London HR Director - Strategic Partner for Creative Studio

We are looking for an experienced HR Director to serve as the HR leader for Universal International Studios team based in London, with additional responsibility supporting our portfolio of international production companies. Reporting to the VP, Human Resources (Los Angeles), this position is high-impact and high-visibility. You will operate as the HR leader on the ground in London – trusted to act with significant autonomy while remaining closely connected to and aligned with the broader global HR organisation. You will sit at the heart of a dynamic, production-led business, partnering daily with Studio and Production leadership teams to influence decisions that shape our business. You will be a strategic advisor, thought partner, and coach to senior leaders – guiding them through moments of growth, change, and complexity, and ensuring the people strategy enables both creative ambition and commercial success. Success in this position requires confidence navigating ambiguity, comfort operating in grey areas, and the judgment to balance local business realities with global frameworks. Highly collaborative by nature, you will lead a team of HR professionals, foster strong cross-functional partnerships, and play an active role in the global HR leadership community. Above all, you will help build environments where creativity thrives, leaders perform at their best, and people feel connected, supported, and inspired to do their best work.

Responsibilities

• Act as the HR leader for Universal International Studios in London, providing strategic HR leadership and independent decision-making while collaborating closely with the VP of HR in Los Angeles.
• Develop and deliver people strategies that support Studio and Production business priorities across international markets, ensuring alignment with broader global HR principles.
• Partner closely with executive and senior leaders to shape culture, enable high performance, and drive organisational effectiveness in a creative, production-led environment.
• Operate effectively in complex and evolving business contexts, using sound judgment to navigate grey areas and competing priorities.
• Partner with leaders to design and implement organisational structures that support growth, creative excellence, and operational effectiveness across Studios and Production entities.
• Lead cultural and engagement initiatives that reflect both the creative nature of the business and Universal's values, adapting approaches to local and regional contexts.
• Leverage employee data, feedback, and insights to inform decision-making and continuously improve the employee experience.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to ensure belonging is embedded in ways of working and leadership expectations.
• Lead a team of HR employees to execute across business plans while supporting individual growth and development.
• Be a valued and active partner to the EVP Studio, forming part of the UIS SLT and leading by example across the International teams.
• Own workforce planning, talent identification, and succession planning for the International Studio team and supported production companies.
• Partner with Talent Development and Learning teams to create meaningful development pathways for creative, production, and corporate talent.
• Coach and advise leaders and employees at all levels, providing thoughtful, pragmatic guidance that balances empathy with business needs.
• Support hiring initiatives in partnership with Talent Acquisition, ensuring strong selection, onboarding, and integration practices globally.
• Lead complex and high-risk employee relations matters, applying strong employment law knowledge and sound judgment to deliver fair, timely, and appropriate outcomes.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders on sensitive people issues, conflict resolution, performance management, and change management.
• Identify themes and trends across employee relations matters and proactively address root causes through leader capability building and process improvement.
• Partner closely with Employment Legal, global HR colleagues, and external advisors as needed.
• Work closely with global HR partners to ensure consistency, collaboration, and best practice sharing.
• Be an active member of the local NBCU UK HR community, sharing information and contributing to joined team initiatives.
• Balance global consistency with local nuance, ensuring solutions are practical, relevant, and culturally informed.

Qualifications

• Proven experience at HR Director or equivalent senior level, with a strong track record of partnering with Executive and Senior Leadership teams.
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently as the senior HR leader within a location or market, while effectively reporting into a remote global leader.
• Extensive experience navigating complex people situations, ambiguity, and competing stakeholder interests with confidence and credibility.
• Strong background supporting creative, studio, media, or production-led environments across multiple geographies.
• Deep knowledge of UK employment law, with experience managing complex ER cases, change programmes, and organisational transformation.
• Proven success working within a highly matrixed, global organisation, collaborating across time zones and business functions.
• Exceptional relationship-building, influencing, and communication skills, with the ability to flex style across cultures and seniority levels.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to balance long-term people strategy with hands-on execution.
• Highly organised, solution-oriented, and resilient, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple complex priorities.
• A genuine passion for the "human" side of HR – empathetic, thoughtful, and committed to creating environments where creative talent and teams can thrive.
• All applicants must be able to provide documentation to prove they are able to work in the United Kingdom.