Location: Central Oxford, 3+ days per week (relocation allowance available)

Contract: permanent

Introduction:

If you are a forward-thinking, visionary People Director, who is interested in joining a VC firm at the heart of British innovation and science, then this stand-out career opportunity may be for you.

Our client is billion-pound early-stage Venture Capital investor, based in Oxford, with a portfolio of over 125 companies. They are also the world's leading builder of university spin-outs; spawning 8-10 per year, but intent on increasing that to 20 within the next 5 years.

Oxford is home to many of the world's most talent research scientists, and this VC firm provide the capital, infrastructure and guidance they need to bring groundbreaking innovations to market.

Across their portfolio, they have start-ups developing cancer vaccines, electric aircraft engines, space laser communication and nuclear fusion, as well as some of the world's leading quantum computing capabilities. In fact, the world's first CV19 vaccine was developed by one of their portfolio companies.

With 55 employees, under the guidance of a relatively new CEO, the time has arrived to appoint their first People Director, ahead of propelling the role of the People function into it's next phase of evolution.

About the role:

Reporting into an experienced CEO, and inheriting an existing People and Talent function, the incoming People Director will spearhead the development of the function into adding even greater value to both internal employees and those of the portfolio companies.

The incoming People Director will develop and roll-out a People strategy designed to drive ambitious growth plans, improved cross-team collaboration, an ever higher standard of employee engagement, sophisticated leadership development initiatives and cultural development.

Operating as a change agent, the People Director will be a culture-champion, working closely with the CEO and SLT to usher in this next phase of exciting evolution within this prestigious organisation.

Here’s what you’ll be responsible for day-to-day:

• People strategy & team leadership

Design a comprehensive people strategy that aligns with the organisation's vision, values, and business objectives, ensuring the Venture Builder can attract, retain, and develop exceptional talent. Build and manage a high-performing people team, serving as a role model to other managers in demonstrating best people practices.

• Talent management

Oversee the approach to attracting, onboarding, and retaining diverse, high-calibre talent. Design rituals and programmes to support employee engagement and development; fostering a sense of togetherness and contributing to a culture of high performance.

• Performance management

Design a performance management framework that drives accountability, feedback, and continuous improvement. Equip managers to effectively coach their teams and support high performance across the organisation.

• HR, compensation & benefits

Oversee HR policies and approach to compensation and benefits, ensuring that offerings put in place are competitive, equitable, scalable, compliant, and reflect the diverse needs of employees and future talent.

• Portfolio people solutions

In collaboration with the Operations Director and sector specialists, design and deliver a framework that supports the portfolio companies in the set-up of its People functions.

• Data-driven insights and reporting

Establish metrics and analytics to evaluate the impact of People strategies the business and its portfolio companies. Use data insights to drive continuous improvement and demonstrate People function impact.

About you:

• You are experienced as a People Director, Head of People, VP People or Chief People Officer in an entrepreneurial, contemporary, progressive, innovative, small-to-mid sized, tech-enabled company
• You have a genuine passion for and fascination with the start-up ecosystem, in particular early-stage start-ups operating within breakthrough fields such as BioTech, Quantum Computing and AI
• You are experienced in leading a People team within a tech-enabled small-to-mid sized company
• You possess strong project management experience, and experience leading on organisational-wide change initiatives
• You have demonstrable experience of implementing new People initiatives into businesses designed to drive productivity, employee engagement and career development
• You show excellent verbal and written communication skills, such that you are comfortable presenting in front of the SLT and external stakeholders, and can enrol people in your ideas
• You are capable of seeing the big picture and develop People strategies and initiatives that drive organisational success.
• You possess a strong vision for People excellence that shines through your words and actions. You have the emotional intelligence and gravitas to build highly collaborative relationships that achieve buy-in and effect change.
• You care about adding value quickly, and can break a strategy down into actionable tasks that are achievable and impactful.
• You’re resilient and flexible when faced with fast-moving and ever-evolving business environments. You respond to this by implementing solutions that are iterative and scalable.

A word on candidate experience:

We recognise how challenging this current job market is for candidates, and Hawkwood are therefore striving to provide the best candidate experience we can.

If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you apply via this LinkedIn advert, as opposed to sending us an email or LinkedIn direct message. We are eager to ensure that each candidate application is considered fairly, and receives a consistent experience.

Unfortunately, we cannot ensure this standard if you enquire about a role via email or LinkedIn message, as it falls outside of our established process.