will combine hands‑on delivery with strategic input – partnering with leaders on people matters, overseeing recruitment and onboarding, leading employee relations work, maintaining strong HR operations, and using systems and data to strengthen decision‑making and employee experience.

You will also play an important role in helping British Triathlon embed its values, support managers, and build a people function that is trusted, proactive and fit for the future. This is a broad and evolving role, and that is an important part of its appeal. It is well suited to someone who enjoys taking ownership, is comfortable working autonomously, and is motivated by the opportunity to shape how people support is delivered in a growing organisation.

The role is not purely strategic from day one; it currently includes a meaningful operational and administrative remit, with the expectation that over time this will reduce through admin support and better systems, automation and process design, creating more space for strategic and cultural leadership.

The successful candidate will bring strong generalist HR experience, sound knowledge of UK employment law, change management, and confidence advising managers on a wide range of people matters. A practical, solutions‑focused approach, good judgement, and the ability to build trust across all levels of the organisation will be key to success in the role. You will thrive in an agile and evolving environment – able to navigate changing priorities while keeping focus on and driving forward what matters most. You will value and know what good looks like when it comes to building a high‑performing people function.

Successful working relationships are key to this role and creating trust across a geographically dispersed organisation, including visiting remote teams as well as knowing how to build visibility and strong relationships remotely. The People & Culture Lead will report into the Director of Finance, Governance & Operations and will be an integral and valued member of the Operations Directorate, working closely with the Executive team, Finance, Governance and Analytics, as well as managers across the organisation.

The role is likely to suit someone who thrives on developing trusted relationships, influencing positively, and working independently with sound judgement and ownership. The role will benefit from British Triathlon’s hybrid working model, with a base at the Head Office in Loughborough and home working for part of the week. This offers a supportive and collaborative working environment, while recognising the need for flexibility and effective relationship‑building across the organisation. We also value the different perspectives that a more representative workforce will bring to our work and are particularly keen to hear from applicants from diverse communities and backgrounds.

Benefits

British Triathlon offers a competitive benefits package, including:

• 25 days’ annual leave (plus flexible holiday buying) and increases with service
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption pay
• Dedicated time for personal and team learning and development
• Two paid volunteer days per year
• Free parking at Loughborough University campus
• Pension, life assurance, and private medical insurance to care for you and loved ones
• Healthy lifestyle support, including discounted gym membership at Loughborough University campus and a cycle to work scheme

Details of our Equality and Diversity Policy can be found at britishtriathlon.org/about-us/governance/policy-documents.