Senior People Data Analyst

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no‑limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries. People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like‑minded people driving change at Howden.

The Senior People Analytics Analyst will lead the data side of the People Analytics function. Working in close partnership with the HR‑side Analytics team – who act as business analysts – this role is responsible for translating people analytics requirements into robust, high‑quality data products, tools and insight. Operating in a consultancy‑style model, this role will own that delivery end‑to‑end: leading and developing a team of data specialists, maintaining quality and governance standards, and ensuring outputs are accurate, scalable and fit for a senior stakeholder audience. This is a hands‑on leadership role suited to someone who is equally comfortable setting technical direction and rolling up their sleeves to work with complex datasets. It offers broad exposure to HR, Finance and Data/Technology stakeholders across the Howden Group, and the opportunity to shape a growing function during a period of significant organisational change.

The main roles and responsibilities are:

• Managing, leading and developing the People Analytics team
• Working on technical delivery and hands‑on analysis
• Engaging with HR‑side stakeholders and data business partner to scope and refine requirements
• Forming the technical strategy, tooling, data governance and roadmap

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Development
  • Lead, manage and develop a team of data analysts/specialists within the People Analytics team
  • Set clear objectives, provide regular feedback and create development opportunities that build technical capability within the team
  • Foster a collaborative, high‑quality delivery culture, with a strong focus on accuracy, efficiency and continuous improvement
  • Act as the senior technical authority within the team, providing guidance on approaches, methods and tools
• Technical Delivery & Hands‑On Analytics
  • Oversee and contribute to the development and maintenance of core analytical products, including the People Dashboard, DE&I Dashboard and more
  • Lead the team in working with large, complex and often inconsistent HR datasets
  • Review and QA team outputs before they reach HR‑side colleagues or business stakeholders, ensuring a consistently high standard
  • Contribute directly to complex or high‑priority pieces of analytical work, including ad‑hoc deep‑dives on topics such as attrition, workforce trends and DE&I
  • Translate stakeholder and HR-BA requirements into scalable, maintainable technical solutions
• Stakeholder & HR‑Side Partnership
  • Act as the primary point of contact between the data team and HR‑side analytics colleagues, ensuring requirements are well understood before development begins
  • Participate in scoping and prioritisation conversations, pushing back where requirements are unclear or technically unfeasible and proposing alternatives
  • Communicate technical constraints, timelines and delivery risks clearly to non‑technical counterparts
  • Engage directly with senior HR and business stakeholders where required, presenting data outputs and insight with clarity and confidence
• Strategy, Tooling & Governance
  • Define and evolve the technical standards, tools and frameworks used by the data team
  • Own data governance on the analytics side: maintaining master data principles, ensuring data integrity, confidentiality and security across all datasets
  • Develop and document standard operating procedures for data handling, pipeline management and archiving
  • Identify opportunities to improve the team’s tooling, processes and ways of working in line with the broader HR and technology roadmap
  • Work closely with HRIS, Finance and IT teams to ensure strong data collaboration and quality across source systems

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in a data analytics, people analytics or business intelligence role, with prior experience managing or mentoring a technical team
• Strong technical skills across relevant tools and languages (e.g. SQL, Python, Power BI, Excel or similar)
• Experience operating in a project‑based or consultancy‑style delivery model, working from briefs or requirements defined by others
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage effectively with both technical colleagues and non‑technical HR or business stakeholders
• High attention to detail and a strong commitment to data quality and governance
• Comfortable balancing hands‑on delivery with team leadership responsibilities

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new
• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges
• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We’re committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours or hybrid working. If you’re excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.