Head Talent Engagement jobs

Head of People

Salary: £90,000 - £100,000 per annum

Location: Kent (Hybrid Working)

Contract: Full Time, Permanent

Join Our Leadership Team

We are an established and ambitious Ofsted-regulated children's residential care provider committed to delivering exceptional care and life-changing outcomes for children and young people.

Our organisation has earned a strong reputation for quality, stability and excellence. We are supported by an experienced Executive Leadership Team, including former senior Ofsted leaders at Director level, whose expertise helps shape our strategic direction, governance and commitment to continuous improvement.

As we continue our ambitious growth journey, we are investing significantly in our People function and are looking to appoint an exceptional Head of People to shape and lead our people strategy across the organisation.

Reporting directly to the Strategic Leadership Director / Group CEO, this is a rare opportunity to influence organisational strategy while leading Recruitment, Human Resources and Learning & Development as one integrated People function.

This is far more than a traditional HR leadership role. We are looking for a commercially minded leader who is passionate about developing people, building high-performing teams and creating an outstanding employee experience that supports operational excellence and sustainable organisational growth.

The Opportunity

This is a genuine executive leadership position where you will shape the future of our workforce.

You will be responsible for leading the entire People agenda across Recruitment, HR, Learning & Development and Organisational Development, ensuring our organisation attracts, develops and retains exceptional people whilst maintaining the highest standards of compliance within an Ofsted-regulated environment.

Working closely with the Executive Leadership Team, you will influence strategic decisions, support ambitious growth plans and ensure our people strategy underpins every aspect of service delivery.

Why Join Us?

• £90,000 - £100,000 per annum.
• Permanent, full-time position.
• Hybrid working with a combination of home and office-based working.
• Senior Leadership Team position reporting directly to the Strategic Leadership Director / Group CEO.
• Opportunity to shape the People Strategy of an ambitious and growing organisation.
• Work alongside highly experienced Executive leaders, including former senior Ofsted Directors.
• Genuine autonomy to build and modernise the People function.
• Opportunity to make a lasting impact on children and young people's lives by developing an outstanding workforce.

Role Purpose

The Head of People is accountable for building and leading a high-performing, group-wide People function that supports safe organisational growth, strengthens workforce stability, develops leadership capability and creates a positive, high-performing culture.

The role will ensure the organisation has the people, capability, leadership, workforce planning, recruitment, learning and development, HR infrastructure and organisational culture required to continue delivering exceptional care whilst supporting future expansion.

Key Responsibilities

You will:

• Develop and deliver the organisation's People Strategy aligned to business objectives and sustainable growth.
• Lead and develop Recruitment, Human Resources and Learning & Development as one integrated People function.
• Develop workforce planning strategies to support existing and future services.
• Lead organisational design and workforce planning.
• Improve recruitment attraction strategies and employer branding.
• Develop recruitment campaigns that attract outstanding candidates.
• Strengthen onboarding and induction processes.
• Develop career pathways and internal progression opportunities.
• Lead succession planning across leadership and operational roles.
• Develop leadership capability through coaching and development programmes.
• Build high-performing management teams.
• Improve employee engagement and organisational culture.
• Develop reward, recognition and retention strategies.
• Lead organisational development initiatives.
• Ensure all HR policies remain legally compliant and reflect best practice.
• Lead employee relations matters where appropriate.
• Support managers with complex people issues.
• Ensure safer recruitment remains compliant with legislation and regulatory expectations.
• Oversee Learning & Development strategies.
• Develop workforce capability frameworks.
• Improve mandatory training compliance.
• Lead organisational change projects.
• Improve People systems, reporting and workforce analytics.
• Present People reports and strategic recommendations to the Executive Team.
• Monitor workforce trends and identify future organisational risks.
• Drive innovation through HR technology, automation and AI solutions where appropriate.

Leadership Responsibilities

You will provide visible and credible leadership across the organisation by:

• Leading by example.
• Building high-performing teams.
• Developing future leaders.
• Promoting accountability.
• Supporting managers through coaching.
• Driving continuous improvement.
• Creating an inclusive culture.
• Encouraging innovation.
• Developing collaborative relationships across operational teams.
• Acting as a trusted adviser to the Executive Leadership Team.

Measures of Success

Success within the role will be measured through:

• Reduced vacancy levels.
• Improved staff retention.
• Reduced agency usage.
• Improved recruitment times.
• Higher quality of new appointments.
• Improved onboarding completion.
• Strong internal succession planning.
• Increased internal promotions.
• Improved employee engagement.
• Positive organisational culture.
• High compliance across Recruitment and HR.
• Strong Learning & Development outcomes.
• Improved leadership capability.
• High-quality People reporting supporting strategic decision-making.
• Successful delivery of People-related change programmes.

Essential Experience

You will demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience within HR or People functions.
• Experience working within children's residential care, social care, education, healthcare or another highly regulated environment.
• Experience leading Recruitment, HR and Learning & Development.
• Experience developing organisational People Strategies.
• Strong understanding of workforce planning.
• Experience leading organisational change.
• Experience improving employee engagement and retention.
• Experience developing leadership capability.
• Experience implementing succession planning.
• Strong employment law knowledge.
• Experience presenting at Executive or Board level.
• Commercial awareness and strategic thinking.

Desirable Experience

• Experience within Ofsted-regulated services.
• Experience supporting organisational growth.
• Experience supporting acquisitions or service mobilisation.
• Experience developing employer branding strategies.
• Experience implementing HR technology and workforce analytics.
• Experience using AI or automation to improve People processes.

Knowledge & Technical Capability

• Expert knowledge of UK Employment Law.
• Strong knowledge of safer recruitment.
• Understanding of safeguarding and regulated services.
• Experience with HR information systems.
• Workforce analytics and reporting.
• Leadership development.
• Performance management.
• Organisational development.
• Employee engagement.
• Change management.
• Reward and recognition.
• Workforce planning.

Leadership Style

We are looking for someone who is:

• Strategic yet hands-on.
• Commercially minded.
• Collaborative.
• Authentic.
• Credible.
• Calm under pressure.
• Emotionally intelligent.
• Solutions focused.
• Able to influence at Executive level.
• Passionate about developing people.
• Confident leading change.
• Committed to continuous improvement.

QualificationsEssential

• CIPD Level 7 qualified (or equivalent senior-level People leadership experience).
• Strong, up-to-date knowledge of UK Employment Law.

Desirable

• Chartered CIPD Membership.
• Leadership or Executive Coaching qualifications.
• Qualifications relating to Organisational Development, Employment Law, Safeguarding or Safer Recruitment.

Pay: £90,000.00-£100,000.00 per year

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Manston CT10