Head of People (15-month maternity leave cover)

About the Role

At Napo, we've been deliberate about the culture we've built and we’re proud of it. People are at the core of everything we do, and we take our culture seriously enough to measure it properly, speak honestly about the results at a company level, and act quickly when something slips.

Our Head of People is going on maternity leave early next year, and protecting that culture while she is away is a big part of this role. This is a 15-month fixed-term contract, running from mid-January 2027 to April 2028.

In this role, you’ll lead the People function as a key member of our leadership team and report directly to our CEO. You’ll have one direct report, our People Ops Coordinator, who runs a lot of the day-to-day People operations.

This isn’t just a keep-the-lights-on role. You’ll own the People strategy, Key Results and metrics, manage the People budget, lead organisational design and succession planning, run the annual performance and pay cycle, and lead our engagement surveys from insight through to action. Just as importantly, you’ll protect what’s working well in our culture and act quickly when something needs attention. The foundations are all already in place, so you’ll be building on solid ground rather than starting from scratch.

Why This Role Matters

In our company of 60, our Head of People stays close to everything going on in the business, and understands the people, relationships and dynamics that shape it. Decisions about how we grow, who we promote, how managers lead and what we expect of each other are felt directly across the company. That combination of proximity and influence is what makes this role matter: you can turn real insight into better decisions, stronger managers and a culture where people can do their best work.

Our commitment to culture shows up in our engagement scores, in how people work together and in how seriously our leadership team takes it. We’re looking for someone who will actively protect and strengthen that culture, not simply administer it. Someone who notices when things are drifting, acts on what they see, and holds a high bar for people experience at work and how managers lead.

We’re also a business that likes to consistently improve. Our People function is built on clear frameworks, good data and people-first processes, and we’d want you to keep elevating them: spotting what’s clunky, simplifying what’s become complicated, and using AI and tooling to reduce admin so there’s more time for the work that matters.

We know a 15-month fixed-term contract is a meaningful commitment, so we’ve designed the role to make it worthwhile: a four-week paid handover with our current Head of People, genuine ownership of the function, and an interesting and varied year of work.

What You'll Be Doing

Own the People function:

• Lead and develop our People Ops Coordinator - their growth over the year will be an important measure of success in this role.

• Own employee relations end to end, including complex and sensitive cases, with support from our external legal team when needed.

• Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO and work closely with the Chief of Staff and CFO on people, performance and organisational decisions. You’ll build strong relationships across the business, influence senior stakeholders and bring constructive challenge as well as practical support.

• Oversee day-to-day People operations and talent acquisition.

• Design and deliver training that helps our managers and leaders become better at what they do.

Set the agenda and deliver the cycles:

• Own the 2027 People Key Results. These will be agreed before you join, so you’ll take responsibility for delivery and communicate clearly about progress. You’ll then help shape the 2028 priorities with the CEO and leadership team.

• Lead organisational design and succession planning in 2027 to prepare for 2028.

• Manage the 2027 People budget and work closely with Finance to forecast the 2028 budget, connecting headcount planning, pay, benefits, hiring and wider People priorities.

• Run our annual performance review cycle in November 2027 - including the process, calibration, pay modelling and decisions, manager support, and helping managers address underperformance clearly and consistently.

• Run our two engagement surveys, from analysis and company- and team-level action planning through to a focused culture agenda with meaningful action.

• Design and lead two leadership offsites, building on the foundations established through previous offsites.

• Keep improving how the People function operates - simplifying processes, making better use of our tools and using AI where it can meaningfully reduce admin.

What We're Looking For

• Experience leading a People function in a company of a comparable size, ideally in a scale-up where you’ve helped the function mature.

• Experience running at least one annual performance and pay cycle end to end - including fair calibration, modelling pay against a budget, supporting managers and guiding a leadership team through the final decisions.

• Experience managing a People budget and partnering with Finance on workforce and compensation planning.

• Confidence handling complex employee relations cases independently, while knowing when to involve external legal support.

• Experience developing an earlier-career People team member, with clear evidence of how you’ve grown their confidence and capability.

• A track record of improving how a People function works - whether through simpler processes, better tooling or smart use of AI.

• The judgement to form a clear view of what the business needs from People Operations and bring a leadership team with you.

• Confidence operating as the most senior People leader in the business, working independently but knowing when to seek other perspectives.

Nice to have:

• Experience in an FCA-regulated or financial services environment.

• Familiarity with Lattice.

How You Work

• Strengthens culture: You see company culture as something to actively protect and improve, not at tick-box exercise. You pay attention to how people are experiencing life at the company and act when something begins to drift.

• Strategic, but not precious: You bring a clear point of view and will thoughtfully pressure-test what’s already in place. You also take time to fully understand the context and trade-offs before changing direction.

• Develops people deliberately: You treat the growth and development of your reports as a core part of the role, not something secondary.

• Candid and kind: You say the real thing clearly and respectfully, particularly when the conversation is difficult.

• Creates accountability: You help managers take responsibility for feedback, reviews and underperformance, supporting them without taking the work away from them.

• Confident operating independently: You’re comfortable being the most senior People leader in the business and know what you can decide yourself versus what needs others’ input before moving ahead.

• Curious about better ways of working: You’re interested in how AI can improve People work and the employee experience. You experiment responsibly, always use good judgement, and help others adopt tools and use AI where they truly add value (not just more AI for the sake of it).

• Leaves it better: You improve what you touch and document decisions as you go, so the eventual handover in 2028 is straightforward and the function is stronger than you found it.

What We Offer

🏡 Hybrid work environment: you’ll need to be in our London office (Chelsea) two days per week

🏖️ Generous leave policy: 25 days annual holidays + bank holidays + your birthday as an additional day off

💻 All the equipment you need to do your best work

💰 Budget for personal growth and training

✅ Some of our other benefits:

• BUPA health insurance with YuLife app

• Unlimited GP video consultations (via Bupa Blue Health)

• Pension scheme

• Napo pet insurance for your pet(s)

Our Values

⭐️ Be candid and authentic: We bring our true selves to work and value transparency.

⭐️ Trust and care for each other: We're a team that supports one another and celebrates collaboration.

⭐️ Do the right thing: We prioritise ethics over profits and always act in the best interest of our customers and their pets.

⭐️ Optimise for impact: We focus on what will make the biggest difference and take ownership of our responsibilities.

If you require any adjustments or additional support during the application or interview process, please let us know!