Culture & Engagement Manager - HaysMac in London

HaysMac is an award-winning firm of chartered accountants and tax advisors, with 40 partners and over 500 staff, providing advice and services to entrepreneurs, fast-growing and owner-managed businesses, charities and not for profit organisations across the UK and internationally. From our trainees to our partners, our culture of support and progression means we grow together as one firm to best help our clients.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The Culture & Engagement Manager/Lead will play a pivotal role in shaping and strengthening our firm's culture. Acting as a trusted partner to the Management Team, you will lead initiatives that foster employee engagement, champion wellbeing and DEI strategies, and ensure clear, consistent communication across the organisation.

• Provide project and operational support to the Management Team on projects aligned to culture and change.
• Work closely with the Management Team to identify key areas of communication to the wider firm, supporting the sector and department heads in cascading those messages.
• Work closely with Management Team to advise on the direction of DEI strategy.
• Support communication planning for firmwide updates and strategic messages, ensuring clarity and consistency.

Culture, Wellbeing & DEI

• Deliver the firm's wellbeing and DEI strategy in collaboration with wider stakeholders and the Management Team.
• Lead Wellbeing & DEI sessions during quarterly inductions and Early Talent inductions.
• Implement recommendations from our recent DEI Audit and drive meaningful change.
• Identify cultural development opportunities and propose impactful strategies to strengthen inclusion and engagement.
• Work closely with the Chief People Officer and People Business Partners to address wellbeing concerns and DEI trends, analyse data, and develop solutions.
• Drive employee engagement through comprehensive survey programmes (new starter, leaver, bi-annual firmwide, and pulse surveys), ensuring high participation rates. Analyse results, create actionable recommendations, and develop quarterly dashboards and reports for the Management Team. Share insights in firmwide briefings and departmental meetings where relevant.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition and Early Talent teams to embed inclusivity and equity throughout recruitment processes, assessment centres, and attraction strategies.
• Lead DEI partnerships and outreach initiatives in local schools, promoting the HaysMac brand in line with firm values.
• Oversee committees and firmwide initiatives, providing guidance and aligning all activities with firmwide values and strategies.
• Partner with the Marketing team on external DEI, wellbeing, and culture PR, including website content for the Culture and DEI pages and award submissions.

Internal Communications in relation to people engagement and culture

• Develop and own the internal people communications strategy in partnership with the Marketing and Business Development Director.
• Ensure messaging is clear, consistent, and aligned with strategic priorities and values.
• Lead communications for firm-wide initiatives, including change programmes.
• Design and deliver culture-building programmes, events, and engagement activities.
• Drive post-survey communication plans and embed inclusive practices across the firm.
• Support EVP and brand awareness initiatives, particularly for early talent.

Learning and Development Collaboration

• Work in an advisory capacity to the L&D team to embed learning strategies throughout the employee lifecycle, from onboarding to career development.
• Support the design and delivery of inclusive leadership and line manager training and/or coaching.
• Ensure cultural and engagement initiatives are integrated into training content to reinforce firm values.
• Collaborate on programmes that promote continuous learning and professional growth across all levels.

Cultural Diversity

• Champion initiatives that celebrate and respect cultural diversity between the London and Cape Town offices.
• Develop engagement activities and communications that reflect local cultural nuances while maintaining a unified firm identity.
• Facilitate cross-office collaboration and knowledge sharing to strengthen global connectivity and inclusion.
• Monitor feedback and engagement trends across both locations to ensure equitable experiences for all employees.

Talent Acquisition

• Support graduate cohort integration and engagement.
• Work alongside the recruitment team to ensure that the firm's culture is embedded in our EVP branding.

Policy

• Support the implementation, awareness, communication and development of all People policies.

You will have

• Proven experience driving culture, engagement, and DEI initiatives within a corporate or professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of organisational behaviour and how to influence cultural change effectively.
• Ability to design and deliver strategies that embed inclusive and healthy ways of working across diverse teams.
• Expertise in employee engagement, including survey analysis and translating insights into actionable improvements.
• Skilled in building relationships and influencing stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills to articulate cultural priorities and inspire engagement.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to balance long-term cultural goals with immediate business needs.
• High level of adaptability and creativity to develop innovative solutions for cultural challenges.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret data and trends, informing decisions and measuring impact.
• Passion for fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and high-performing workplace culture.

What you'll need to succeed

• Ability to think strategically and align cultural initiatives with the organisation's long-term goals.
• Strong influencing skills with confidence to engage and inspire stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership.
• Competence in using data to inform decisions, interpreting engagement and wellbeing metrics to measure impact.
• Exceptional communication skills to deliver clear, persuasive, and inclusive messaging across multiple channels.
• Excellent project management skills to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously and deliver on time.
• Adaptability and resilience to thrive in a fast-paced environment and navigate organisational change.
• Creative problem-solving skills to develop innovative ideas for cultural and engagement challenges.
• Strong collaboration skills to work effectively with HR, L&D, Marketing, and other business areas.
• A genuine passion for people and inclusion, ensuring an engaging and high-performing workplace culture.
• High attention to detail.

Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, age, marital status, background, pregnancy, or caring responsibilities. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought within our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of neurocognitive variation. We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, please email recruitment@haysmac.com.