Associate Director, HR in London

Job Description

HR Associate Director

London (Hybrid)

Initial 3 months, with view to extend

Day rate negotioble DoE

Your New Role

Our client are seeking an experienced HR Associate Director to

provide strategic and operational HR leadership across the

Faculty. Working closely with senior academic and professional

services leaders, you will develop and deliver people strategies

that support the School’s wider objectives, acting as a senior

and trusted HR partner on complex people matters, organisational

change, workforce planning, employee relations, academic career

processes and HR governance. You will lead and develop the

Faculty HR team, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality,

consistent and customer-focused HR service. The role has broad

responsibility for Faculty people activity, including recruitment

and onboarding, promotion and tenure, performance and reward,

workforce planning, professional development, employee relations,

HR policy, governance, financial planning and people data. You

will lead the development and delivery of the Faculty HR

strategy, provide expert advice to senior stakeholders and

identify opportunities to improve HR services, processes and

systems. You will also champion positive people practices,

collaboration, inclusion and organisational change, while

providing strategic oversight of recruitment, senior and academic

appointments, affiliate Faculty arrangements, induction and

onboarding. A key part of the role will be overseeing promotion,

tenure and academic review processes, ensuring these are fair,

consistent, transparent and aligned with School governance. You

will also lead Faculty performance management, salary review and

reward processes, support workforce planning and resource

forecasting, and use workforce and people data to inform

strategic decision-making.

Ensuring Your Success

Ideally, you will have significant senior-level HR experience,

with a strong track record of operating as a strategic HR partner

within a complex organisation. You will be confident advising

senior academic and professional services leaders on sensitive

and complex people matters, including employee relations cases

that may require external legal advice. Experience of

organisational change, workforce planning, recruitment, academic

career progression, promotion and tenure processes will be highly

desirable. You will have a strong understanding of HR governance,

employment legislation, policy and best practice, with the

ability to ensure processes are compliant, consistent and

effectively implemented. Strong leadership and people management

skills are essential, as you will lead, develop and provide

direction to the Faculty HR team while promoting continuous

improvement and strong stakeholder relationships. You will be

highly organised and commercially aware, with the ability to

oversee HR budgets, financial approvals, workforce costs and

resource allocation. Excellent communication, influencing and

relationship-building skills are essential, alongside the ability

to work collaboratively with senior leadership, central HR,

Finance, workforce planning, recruitment and talent teams,

academic committees and external professional advisers. A strong

understanding of HR data governance, reporting and the importance

of accurate and reliable people information will also be

important to your success in this position.

In Return

This is an excellent opportunity to take on a senior and

influential HR leadership position, providing strategic direction

across a Faculty and working closely with senior academic and

professional services leadership. You will have the opportunity

to shape people strategy, organisational effectiveness and HR

service delivery, while leading a dedicated Faculty HR team and

contributing to wider School priorities. The role offers

significant scope to influence recruitment, workforce planning,

academic career development, employee relations, reward,

governance and organisational change within a complex and

forward-thinking environment.