Head of HR People Services (FTC)

Our Vision is to be the UK’s leading innovator of resource recovery and recycling, transforming waste for a climate-positive future.

Viridor has a redefined purpose, a bold Vision, and an ambitious, market-leading strategy. We are investing in the future, and we need a talented team with exceptional people, who believe in each other, to help us build a world where nothing goes to waste.

We have an opportunity for a Head of HR People Services to join our team on an 18-month FTC. Location can be flexible as you will work a hybrid pattern, and will visit sites across the UK as and when required.

We encourage all applicants to apply as soon as possible as we may close vacancies early if we receive a high number of applications.

The Head of People Services is a strategic partner to the business, accountable for establishing the governance, operating cadence and people services infrastructure required to enable sustainable performance and growth. The role translates the People Plan into coordinated, measurable delivery through the leadership of specialist teams and broad collaboration across People and Culture, Finance, Technology, Communications and business leadership.

It creates the systems, processes, policies and organisational frameworks that provide an efficient, consistent and insight-led employee experience, while strengthening organisational capability, workforce resilience and Viridor's ability to attract, develop, recognise and retain critical talent.

You will

• Translate the People Plan into an integrated portfolio of priorities, outcomes, milestones and measures, with clear ownership and accountabilities across specialist teams.
• Own the design and continuous improvement of scalable People services, ensuring clear service standards, effective controls, consistent employee experiences and value for money.
• Lead the strategy, governance and optimisation of HR systems, payroll, benefits administration, people data and reporting, in partnership with Finance, Technology and external providers.
• Establish an integrated suite of employment policies, standards, controls and decision frameworks that supports compliance, consistency and appropriate management discretion.
• Act as custodian of people data and associated governance, ensuring data quality, security, regulatory compliance and clear accountability for the employee data lifecycle.
• Maintain effective assurance, audit and risk-management arrangements, providing leadership with visibility of material people risks, controls and required actions.
• Design and embed enterprise frameworks for careers, talent, succession, performance and capability that provide transparent pathways and strengthen internal mobility.
• Ensure learning and development investment is aligned to strategic capability needs, with clear measures of adoption, impact and return on investment.
• Shape integrated reward and recognition frameworks that are fair, competitive, affordable and aligned to performance, skills, contribution and organisational values.
• Lead, coach and align multidisciplinary specialist teams around shared outcomes, clear priorities and high standards of delivery.
• Develop a coherent suite of people metrics, service measures and workforce insights that enable evidence-based decisions and demonstrate delivery against the People Plan.
• Benchmark services and frameworks against relevant market practice, using insight to prioritise investment and improve organisational effectiveness.
• Create disciplined continuous-improvement practices that simplify processes, remove duplication and ensure People services remain responsive to changing business needs.

The ideal candidate will have

• Significant senior leadership experience within a complex, multi-site organisation, leading multidisciplinary People services or centres of expertise.
• Proven ability to operate as a strategic business partner, translating enterprise strategy and commercial priorities into an integrated People delivery agenda.
• Demonstrable experience establishing governance, portfolio cadence, service standards and performance measures across a broad People function.
• Strong expertise in People systems, process design, policy governance, workforce data and operational risk, with a robust understanding of UK employment legislation and UK GDPR.
• A strong track record of designing and embedding enterprise frameworks across careers, employer brand, reward and recognition, retention, talent and organisational capability.
• Commercially astute and highly collaborative, with the credibility to influence executive stakeholders, lead specialist teams and deliver complex change across organisational boundaries.

Key Competencies

• Enterprise and systems thinking
• Strategic partnering and commercial judgement
• Governance, execution discipline and operational excellence
• Collaborative leadership and enterprise influence
• Data-led decision-making and risk management
• Change leadership, simplification and continuous improvement
• Employee experience, inclusion and service orientation

How to apply

Click apply at the bottom of the page and you will be asked to create a profile. Make sure you have an up-to-date CV ready!

We are a Great Place to Work

There has never been a more exciting time to work at Viridor. Following the acquisition of the business by the global private equity firm, KKR, the core business has been reshaped to focus on our leading UK Energy from Waste portfolio.

What can we offer you?

We invest in our people to reward them for their hard work, and we have a host of company benefits available to you when you join - take a look at our Rewards and Benefits

As an equal opportunities' employer, Viridor is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.