People & Culture Manager

At Ongo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We’re looking for a People & Culture Manager to join our supportive and experienced People & Culture team and help make Ongo a great place to work. You’ll provide day‐to‐day leadership of the People & Culture function, supporting managers and colleagues with high‐quality, values‐led people advice across the employee lifecycle. You’ll play a key role in shaping culture, driving engagement and ensuring our people practices are fair, compliant and people‐centred.

If you’re an experienced people professional who enjoys leading others, building strong relationships and making a real difference to workplace culture, we’d love to hear from you.

• Agile working to support a healthy work‐life balance
• 30 days annual leave, plus an extra day off for your birthday
• A generous pension scheme
• Volunteering time to give back to our communities
• Being part of a company recognised by Best Companies for outstanding levels of colleague engagement
• Enhanced sick pay and maternity/paternity pay
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Housing Perks (access to discounts against major retailers)
• Car lease scheme and Cycle to work scheme

The People and Culture Manager is accountable for leading and delivering a high‐performing, values‐led workforce that enables Ongo to achieve its Corporate Plan, strategies, and objectives. The role provides strategic direction and hands‐on leadership across the employee lifecycle, ensuring people practices are legally compliant and focused on performance, engagement, inclusion, and wellbeing. Acting as a trusted adviser to the Leadership Team, the role provides insight on organisational culture, workforce strategy, employee relations, reward, learning and development, and organisational change, while leading the People and Culture function to deliver a consistent, high‐quality and customer‐focused service across the Group.

• Leadership, Culture and Governance
  • Provide strong, visible, and values-led leadership to the People and Culture team, fostering a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous improvement.
  • Develop, implement and review Ongo’s people strategies, policies, procedures, and guidance, ensuring they remain fit for purpose, legally compliant and aligned to best practice.
  • Ensure the People and Culture function plays a leading role in shaping, embedding, and sustaining the desired organisational culture and behaviours.
  • Ensure appropriate People and Culture input into all corporate strategies, reviews, working groups and transformation programmes.
  • Play a key role in supporting the Group’s Governance & Remuneration Committee, including preparation of reports, advice and recommendations on people matters.
  • Monitor people metrics, trends, and risks, using insight to inform decision-making, assurance, and continuous improvement.
• Employee Relations, Consultation and Trade Unions
  • Lead and oversee all complex employee relations activity, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, attendance, and ill-health cases, ensuring outcomes are fair, consistent, and legally robust.
  • Provide clear, consistent advice, coaching and challenge to managers and leaders on employee relations matters in line with Ongo policies and current employment legislation.
  • Ensure effective colleague consultation arrangements are in place and lead consultation and negotiation with recognised Trade Unions and employee representatives on all employment-related matters.
• Reward & Recognition, Payroll and Pensions
  • Develop and deliver Ongo’s Reward and Recognition policy and frameworks that recognise skills, capability, experience and performance, and support attraction and retention.
  • Lead, coordinate, and oversee the salary benchmarking process, liaising with external benchmarking consultants and managers to assure data integrity, ensuring outcomes are effectively governed, communicated, and pay adjusted accordingly in line with the Reward and Recognition Policy.
  • Group lead for pensions, providing strategic oversight of Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution schemes, auto-enrolment, and compliance with pension regulatory requirements.
  • Ensure the Group’s payroll is managed and processed correctly, promptly, and in accordance with legal regulations.
• Organisational Development, Learning and Talent
  • Lead the design and delivery of Ongo’s Learning and Competency Framework to build the skills, behaviours, competency, and capability of the workforce.
  • Develop, implement, and maintain talent management and succession planning programmes for the Group.
  • Create, implement, and continuously improve leadership and management development programmes aligned to business needs.
  • Develop and implement a training needs analysis process aligned to the performance management framework, producing a prioritised and deliverable training plan.
  • Oversee and continuously improve learning and development activity, including corporate and management inductions.
  • Lead and ensure the ongoing development, quality, and success of the Group’s Apprenticeship programme.
• Engagement, Inclusion and Change
  • Lead employee engagement initiatives and turn insight into clear, measurable actions that drive engagement, performance, and cultural improvement.
  • Champion equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring policies, practices and behaviours promote fairness, belonging and opportunity for all.
  • Lead and support organisational change activity, including restructures, organisational reviews, and TUPE transfers, ensuring effective consultation, clear communication, and colleague support throughout.

• Significant senior-level strategic HR / People leadership experience.
• Comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of UK employment law, HR policies, procedures, and people strategy.
• Expertise in employee relations, including complex casework and Trade Union negotiation.
• Strong experience of organisational development, workforce planning, culture change, TUPE and learning and development.
• Ability to identify, assess and mitigate people‐related risks, ensuring appropriate governance and assurance in place.
• Experience of working effectively with external advisers, regulators, and sector bodies on people‐related matters.
• Expert knowledge of reward, pensions (DB and DC), auto-enrolment, and payroll governance.
• Proven ability to influence, challenge and build strong relationships.
• Successful track record of leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Budget and contract management.
• Confidence to provide constructive challenge and independent professional judgement in high‐risk or sensitive situations.
• Strong commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• High levels of integrity, discretion, professionalism, and sound judgement.
• Experience of improving people processes and services through effective use of HR systems and digital solutions.
• CIPD qualified to a minimum of Level 5 (or equivalent experience).
• ILM (or equivalent) qualification in Leadership and Management (desirable).

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS NOON TUESDAY 5 MAY. INTERVIEWS WILL BE HELD THURSDAY 14 MAY.

We want our organisation to reflect the communities we serve, and we actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds.