People & Culture Director (Maternity Cover) in London

We are looking for an interim People & Culture Director to lead our PROPER SNACKS’ People agenda during a period of parental leave. Working closely with the CEO and Senior Leadership Team, we need a passionate and agile people leader who will maintain pace against our people priorities while providing calm, values‑led leadership.

This person will be a passionate, authentic people leader who brings calm, clarity and credibility to how they operate. They will be energised by fast‑growth, challenger environments, willing to be extremely hands‑on (not just strategic) and operate with ambiguity. They will have the ability to step into an established strategy and team and quickly build trust, provide stability and have an impact. Communication is key in this role so they will confidently be a spokesperson for the business, managing change and bringing the right kind of energy to every situation.

The right person for this role will take a progressive approach to their People & Culture agenda, leading with sensitivity and integrity, consistently role‑modelling the behaviours and values we expect to see across the business. They will find energy in partnering with senior leaders, offering both support and healthy challenge. Finally, they will be collaborative, approachable and outcome‑focused, motivated by leaving things in a better place - for the team, the culture and PS.

This role is responsible for all our people, across PS’ London and Nuneaton sites. We have a team of 370 in total (200 Movers & Makers in the factory in Nuneaton and 170 in office‑based roles). The role will lead the People & Culture team (7 people) in the delivery of a broad people agenda, covering everything from Wellbeing to Reward, Learning & Development, Employee Relations and Compliance. Given the PS team is split across sites, the expectation is this person will spend one day per week in Nuneaton.

Responsibilities

• Act as custodian of PROPER’s People & Culture strategy and priorities, ensuring continuity and momentum across the maternity cover period.
• Partner closely with the CEO and Senior Leadership Team to provide smart, strategic support, help teams to perform at their best and navigate a fast‑growth, pacy environment.
• Lead the People & Culture team, providing inspiration and stability, while giving them the direction to deliver against agreed plans.
• Champion and role‑model PROPER SNACKS’ culture and values, ensuring they are consistently lived across teams and sites.
• Oversee delivery of key people activity across the full employee lifecycle, including engagement, wellbeing, reward, development and performance.
• Maintain focus on JEDI, wellbeing and community impact, activities which are core to how we operate as a purpose‑led business and proud B Corp.
• Provide oversight and guidance on all organisational design and workforce planning activity ensuring alignment to business needs and budgets.
• Run a slick People Planning process for 2027, working effectively with the SLT to form strategic, commercial people recommendations and the finance team to build the budget.
• Ensure a clear, compelling Employer Value Proposition continues to be embedded and communicated internally and externally.
• Maintain rigour around people data, reporting and insight to enable sound decision‑making and visibility of progress.
• Ensure strong people governance and compliance, proactively managing risk while enabling the business to move quickly.
• Provide a thoughtful, well‑structured handover at the end of the maternity cover period to ensure a smooth transition back into role.

Requirements

• Significant experience in a People / HR / People & Culture Senior Leadership Role (Director or CPO), ideally within a fast‑growth or challenger business.
• Proven experience operating as a trusted advisor to CEOs and Senior Leadership Teams.
• Strong track record across broad people agendas, not just certain specialisms.
• Experience joining organisations mid‑cycle or in interim / maternity cover roles is a plus, with the ability to add value quickly while maintaining continuity.
• Proven ability to lead and support high‑performing teams through periods of change.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law, governance and compliance.
• Commercially astute, with confidence using people data and insight to inform decisions.

PROPER and Eat Real is an equal opportunities employer and we do not discriminate on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, gender reassignment, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, disability, or age. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to accommodate you to participate fully in the recruitment or interview process.