Head of People in Slough

About the Profs

The Profs is an award-winning and innovative EdTech business providing higher education tutoring and admissions consulting to clients and institutions around the world. As we continue our next phase of growth, we are looking for an exceptional Head of People and Talent who will help us continue to attract top candidates as we scale, while shaping and strengthening The Profs’ company culture.

Our Company

Since our founding in 2015, The Profs has been driven by a clear mission: to combine exceptional tutoring with innovative technology to help students achieve their personal and academic goals.

Our commitment to excellence has been consistently recognised, with The Profs ranked as Trustpilot’s highest-rated tutoring company for eight consecutive years. We’ve been named the UK’s top tutoring company by Education Investor, listed among the UK’s Top 100 Startups, and received an innovation grant from the Department for Education. Our founders have also been celebrated with awards including Forbes 30 Under 30 and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

We don’t see this as a traditional HR role. We understand the impact that a strong culture can have across every area of the business, and this is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious People professional to help define what culture means at The Profs and embed our core values throughout the employee lifecycle.

You will partner closely with our Senior Leadership Team to develop practical, commercially-minded people strategies that improve hiring, employee experience, leadership capability and organisational effectiveness.

You'll be the business's trusted expert on both People and Recruitment, bringing the experience and confidence to advise senior leaders on best practice whilst building scalable processes that support a growing, high-performing organisation.

The Opportunity

In this multifaceted role, you will be responsible for building on the successful recruitment function we have built over the last 4 years. We are proud of the teams we have created from our talent department and we want someone who can continue to build on this success, ensuring we are always sourcing the highest quality talent.

You will take ownership of our employee recruitment strategy, ensuring we continue to attract and select high-quality candidates as the company grows. You will also contribute to our approach to tutor recruitment, working with the relevant teams to improve how we source, assess and engage the tutors who deliver our services.

You will take ownership of our employee recruitment strategy, ensuring we continue to attract and select high-quality candidates as the company grows. You will also contribute to our approach to tutor recruitment, working with the relevant teams to improve how we source, assess and engage the tutors who deliver our services.

You will lead and develop the People team, creating a supportive and enjoyable environment in which the team can perform at its best. Across the wider business, you will be a trusted sounding board for department heads, providing clear and practical guidance on recruitment, management and employee matters.

A major part of the opportunity will be shaping our long-term People & Talent strategy. Working closely with the Senior Leadership Team, you will turn our business growth plans into a clear plan for the organisation we need to build: the roles and capabilities we will need, how and when we recruit them, how we develop and retain high-performing employees, and how our structure, leadership and ways of working should evolve.

Your goal will be to ensure The Profs have the people, skills and management capability required to sustain substantial revenue growth, while continuing to become an increasingly rewarding and enjoyable place to work.

Key Responsibilities

People Strategy & Organisational Development

• Advise the Senior Leadership Team on People strategy, organisational design and workforce planning.
• Develop and deliver a People strategy that supports the company's commercial objectives.
• Build scalable people processes that improve consistency, efficiency and employee experience.
• Identify opportunities to improve how teams operate and collaborate across the business.

Recruitment & Talent

• Bring strategic knowledge and hands-on recruitment expertise to the design of hiring processes.
• Own and continuously improve the company's recruitment strategy and hiring processes.
• Partner with department leaders to identify future hiring needs and succession plans.
• Design high-quality recruitment processes, interview frameworks and assessment methods.
• Continuously raise hiring quality whilst improving speed and candidate experience.
• Develop recruitment reporting and analytics to support data-driven hiring decisions.

Employee Experience & Culture

• Continue developing an exceptional employee experience throughout the entire employee lifecycle.
• Design initiatives that improve engagement, wellbeing and retention.
• Own employee engagement surveys and turn feedback into meaningful action.
• Help create a culture where people feel supported, challenged and able to perform at their best.
• Develop initiatives that make The Profs an increasingly enjoyable and desirable place to work.

Leadership Partnership

• Act as a trusted advisor to the Senior Leadership Team on all People and Recruitment matters.
• Coach managers to become confident, effective leaders.
• Provide commercially balanced guidance on employee relations, performance and organisational challenges.
• Develop practical management frameworks that enable leaders to manage their teams consistently and effectively.
• Support organisational change with a people-first but commercially realistic approach.

Performance & Development

• Continue evolving the company's performance management framework.
• Develop clear career progression and development pathways.
• Improve onboarding, probation, feedback and review processes.
• Create learning and development initiatives that support both individual and business growth.
• Ensure managers have the tools to develop high-performing teams.

People Operations & Best Practice

• Ensure all People processes remain legally compliant whilst remaining practical and commercially effective.
• Oversee employment policies, documentation and HR systems.
• Advise the business on UK employment law and evolving People best practice.
• Lead employee relations matters where appropriate, always aiming for fair, pragmatic outcomes.
• Ensure operational excellence across the People function.

Continuous Improvement

• Continually review and improve People and Recruitment processes.
• Use data and feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Introduce initiatives that increase efficiency, improve employee experience and support business growth.
• Build systems that reduce unnecessary administration and allow managers to focus on leading their teams.
• Keep the People function proactive, modern and commercially focused.

About You

You'll likely have:

• 4+ years recruitment and talent acquisition experience
• 4+ years people/HR experience
• Excellent knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Chartered Membership to CIPD Level 5 or equivalent formal training or qualification.
• Experience building and improving people processes within a growing organisation.
• Strong commercial judgement and an ability to balance employee experience with business objectives.
• Excellent communication, coaching and influencing skills.
• A pragmatic, solutions-focused approach with a genuine passion for improving organisations.
• The confidence to challenge constructively and influence senior stakeholders.

We'd Love It If You Also Have

• Experience leading a People or HR function.
• Experience within a high-growth or scaling business.
• Experience designing organisational structures.
• Experience building People analytics and reporting.
• Experience leading employee engagement initiatives.
• CIPD Level 5 or Level 7 qualification (or working towards).

Success in the Role

Within your first 12 months, you will:

• Establish yourself as a trusted advisor to the Senior Leadership Team.
• Effectively manage any HR concerns that need resolving, where necessary.
• Continue evolving a best-in-class recruitment function.
• Improve workforce planning across departments.
• Build scalable People processes that support future business growth.
• Enhance manager capability through coaching and practical frameworks.
• Improve employee engagement, retention and development.
• Introduce initiatives that make The Profs an even better place to work.
• Position the People function as a strategic partner that enables business performance through great people, effective processes and strong leadership.

Our Ideal Person

We are looking for an ambitious self-starter who wants to make a meaningful impact by shaping the future of Talent and Culture at The Profs. In keeping with our ethos, you will be committed to your own personal and professional growth, confident in turning ideas into action, and passionate about encouraging creativity and initiative across your team.

You'll be equally comfortable discussing organisational strategy with senior leaders, coaching managers, redesigning recruitment processes, improving employee experience and creating practical systems that make the business operate more effectively.

You understand that exceptional People teams don't exist to create bureaucracy - they exist to remove friction, build great processes, support great leaders and create an environment where people and businesses can perform at their best.

Most importantly, you'll be passionate about helping The Profs become an increasingly enjoyable, high-performing and desirable place to work, whilst ensuring our People and Recruitment functions continue to support ambitious commercial growth.