Talent Lead in Southampton

We are using and creating technology to transform operations at sea to enable people and the planet to thrive. We are open-minded and fearless in our approach to innovation and don’t believe in boundaries. We challenge everything and have massive ambitions to drag aging industries into the tech era. We take safety, equality and education very seriously, and our responsibilities don’t stop at our front door. Our business is built on the belief that there’s definitely a more environmentally responsible way to operate at sea. We employ people who share our core values. We expect our people to be courageous, trustworthy, and conscientious, driven by a desire to do the right thing. We strive for excellence, work collaboratively, and are genuinely excited by our work. We offer opportunities for our people to develop beyond their role and span a multitude of disciplines. These are open to all, regardless of background and experience level. Working with us means being part of a team that is harnessing technology and creativity to disrupt a traditional industry. We are not your average workplace.

Ocean Infinity is seeking a Talent Lead to transform how we attract, hire, develop and retain the people we need to deliver our mission. This is a strategic role that sets direction, governance and operating cadence across the talent lifecycle—ensuring frameworks for attraction and hiring, learning, EVP, development and skills optimisation are aligned to workforce priorities and embedded consistently across the organisation. You will partner closely with senior leaders and HRBPs to raise the bar, improve outcomes using data and technology, and build a talent approach that scales with the business.

What will you do:

• Provide functional leadership across Talent Acquisition, People Development and Early Careers—setting priorities, ways of working and standards, and ensuring delivery is effective through clear governance and partnership.
• Define and deliver Ocean Infinity’s global talent strategy and operating plan, aligned to business strategy, workforce priorities and capability needs.
• Optimise the use of technology and data to improve the effectiveness and consistency of talent processes (e.g., quality, speed and experience) across the Talent remit.
• Shape and govern frameworks across hiring, development, performance, engagement and retention—ensuring we optimise existing and potential skills and experience.
• Develop and implement effective Early Careers opportunities where needed across Ocean Infinity.
• Partner with HRBPs and business leaders to support initiatives such as succession planning and identification of high performance and high potential to identify skills gaps and future workforce needs.
• Plan and implement talent pipeline initiatives for critical roles.
• Drive initiatives that strengthen EVP and foster belonging, performance and retention.
• Oversee L&D to ensure capability-building programmes align with strategic priorities such as cross-skilling.
• Drive leadership development and career pathways.
• Equip managers with tools to support high performing teams.

Who you are:

• A transformation-minded talent leader: you have raised standards, simplified ways of working and embedded new practices in a growing or changing organisation.
• Strong experience across the talent lifecycle (attraction, hiring, onboarding, development and retention), with depth in either Talent Acquisition or L&D and proven ability to lead the other through a team and cross-functional partners.
• Able to set a clear talent strategy and translate it into an operating plan: governance, prioritisation, standards, reporting, and an effective operating cadence with leaders and HRBPs.
• Strong organisational development and people frameworks capability—able to build practical toolkits and enable managers to hire well, develop people and lead performance.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills—credible with senior leaders, able to challenge constructively and build alignment across diverse groups.
• Data- and systems-minded: you use insight, metrics and technology to improve quality, speed and experience (e.g., time to hire, quality of hire, internal mobility, retention, learning impact).

Salary for this position: Up to £90,000 per annum. The salary varies for this position as we are recruiting in multiple regional locations and job grades. The salary process is based on skills, abilities, and experience required.

What you can expect:

At Ocean Infinity, we believe in creating equal opportunities for all, celebrating each and everyone’s differences. We are driven by transforming the industry, through our technology, thoughts, behaviours and actions. Being inclusive and respectful to all is fundamental to who we are. It is the right thing to do and enables innovation and creativity to thrive. There is more work to be done, and we know that we aren’t perfect, but our commitment to these values is unwavering. They are central to our mission and the impact we have on the industry, meaning, we cannot live without them.