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- Tasks: Lead talent strategy, recruiting, and culture in a dynamic advisory firm.
- Company: Join CrossBoundary Group, a mission-driven investment and advisory firm making a global impact.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work options, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Work from Nairobi, Johannesburg, or London in a supportive, inclusive environment.
- Why this job: Shape the future of people operations while influencing impactful projects worldwide.
- Qualifications: 8+ years in senior people functions, preferably in professional services or consulting.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
CrossBoundary Group is a mission-driven investment and advisory firm that unlocks the power of capital for sustainable growth and strong returns in underserved markets. CrossBoundary Advisory provides transaction and investment advisory services, having developed a specialized expertise in unleashing investment across all sectors in these markets. CrossBoundary Advisory has advised on over US$8bn worth of transactions across 75 countries globally, serving our clients from 20 offices spread across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Our advisory clients include governments, development finance institutions, private equity firms, Fortune 100 companies, and research institutions.
Our investment platforms, CrossBoundary Energy, CrossBoundary Energy Access, and CrossBoundary Educational Infrastructure, directly finance projects to bring cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable electricity, as well as education infrastructure, to developing countries. Anchoring the Group’s work in the renewable energy sector, CrossBoundary Energy is currently active in more than 10 African countries and has a portfolio of over US$100 million of renewable energy projects for commercial and industrial clients across the continent. CrossBoundary Energy Access uses blended finance and an innovative project financing structure to unlock capital for mini-grids with a mission to bring electricity for the first time to more than 170,000 people.
CrossBoundary Advisory is hiring a Director of People for its Advisory business. The role is broad by design: talent strategy, recruiting, performance, culture, organisational development, with real proximity to senior leadership and genuine room to shape how the people function operates. It suits someone who thinks carefully about systems and people, can move between strategic work and the detail without losing pace, and who finds that kind of challenge genuinely exciting.
Who you are
- A strategic partner to business leaders with a strong voice and technical expertise to influence how the People function impacts firm-level goals.
- An executor who can work backwards from a business need, translating it into a clearly defined goal and working with colleagues across all levels to turn plans into reality.
- An agile player as comfortable with ambiguous ideas as they are with rolling up their sleeves to execute on tasks where necessary.
- An operational system builder who is comfortable in the ‘messy middle’ between perfect systems and imperfect human users and can deliver efficient, simple, user-friendly processes with minimal bureaucracy.
- A custodian of our culture and values.
Responsibilities you’ll own
- Strategy and goals for People domain
- Serve as the strategic People partner to the executive team of CrossBoundary Advisory, with a deep, real-time understanding of the business, its strategic goals, and evolving priorities.
- Shape and implement clear, impactful goals (OKRs) for the People domain that directly support Advisory’s strategic objectives.
- Bring People expertise and perspective to leadership discussions, influencing decisions to ensure we achieve our ambitions for performance, culture, and values.
- Design recruiting systems and provide direct support for senior hires
- Shape the recruiting strategy for Advisory, ensuring we attract exceptional talent aligned with our mission, values, and performance standards.
- Refine, redesign, or create systems to identify the highest caliber talent to join the Advisory team and enhance our employer brand, including Global internship program.
- Strengthen our approach and operations to build a high quality talent pipeline.
- Refine our screening process to ensure we safeguard and enhance our talent density, reducing the internal load and delays for placing hires.
- Directly support with or own recruiting processes for senior talent, high priority, or complex roles.
- Be responsible for the systems, processes and supervision of staffing operations
- Iterate on staffing process as necessary.
- Supervise a junior resource to reliably execute on this.
- Maintain a view on the outcomes of the staffing function on efficiency.
- Talent Development and Performance
- Onboarding: Work with the Group People team to design and deliver Advisory-specific onboarding journeys that set our new joiners up for success from day one.
- Performance Management: Work with business leaders and the Performance team to constantly refine our performance review process.
- Talent Development: Partner with the Group Performance team to deliver content and training that amplifies performance.
- Culture and Employee Relations
- Pulse check: Run and refine our pulse check approach, regularly gauging morale, soliciting feedback, and identifying and driving change initiatives to keep our culture thriving.
- Trusted advisor: Become the trusted advisor for team members needing support for individual issues.
- Leadership support for culture: Detect culture risks and opportunities and support leaders to strengthen culture within teams.
- Data: Monitor data from exit interviews and retention numbers to detect and address risks for losing talent.
- Culture institutionalization: Interpret CBA’s culture and values and translate them into practical policies, processes, and ways of working.
- Sensitive HR issues: Support with highly complex and sensitive people matters.
- Internal communications: Partner with Advisory leadership to manage any high-stakes team communications and change management.
- Organizational Development and Health
- Team structure: Provide thought partnership to leaders seeking input on team structure.
- Role and career architecture: Partner with Advisory leadership to maintain high standards for promotion readiness and ensure consistency in promotion decisions.
- Compensation strategy: Support/partner with Advisory and Group leaders to shape compensation philosophies and incentive frameworks.
Your Background
- At least 8 years of leading people functions at a senior level.
- Background in professional services or consulting strongly preferred.
- Proven ability to advise and influence at the executive level.
- Has built and refined people systems in lean, high-growth environments.
- Comfortable holding strategic leadership and hands-on execution simultaneously.
- Has led or developed others, and is invested in doing so.
- Nontraditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Locations
You are based either in Nairobi, Johannesburg, or London.
Equal Opportunity Employer
CrossBoundary is an equal opportunity employer. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to our email.
Director of People, Advisory Function in London employer: CrossBoundary
Contact Detail:
CrossBoundary Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Director of People, Advisory Function in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their mission and values, especially since CrossBoundary is all about sustainable growth. Tailor your responses to show how your experience aligns with their goals and how you can contribute to their success.
✨Tip Number 3
Practice makes perfect! Conduct mock interviews with friends or mentors to refine your answers and get comfortable with the format. Focus on articulating your strategic thinking and operational skills, as these are key for the Director of People role.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up after interviews! A simple thank-you email can go a long way in leaving a positive impression. Reiterate your enthusiasm for the role and mention something specific from the conversation that resonated with you.
We think you need these skills to ace Director of People, Advisory Function in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Be Authentic: When you're writing your application, let your true self shine through. We want to see your personality and how you align with our mission at CrossBoundary. Don't just list your skills; share stories that showcase your journey and passion for people and culture.
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your application for the Director of People role. Highlight your experience in talent strategy and organisational development, and connect it back to our goals at CrossBoundary. Show us how your background makes you the perfect fit for this position!
Showcase Your Impact: We love seeing tangible results! In your application, focus on specific achievements that demonstrate your ability to influence and drive change. Whether it's improving a hiring process or enhancing team culture, we want to know how you've made a difference in previous roles.
Keep It Clear and Concise: While we appreciate detail, clarity is key. Make sure your application is well-structured and easy to read. Use bullet points where necessary and avoid jargon. Remember, we’re looking for someone who can communicate effectively, so let’s start with your application!
How to prepare for a job interview at CrossBoundary
✨Know the Company Inside Out
Before your interview, dive deep into CrossBoundary Group's mission and values. Understand their work in sustainable growth and how they operate in underserved markets. This knowledge will help you align your answers with their goals and demonstrate your genuine interest in the role.
✨Showcase Your Strategic Thinking
As a Director of People, you'll need to think strategically about talent management. Prepare examples of how you've influenced people functions in previous roles, particularly in high-growth environments. Be ready to discuss how you can shape the People domain to support CrossBoundary's strategic objectives.
✨Prepare for Hands-On Scenarios
Expect questions that assess your ability to balance strategic oversight with hands-on execution. Think of specific instances where you've successfully navigated the 'messy middle' of people operations. Highlight your experience in building efficient systems while maintaining a focus on user-friendly processes.
✨Engage with Culture and Values
CrossBoundary places a strong emphasis on culture and values. Be prepared to discuss how you've fostered a positive workplace culture in your past roles. Share your thoughts on how to maintain and enhance team morale, and be ready to suggest initiatives that could strengthen their existing culture.