Head of, People Engineering Partner, Design in Woking

Join one of the most dynamic teams in Formula One as a key driver of people performance. As the Head of People Engineering Partner, you will be embedded in our high-performing Design & Electronics Teams, working side-by-side with leading technical minds to engineer a championship-winning culture. You will shape and deliver a progressive people engineering strategy that fuels innovation, sharpens competitive edge, and drives results on track. You will be a trusted strategic partner to senior leaders—crafting people-first solutions, challenging the norm, and translating high performance into team success. This isn’t traditional HR support; it’s hands-on, sleeves-up collaboration and people engineering that connects people initiatives directly to car performance.

Reporting to the Director of F1 People Engineering with direct report of a Senior Specialist, People Partner, you will navigate complex challenges, coach leaders, and influence culture across the Design and Electronics groups. You will also work closely with key People Engineers that support wider Technical, Production and Technology areas and our Finance, Talent, Engagement, and People Experience teams to pull on experience and expertise for activities. We work in a hybrid model, but real impact means being on-site, fully immersed in the team’s rhythm. If you’re commercially sharp, action-oriented, and driven to build a winning environment - this is where your people impact hits the podium.

Principal Accountabilities

• Partner closely with Design and Electronics senior leaders to embed strategic People Engineering, shaping and driving our People & Culture agenda from within.
• Act as a senior expert in navigating people-related challenges—pinpointing critical priorities and delivering practical, high-impact solutions.
• Stay agile in a fast-paced environment, adapting strategies to meet evolving business needs while aligning with the broader F1 People Engineering vision.
• Influence with confidence—earning stakeholder trust to champion new ways of working, lead key projects, and embed cultural transformation.
• Be the face of People Engineering for the Design and Electronics functions—owning strategic delivery and serving as the go-to partner for leaders, taking direction from the Director of F1 People Engineering and CPO where needed.
• Ensure excellent support below the Director level and guide Senior Specialists and any resources needed to maintain seamless delivery.

Strategic People Partnering

• Lead high-impact projects/actions that directly elevate team performance and productivity.
• Build strong, trust-led partnerships with senior leaders, offering embedded, close-proximity support.
• Champion a culture where creativity and experimentation are expected, not optional.
• Think ahead—anticipate future workforce needs and proactively shape agile people solutions.
• Become a deep expert in the Design & Electronics team model to offer insight-driven, credible recommendations that shape decision-making.
• Stay focused on strategic value—delegate or redirect lower-level matters through the wider people team roles.
• Use data and analytics to drive smarter, evidence-led people initiatives in line with the function strategy.

Operational Excellence

• Oversee employee relations, ensuring managers are equipped and confident, with expert escalation support and compliant practices.
• Partner with Finance and F1 People Engineering Director to align on budget planning, tracking and cost cap compliance and own this for your functions.
• Ensure optimal resourcing across the teams, aligned to business plans and operational demands.
• Lead salary and bonus cycles, partnering closely with People Experience.
• Proactively gauge employee engagement in functional areas and work with the broader People Team to provide solutions as required, using specialist resources where needed.
• Use people data to guide decisions and deliver against the function's requirements.

Org Design & Change Leadership

• Partner with senior leaders to evolve structures that are agile, efficient and future-fit.
• Lead organisational redesigns and role transformations using best practice and insight.
• Apply thoughtful change management to ensure minimal disruption and maximum impact.
• Optimise performance by tackling communication flows, interdependencies and capability.

Workforce Planning & Talent Strategy

• Align people plans to the functions ambitions—anticipating capability needs before they arise.
• Co-create workforce and attraction strategies with the Talent Team to fuel a future-ready pipeline.
• Lead and own the function's succession and talent planning and actions with a sharp focus on retention, promotion and risk reduction, ensuring it is budgeted accordingly.

Culture & Employee Experience

• Champion employee relations through meaningful engagement and strong communication—especially during change.
• Foster a safe, inclusive, values-led culture that supports wellbeing and aligns to the fundamentals of our performance culture.
• Drive D&I initiatives that resonate at every level of the function.
• Work on cross functional collaboration and cultural needs to improve relationships from track to factory.

Influence & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build trusted relationships across all levels—combining high service standards with strategic partnership.
• Influence and land high-impact people initiatives through seamless collaboration with the Design & Electronics stakeholders.

Communication & Development

• Deliver powerful, compelling messaging across multiple channels by working with your Leadership and People Engagement team on campaigns that engage and inspire.
• Champion continuous learning and upskilling, ensuring development and growth of the functions you support by way of effective learning and development activities, with particular focus on leadership capability and delivery, considering how much can be on-the-job learning and coaching and less about long-winded courses.
• Create tailored development and performance programmes that reflect the precision and rapid development cycles inherent to F1.
• Support in the growth and development of our Senior Specialists People Partners, People Advisors and Admin Assistants by mentoring, coaching, giving guidance and opportunities to support activities in your areas or on key shared projects across the F1 Team.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Proven HR leadership in elite motorsport, engineering, or high-performance sectors (F1 a plus).
• Broad, value-driven generalist HR expertise with a focus on culture, change, org design, and talent strategy.
• Track record of shaping and delivering pragmatic people strategies from concept to execution.
• Confident budget owner with workforce planning and development spend experience.
• Skilled at navigating fast-paced environments—bringing clarity, structure, and momentum.
• A natural influencer with a 'yes, if' mindset and sharp communication style.
• Experienced in supporting high-performance teams with autonomy.
• Highly organised, adaptable, and data-informed in approach.
• Proficient in MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and familiar with HR systems.
• CIPD Level 7 qualified—or equivalent hands-on experience.

Personal Attributes

• Winning mindset - relentlessly pushes boundaries in pursuit of excellence.
• Inquisitive problem-solver - thrives in ambiguity and finds creative, practical solutions.
• Results-driven - holds self and others to the highest standards.
• Credible leader - trusted, values-led, and respected across the business.
• Challenger - inspires innovation and sets bold expectations.
• Ownership - takes ownership and sees work through to completion, with a track record of getting things done.
• Collaborative - builds strong alliances to drive long-term success.
• Action-oriented - delivers consistently and decisively.
• Culture champion - drives inclusion, embodies the fundamentals of our performance culture.

What can McLaren offer?

We constantly strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. Our ambition is to be the most pioneering and exhilarating racing team in the world, and our collective task is to set the standards for high performance in sport. We show up every day with energy and enthusiasm, ready to play our part. We encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion. We will actively promote a culture that values difference and eliminates discrimination in our workplace. McLaren Racing is based at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) near Woking. Here at McLaren, we offer hybrid working with 3 days a week based in the MTC. Our state of the art, sustainable campus offers many facilities including a gym, restaurant and indoor and outdoor break-out areas, as well as direct access to park and common land. The MTC is connected to Woking mainline station via regular shuttle buses, from which London Waterloo is a 30 minute train ride. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including private healthcare, car schemes, life insurance and generous pension contributions.