Head of HR - Boutique Financial Services Firm

We are recruiting for a senior HR professional who has experience and ability to combine strategic judgement with practical delivery, a credible adviser to senior leaders who is equally comfortable resolving a sensitive matter, strengthening management capability or improving the foundations of the people function.

The Role:
Build a people function that supports the business with clarity, discretion and commercial purpose. You will connect organisational priorities with the decisions that determine performance: whom the business appoints, how it develops its people, what it expects of its leaders and how it retains critical capability.

Responsibilities

• Advise senior leaders on organisation design, workforce planning and succession.

• Lead recruitment, onboarding, development and retention across the business.

• Strengthen performance management and support managers in making clear, fair decisions.

• Oversee employee relations, people policies and core HR operations.

• Shape and deliver a people strategy aligned with business priorities.

• Bring considered advice to compensation, benefits and reward decisions.

• Use people data to identify risks and inform leadership decisions.

• Establish proportionate processes that support the firm as it evolves.
  
  Required Experience

• You understand the balance a boutique requires: sound governance, responsive delivery and processes suited to the scale of the business.

• We would welcome evidence of:

• Broad ownership across the employee lifecycle.

• Strong UK employment practice and employee relations knowledge.

• You bring senior HR or people leadership experience within financial services, alongside a record of working directly with demanding stakeholders.

• Credibility advising senior leadership on sensitive people matters.

• Experience developing managers and improving organisational performance.

• The ability to move between strategic advice and hands-on execution.

• Discretion, independence of judgement and clear communication.

• CIPD qualification or equivalent professional experience would be welcomed.

All applications are handled in confidence. Our team aims to respond to all applications when possible. St times, due to high volume of interest, we may not be able to respond individually to every submission.