Head of Human Resources in London

Head of HR

Location

Purley, South London (Hybrid – 3 days office / 2 days home)

Reports to

• Company Director
• Permanent position - 3 days in the office, 2 from home
• Company Overview

We are a family-owned international creative services business with over 35 years’ experience supporting some of the world’s leading retailers and FMCG brands.

Specialising in brand strategy, packaging design, artwork, localisation and creative production, the business delivers end-to-end creative solutions from concept through to shelf across multiple international markets.

Headquartered in South London, with an international presence across Europe and the USA, our company is experiencing an exciting period of growth, driven by the continued expansion of its international client base and ambitious plans for the future.

Job Summary

With a growing workforce and a strong reputation for innovation, quality and long-term client partnerships, we are now looking to appoint an experienced Head of HR to lead the people strategy, strengthen the HR function and build the foundations required to support the next stage of the company’s growth.

Reporting directly to the Directors and forming part of the Senior Leadership Team, the Head of HR will lead our people strategy, ensuring the business attracts, develops and retains exceptional talent whilst remaining legally compliant, commercially focused and operationally effective.

• Overall Responsibilities
• HR Function Leadership & Operations
• Lead, develop and continually improve the HR function, ensuring a high-performing, professional and commercially focused service.
• Oversee all HR operations, ensuring processes remain efficient, compliant, scalable and fit for purpose.
• Build and embed HR frameworks, policies and processes that support the company’s continued growth.
• Manage the HR budget, ensuring effective allocation of resources across people initiatives, reward, training, employee engagement and external partnerships.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation across HR systems and processes.
• Oversee HR Information Systems (HRIS), ensuring accurate employee data, reporting capability and ongoing process improvements.
• Ensure employee records, contracts, policies and HR documentation remain accurate, compliant and professionally maintained.
• Strategic People Leadership
• Develop and deliver a comprehensive People Strategy aligned with the company’s commercial objectives and future growth plans.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the Directors and Senior Leadership Team on all people-related matters.
• Partner with leadership teams on organisational growth, workforce planning and future capability requirements.
• Lead organisational design, succession planning and change management initiatives.
• Identify future skills requirements, talent risks and workforce priorities.
• Provide strategic insight and recommendations to support business decision-making.
• Build a scalable HR function that supports international growth and evolving organisational needs.
• Culture, Engagement & Employee Experience
• Champion a positive, high-performing and values-led culture across the organisation.
• Develop initiatives that improve employee engagement, retention and overall employee experience.
• Support the business in creating an environment where employees can thrive and perform at their best.
• Promote diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the organisation.
• Partner with leaders to strengthen communication, collaboration and employee engagement.
• International HR Strategy & Compliance
• Lead HR strategy across UK and international operations.
• Ensure employment practices remain compliant across UK, USA and European territories.
• Support international expansion through effective people frameworks and scalable HR practices.
• Maintain knowledge of relevant employment legislation across different territories.
• Work with external legal advisers and specialist partners where required.
• Workforce Planning, Talent Strategy & Recruitment Partnership
• Own workforce planning and future capability requirements aligned with business growth.
• Oversee the organisation’s talent strategy, ensuring effective attraction, retention and succession planning.
• Partner with Directors and hiring managers to understand future talent requirements.
• Work with trusted recruitment partners to ensure a strategic approach to attracting, assessing and securing key talent.
• Provide oversight of recruitment strategy, employer branding and candidate experience.
• Ensure recruitment approaches reflect the company’s values, culture and long-term objectives.
• Support senior and executive recruitment requirements where appropriate.
• Performance Management, Learning & Development
• Own and continually improve the company’s performance management framework.
• Support senior leaders in developing high-performing teams.
• Coach managers on effective people leadership, feedback and performance conversations.
• Develop leadership capability across the organisation.
• Oversee learning and development priorities and annual training investment.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, coaching and professional development.
• Support career pathways and succession planning.
• Employee Relations & Employment Law
• Maintain expert knowledge of UK employment legislation and awareness of relevant US and European employment requirements.
• Lead complex employee relations matters including grievances, disciplinaries, capability, absence management, appeals and organisational change.
• Provide commercially balanced employment law advice to managers and senior leaders.
• Manage relationships with external employment advisers where required.
• Ensure policies, procedures, contracts and employee documentation remain legally compliant and aligned with best practice.
• Own and regularly review the Employee Handbook and HR policies.
• Compliance, Governance & Risk
• Ensure compliance with all relevant UK, USA and European employment legislation.
• Oversee right-to-work checks, visa requirements and international employment compliance.
• Maintain GDPR compliance across all HR activities.
• Support ISO compliance through robust HR documentation and governance.
• Ensure the business remains audit-ready across HR processes and records.
• Review HR risks and implement appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Ensure Health & Safety responsibilities are effectively managed across all people-related processes.
• Payroll, Benefits & Reward
• Oversee accurate payroll delivery across UK and international operations.
• Manage relationships with payroll providers and external partners.
• Oversee pension administration and employee benefits.
• Review and develop benefits programmes to ensure competitiveness.
• Partner with the Senior Leadership Team on salary reviews and remuneration planning.
• Benchmark salaries, benefits and market trends to support attraction and retention.
• HR Reporting, Analytics & Business Insight
• Produce and analyse HR metrics including turnover, retention, recruitment, absence, engagement, diversity, training and performance.
• Present meaningful HR insights and strategic recommendations to the Senior Leadership Team.
• Use data to support workforce planning and business decisions.
• Produce monthly and ad hoc HR reports.
• Benchmark market trends, salaries and organisational requirements.
• Leadership & Stakeholder Management
• Lead and develop the HR function, ensuring high standards of professionalism, service and continuous improvement.
• Build trusted relationships with managers across the business, providing pragmatic and commercially focused advice.
• Act as the senior HR representative within the Senior Leadership Team.
• Contribute to wider business planning and strategic decision-making.
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Skills & Experience

• CIPD qualification (ideally Level 5 or above) is desirable, however equivalent senior HR leadership experience will be considered.
• Minimum of 5 years’ HR experience, including experience operating at a senior HR level within a commercially focused, growing international organisation.
• Proven experience leading and developing an HR function, with the ability to build and shape the function as the business evolves.
• Experience managing and developing an HR team, with the ability to identify future resource requirements and build a high-performing HR structure.
• Experience supporting an international business environment is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law with exposure to US and European legislation.
• Experience managing complex employee relations matters, providing balanced and commercially focused advice.
• Experience developing and implementing HR strategy, organisational change and people initiatives.
• Experience overseeing payroll, reward and benefits.
• Strong commercial awareness and business judgement, with the ability to operate as a trusted adviser to Directors and senior stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast-paced, changing environment
• Personal Attributes
• Strategic, commercially aware and forward-thinking.
• High levels of integrity, professionalism and discretion.
• Inspirational and collaborative leader.
• Strong business judgement with a pragmatic approach.
• Excellent communicator and influencer at all levels.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail.
• Results-driven with strong project management skills.
• Passionate about developing people and creating a positive, high-performing culture.
• Calm, resilient and adaptable under pressure.
• Friendly, approachable and committed to continuous improvement.
• Comfortable working independently whilst collaborating effectively with internal and external partners.