Head of People – Maternity Cover

Job description: Our client is an innovative technology company helping regulated organisations navigate artificial intelligence, digital assets and privacy-focused infrastructure. They are seeking an experienced Head of People to lead their HR and recruitment function during a period of maternity leave. This fixed-term contract includes an overlap at the beginning and end to support a thorough handover. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will own the people strategy, oversee the full employee lifecycle and manage two team members responsible for day-to-day HR and recruitment. This is primarily a leadership and oversight role, but you will remain close to operational delivery and provide hands-on support during busy periods. Key responsibilities*People and HR* * Lead the companys people strategy and employee experience. * Oversee performance reviews, regular one-to-ones and employee surveys. * Assess retention risks and support employee engagement. * Manage employee relations, including grievances, disciplinaries and conflict resolution. * Oversee compensation, benefits and salary-review processes. * Maintain HR policies, the employee handbook and employment-law compliance across international markets. * Support training, development, coaching and employee wellbeing. * Manage onboarding, offboarding, absence, leave and family-leave processes. * Oversee employment contracts, references, right-to-work checks and HR records. * Provide people metrics and reports to senior leadership. * Conduct exit interviews and ensure appropriate follow-up actions. *Recruitment* * Oversee the complete in-house recruitment lifecycle. * Partner with hiring managers to define role requirements. * Manage candidate experience, offers and recruitment pipelines. * Oversee the applicant tracking system and recruitment reporting. * Manage relationships with external recruitment agencies. * Write and refine job descriptions and role scopes. * Develop recruitment marketing and employer-branding activity. * Support CV reviews, interview coordination and HR interviews during peak hiring periods. * Monitor recruitment metrics, including time-to-hire. *Leadership* * Line-manage and develop two HR and recruitment team members. * Act as the senior escalation point for people-related matters. * Work closely and confidentially with the CEO. * Balance strategic leadership with hands-on support when required. Essential experience * Proven experience leading an HR or People function as a Head of People, HR Manager or similar. * Strong knowledge of the full employee lifecycle and HR best practice. * Experience supporting employment matters across multiple jurisdictions. * Understanding of Employer of Record arrangements. * Strong recruitment experience, including hiring-manager engagement, interviewing and agency management. * Previous line-management experience. * Confidence handling sensitive employee-relations matters. * Strong interpersonal, communication and stakeholder-management skills. * Ability to work autonomously and become effective quickly. * Comfortable adopting new technology, including AI-enabled tools. * Availability for the full contract from early September 2026 to mid-May 2027. * Full UK right to work without sponsorship. Desirable experience * Managing international or distributed teams. * Working with Employers of Record. * Recruitment marketing and employer branding. * Experience in a fast-paced technology, software, startup or scale-up environment. * Knowledge of or interest in artificial intelligence, blockchain or digital assets. Qualifications: * Proven experience leading an HR or People function as a Head of People, HR Manager or similar. * Strong knowledge of the full employee lifecycle and HR best practice. * Experience supporting employment matters across multiple jurisdictions. Why is This a Great Opportunity: * 1000 Annual Allowance for Training (up to 50% of this value can be used for you to buy workstation equipment to work from home) * 5 days/per year for Training * In-person fun team events/team buildings every 3 months * Company equipment and Onboarding kit * Annual Bonus (dependant on company and personal performance) * Stock Option Plan * Birthday Off * Amazing referral programme *Salary Type *: Per day *Salary Min *: £ 400 *Salary Max *: £ 450 *Currency Type *: GBP