VP of People in London

We've grown from 45 to 170+ people in two years, and we are now ready to build our People function to scale us further, that starts with a People Leader. We're hiring our first VP of People, a genuine leadership role that sits in the companies leadership team from day one and owns the strategy that takes Zinc from 150 to 200+ without losing what makes this place work. You'll partner directly with our COO and the wider leadership team on org design, culture, and manager capability, and build the infrastructure that lets every person at Zinc do their best work. This isn't a support function role or a glorified HRBP. It's a seat at the table, a voice in the room, and real ownership of one of the most critical levers in a scaling business. If that sounds like the role you've been looking for, we'd love to hear from you.

What You Will Focus on First

• People strategy: define the 2-year plan for how we attract, develop and retain the talent we need to hit our growth targets. Translate business strategy into people priorities and present it to leadership quarterly.
• Culture and EVP: take ownership of what makes Zinc a great place to work and make it defensible as we grow.

Key Responsibilities

• People strategy: the 2-year plan, owned by you, shaped with the business.
• Org design: advising the leadership team on structural decisions as we scale: layers, reporting lines, team evolution.
• Culture and EVP: defining what makes Zinc a great place to work and driving the initiatives that keep it real as we grow.
• Learning and development: building a framework that works at 200+ people.
• Performance and progression: owning the philosophy and cadence that sits above our existing frameworks.
• Leadership partnership: sitting in leadership team as a peer, not a support function.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• You've operated at VP or Director of People level in a SaaS or tech business, ideally at the 200–500 people stage.
• You've worked on real org design decisions, not just advised from the outside.
• You understand startup culture as a competitive asset, not a thing to be managed away.
• You're comfortable in a room of opinionated, high-performing leaders and you push back when it matters.
• You're data-informed, not data-dependent; you know when to trust your read on a room.

Benefits

• Zinc offers a chance to work on a product that brings a fresh perspective on data ownership in hiring.
• 24 days holiday + Bank Holidays + your birthday off.
• £1200 annual benefits allowance (ThanksBen, from month 2).
• Early finish Fridays (16:00).
• Yearly company retreat abroad (This year Italy).
• 30 days to Work from anywhere.
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity, and Adoption Leave.
• Statutory pension with NEST (3% employer, 5% employee).
• Zinc shares, issued through the EMI Scheme.
• Unlimited access to MoreHappi coaching.
• Company socials, quarterly team socials.
• Free Monday lunches.
• Nursery workplace benefit scheme (Yellownest).
• Option to lease an electric car through Electric Car Scheme.
• Celebrated Zinc anniversaries.