People Director in City of London

About us We are champions of rail, inspired to build a greener, more sustainable future of travel. Trainline enables millions of travellers to find and book the best value tickets across carriers, fares, and journey options through our highly rated mobile app, website, and B2B partner channels. Great journeys start with Trainline. Now Europe’s number 1 downloaded rail app, with over 125 million monthly visits and £5.9 billion in annual ticket sales, we collaborate with 270+ rail and coach companies in over 40 countries. We want to create a world where travel is as simple, seamless, eco-friendly and affordable as it should be. Today, we’re a FTSE 250 company driven by our incredible team of over 1,000 Trainliners from 50+ nationalities, based across London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Edinburgh and Madrid. With our focus on growth in the UK and Europe, now is the perfect time to join us on this high-speed journey.

Introducing the People team at Trainline. At Trainline, we believe our people strategy is business strategy – and that’s exactly how the People team operates. We’ve built a progressive, high-trust function that partners directly with our leadership to shape the culture, capabilities and structures needed to grow. As we scale and evolve our operating mode, the People team is guiding this change from the front — not catching up from the sidelines. We’re thinkers and doers. Strategists and coaches. And we’re building something big, bold and brilliant — together.

We’re looking for a bold and visionary People Director to lead our global Tech & Product partnering agenda at Trainline – a pivotal leadership role at the heart of our transformation. As we evolve our product and technology operating model under new leadership, this role will serve as the strategic linchpin between our people ambition and business execution.

You’ll bring proven experience shaping org design, talent strategy, and culture in highly scaled, matrixed environments – tech‑led and high‑growth. More than a business partner, you’ll be a business leader – someone who challenges constructively, unlocks performance through people, and can confidently represent the People function at Exec and Board level.

As the People Director here you will be responsible for…

• Strategic People Leadership Act as trusted advisor to Senior leadership across the organisation, most notably, the Chief People Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer, influencing multi‑year strategy and leading org‑wide change. Shape and lead the people strategy for Tech & Product globally, across the UK, EU and hybrid remote teams – aligned to growth, innovation, and future workforce needs. Champion inclusive leadership, culture transformation, and scalable ways of working across all levels of the business.
• Complex Change & Org Design Lead the design and execution of organisation‑wide change, including re‑orgs, operating model transformation and capability realignment. Operate as a senior voice on business model evolution and cross‑functional interdependencies (e.g. Product, Engineering, Product, Design, Data, and Platform).
• Performance, Talent & Capability Own talent planning and succession pipelines for critical roles across Tech & Product. Drive performance culture through high‑impact people processes: engagement, performance, progression, reward, and leadership development. Support and lead building leadership capability at all levels, acting as a coach and performance enabler for ELT.
• Influence & Partnership Represent People in Exec forums and partner across CPO, CTO and business leaders to inform long‑range planning and resourcing decisions. Collaborate closely with L&D, Talent Acquisition, People Ops and Reward teams to deliver a seamless, data‑informed people experience.
• People Insights & Commercial Acumen Leverage data and insight to influence business decisions, spot trends, and drive measurable improvements in engagement, retention, and performance. Lead workforce planning and budgeting discussions with commercial fluency and clarity.

We’d love to hear from you if you…

• Significant leadership experience in a senior HR or People Director role, in a fast‑paced Technology focused business (ideally 1,000 – 3,000 employee HC businesses).
• Track record of partnering with Tech, Data and Product orgs with an in‑depth understanding of the ways of working and rhythms of those orgs.
• Proven experience navigating matrixed, multi‑market environments with shifting priorities, complex stakeholder landscapes and high delivery expectations.
• Experience of leading large‑scale change, including operating model design, strategic workforce transformation and culture shifts.
• Strong influencing skills at C‑level, with the gravitas to challenge, coach and partner senior execs across disciplines.
• Commercial and data fluency – you back your people strategy with measurable outcomes and cost‑effective delivery.
• A systems thinker and connector – able to join the dots across Talent, L&D, Ops and broader business planning.
• A values‑led leadership style with high EQ, deep empathy, and the courage to push boundaries.
• Forward‑thinking, with a clear understanding of how AI is shaping and will continue to shape the employee experience, as well as hands‑on experience integrating AI into workflows and ways of working.
• Experience preparing or interacting with Board‑level and investor forums is a strong plus.

More information: Enjoy fantastic perks like private healthcare & dental insurance, a generous work‑from‑abroad policy, 2‑for‑1 share purchase plans, an EV Scheme to further reduce carbon emissions, extra festive time off, and excellent family‑friendly benefits. We prioritise career growth with clear career paths, transparent pay bands, personal learning budgets, and regular learning days. Jump on board and supercharge your career from day one!

Our values represent the things that matter most to us and what we live and breathe everyday, in everything we do: Think Big – We’re building the future of rail Own It – We focus on every customer, partner and journey Travel Together – We’re one team Do Good – We make a positive impact.

We know that having a diverse team makes us better and helps us succeed. And we mean all forms of diversity – gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, nationality and diversity of thought. That’s why we’re committed to creating inclusive places to work, where everyone belongs and differences are valued and celebrated.

Interested in finding out more about what it’s like to work at Trainline? Why not check us out on LinkedIn, Instagram and Glassdoor!