Dynamic Head of People Operations

Overview

Looking for a role where you can make a real impact? Help us set new standards in the People Operations realm, driving change that matters. Join us and be part of a team where your insights will directly shape our strategic direction. Read on! (this will be a long write up but we like to give you all the details before you spend your time applying)

Laminar Projects is an award winning consultancy that implements technology to improve the delivery of complex construction projects. We also have a separate product team, Shape Construction, that develops construction management software products. Our core focus is people—we recruit kind and authentic people who are fast learners, and we design a place optimized for the flourishing of the people in the team.

Laminar Projects is proud to be recognized as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Construction, Engineering & Property for 2024. Join a team where learning, collaboration, and growth are at the core of everything we do, and where solving big challenges is part of the fun.

The Role

Purpose of the role

This role is for a builder. You will partner closely with senior leaders across the business as a trusted advisor, helping shape and scale a People Operations function that grows. As we move through our next phase of expansion, you’ll tackle complex people challenges, design practical solutions, and turn strategy into action.

You’ll own and evolve our People Ops infrastructure, policies, and practices—including global mobility, visas, and immigration—ensuring they are robust, compliant, scalable, and deeply human. This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, brings a strategic lens to problem solving, and enjoys creating systems that enable people and the business to do their best work.

Team

People Operations is the engine behind our growth. We build the infrastructure that allows our business to scale without losing what makes it special. As culture shapers and problem-solvers, we challenge the status quo, anticipate what’s coming next, and create people solutions that push the business forward. We operate with urgency, ownership, and a deep belief that great operations unlock great performance. Reporting directly to the Senior Director, you’ll play a key role in scaling the function—strengthening operational excellence, influencing leaders, and helping define how we grow, evolve, and win together.

Your top 3 objectives

• Enable organisational efficiency through best-in-class People Operations
• Create scalable, repeatable systems that support continued global growth
• Develop yourself and others, building a high-performing, trusted People Ops function

Your Top 5 Responsibilities

• Lead core People Operations at scale. Own and continuously improve complex People Ops processes including employee lifecycle management, global compensation and benefits, policy frameworks, compliance, governance, and UK and international visa and immigration processes. Partner with external providers and internal stakeholders to ensure compliant, efficient, and employee-centric mobility solutions.
• Build and optimise systems. Evaluate, implement, and optimise HR systems and tools (HRIS, reporting, workflows) to drive efficiency, automation, and data-driven decision-making.
• Provide insight and direction. Develop meaningful people analytics, KPIs, and reports that inform leadership decisions and enable proactive workforce planning.
• Design scalable solutions. Create repeatable best practices, templates, and operating models that support a growing, distributed organisation.
• Develop people and capability. Own and evolve our development and performance review processes, ensuring clear expectations, meaningful feedback, and strong performance as we scale.

Your Capabilities

You are a seasoned People Operations leader who combines strategic thinking with operational excellence. You are comfortable navigating complexity, influencing senior stakeholders and rolling up your sleeves when needed. You move fluidly between leader, advisor and executor, always grounded in data, empathy and sound judgement.

As a candidate, you should have

• Deep expertise across core HR disciplines, with a strong grounding in UK employment law, policies, and compliance
• Practical experience owning UK employment compliance frameworks and immigration sponsorship obligations (e.g., Skilled Worker licence management)
• Experience operating in scaling organisations (e.g. 20→300, 20→400+)
• Solid experience in compensation strategy and benchmarking to ensure market competitiveness, internal equity and transparent pay frameworks
• Proven experience leading and advising on complex employee relations matters, including disciplinary processes, grievances, performance management (PIPs), and terminations, with sound judgement and a strong compliance lens

Nice to Have

• Experience in consulting, construction, engineering, or similar project-based environments
• Experience supporting global mobility, international hires, or cross-border employment models (EORs, sponsorships, relocations) in fast-growing environments
• Confident influencing senior stakeholders and presenting complex topics simply
• Experience acting as a trusted advisor to founders or executive teams
• Track record of building people functions that scale without losing humanity

Laminar isn’t the place for you if any of the following is true

• You want an easy, chilled-out role without much challenge
• You like to be the smartest person in the room
• You don’t like continuously receiving honest candid feedback
• You prefer to do your own thing rather than work with a team

At Laminar we value diverse experiences and perspectives, empowering each member to contribute their unique expertise towards our collective success. If you don’t think you meet all the criteria but you’re excited about this role, we encourage you to apply anyway.

Salary And Benefits

Standard Stuff

• Competitive salary dependent on location and capability
• Paid Annual Leave 25 days + statutory Bank Holidays
• Pension (Match contribution up to 7%)
• Private health insurance
• Discretionary bonus scheme for all team members

The Life-Changing Stuff

• Flexibility: Getting things done is what really matters, not what time of day you do it. You don’t have to ask permission for things like picking up your kids or going to the doctor—just keep your team in the loop if you think they will be affected.
• Grow your whole self: Leaders are coaches and one of our main objectives is to give five years’ worth of learning and development for every one year with us. You will have a coach, mentor, well-being therapist and a development-oriented environment.
• Be surrounded by the best: We hire and retain the very best people. You will be surrounded by people you can learn from. We are meritocratic; fast progression is the norm. You will be supported to excel in your areas of interest. Development is unbounded.
• Long-term impact: We are solving the biggest issues in construction project delivery with a lasting impact.

Application

We get thousands of applications, so please write a short letter as part of your application explaining:

• Why do you want to join us?
• If you joined, where do you think you could make the most impact and how?

We aren’t a giant faceless corporation; we really care about the people who want to join our team, so all applications will be read thoroughly by our key leaders. We usually start with an intro call to tell you what we are all about in a casual conversation. We may use AI tools to support parts of the hiring process, but final hiring decisions are made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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