Lead People Partner

Waracle are looking for a Lead People Partner for an exciting new role joining our world-class digital technology consultancy and home to a diverse, smart, curious and ambitious community of specialists in technology-driven transformation.

We work with ambitious clients to help them solve their biggest business and customer challenges. We help our clients to innovate and create intelligent digital products and services. We thrive on complex challenges and deliver business-critical IT transformation projects, moving seamlessly from strategy, design and delivery to operations.

This is a Hybrid role (Full Time, 37.5 hours/week) working from our Dundee or Edinburgh office 2 days a week.

Shape our culture, empower our people, and drive meaningful growth.

Are you a collaborative People Leader who thrives on nurturing talent, fostering inclusive environments, and delivering impactful HR strategies? As our Lead People Partner, you will play a pivotal role in bringing our overarching people strategy to life. Acting as a supportive player-coach, you’ll work side-by-side with our talented Senior People & Culture Partners every day, while partnering directly with senior leaders to shape high-impact, human-centered HR frameworks that support our vibrant community and business growth.

Key aspects of the role include:

• People Leadership & Coaching: Direct, mentor, and empower a high-performing team of Senior People & Culture Partners, building a supportive, values-led culture of proactive partnering.

• Strategic Partnership: Collaborate closely with the Head of People & Culture and senior leadership to co-create initiatives across organisational design, culture, and talent planning aligned with our company goals.

• Inclusive & Compassionate Support: Oversee complex employee relations with care and fairness, guiding and coaching your team to deliver thoughtful, values-driven solutions.

• Modern Frameworks & Innovation: Design and refine flexible HR processes that scale, championing smart automation and digital tools to enhance employee experience across all locations.

• M&A Integration: Welcoming and integrating new teams following M&A activity, ensuring harmonised practices and a warm, seamless onboarding journey.

• Engagement & Well-being Champion: Lead company-wide inclusion, engagement, and well-being roadmaps, helping create an environment where everyone can thrive.

• Strategic Insights: Partner with senior stakeholders to present data-backed insights on metrics like retention, engagement ROI, and talent growth.

We value lived experience, empathy, and collaborative leadership just as much as ticks on a checklist. You’ll be a great fit if you bring:

• Demonstrated experience coaching, developing, and inspiring People/HR professionals as an approachable player-coach.

• Strong track record of serving as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, bringing clarity, commercial awareness, and values-led thinking to strategic conversations.

• Experience designing and refining scalable employee lifecycle programs, with an interest in leveraging modern tools and smart automation to make work smoother for everyone.

• Compassionate approach to handling complex employee relations, with a focus on fairness, empathy, and protecting team culture.

• Strong communication, coaching, and relational skills, with the confidence to constructively guide and influence stakeholders.

• Experience with M&A integration, policy harmonisation, or TUPE processes is a lovely bonus, but not essential!

The recruitment process you can expect for this role is an initial call with your dedicated Talent Attraction Partner who will chat with you about Waracle, what you are looking for in a new position, the salary for the role, notice period and benefits (the important stuff!).

After that, you'll be invited to a two-stage interview process where you have an opportunity to find out more about the role and showcase your skills and experience. Your Talent Attraction Partner will guide you through the whole process to your first day with us.

Our Benefits

We believe in supporting our team, inside and outside of work. Here's a glimpse of what you can expect:

• Rest & Recharge: You'll receive 27 days of annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays, totaling 35 days of holiday to unwind and pursue your passions.

• Financial Future & Security: Plan for retirement with our company-matched 5% pension contribution. For added peace of mind, we also offer a Death in Service benefit, providing 2 x your annual salary for your loved ones.

• Health & Wellness: Our Medicash Health Cash Plans help cover everyday healthcare costs, complemented by an Employee Assistance Programme for confidential support, and Group Sickness Cover for peace of mind.

• Flexible Working: We champion hybrid working, providing a home office setup budget to ensure you're comfortable and productive wherever you are.

• Learning & Development: Invest in yourself with access to Udemy Business and a dedicated learning and development budget for continuous growth.

• Lifestyle Perks: Make the most of our Cycle to Work Scheme, and enjoy exclusive gym and retail discounts.

• Family First: Our enhanced parental leave policies include support for fertility journeys, recognising diverse family needs.

• Community & Connection: We foster a vibrant culture with regular fun meet-ups and lunch on us in the office once a month. You'll also have the opportunity to make a local impact through Spirit of Waracle, our initiative for getting involved in charitable causes locally, building strong team bonds and giving back.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

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