Fractional People Director

People Puzzles Ltd; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Marketing support

Lead generation

CPD programs

Brand reputation

Job summary

People Puzzles Ltd. is seeking an experienced People Director to build a portfolio career with independence in the Cambridge area.

You will join as a Board-level member for clients, delivering strategic HR leadership with a pragmatic, hands-on approach and leveraging technology and AI to improve outcomes. You’ll operate across multiple clients, supported by a national brand, marketing, and a community of around 70 directors.

Qualifications

• Senior leaders with track record at board level.
• Commercial mindset and ability to challenge leaders' thinking.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders quickly.
• Pragmatic, hands-on approach alongside strategic thinking.
• Confidence using technology, people data and AI to improve outcomes.
• Home base within easy reach of Cambridge; most client work onsite.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a Board-level member of client leadership teams.
• Move between board strategy and hands-on delivery, often in the same week.
• Work with ambitious Cambridge-area businesses across varied sectors.
• Help clients design people strategies that enable growth and talent acquisition.

Skills

Senior leadership

Board-level experience

Stakeholder management

Commercial mindset

HR Director experience

Job description

Build a portfolio career with independence, not isolation.

Earnings: typically from £60,000 in your first year, rising to £135,000+ once established.

Are you an experienced HR Director, People Director, VP People, Head of People, CPO, CHRO or Senior HR Consultant looking for more flexibility, autonomy and impact?

People Puzzles, the UK's largest team of fractional People Directors, is looking for an experienced People Director to work with ambitious businesses across Cambridge and the surrounding area.

You'll build your portfolio one client at a time, until it suits you. With each of our clients, you'll act as a Board-level member of their leadership team. Behind you is a national brand, a dedicated marketing and business development team, and a community of around 70 People Directors working in local teams.

Why Cambridge

Cambridge is one of the UK's most distinctive business ecosystems. Our clients here include life sciences and biotech companies, deep tech and software businesses, university spin-outs and established mid-sized organisations. Over time, you could be working on:

• Scaling a business from a founding team to a structured organisation
• Attracting and retaining scarce scientific and technical talent
• Designing reward and equity approaches for VC-backed scale-ups
• Building a first leadership team, or leading change, culture and growth

Many of our clients are founder-led or owner-managed, and most have no HR team. You'll move between Board-level strategy and hands-on delivery, often in the same week.

What you'll bring

• Senior people leadership experience, with a track record of delivering results at Board level
• A commercial mindset and the confidence to challenge leaders' thinking
• The ability to build trusted relationships and influence senior stakeholders quickly
• A pragmatic, hands-on approach alongside strategic thinking
• Confidence using technology, people data and AI to improve business and people outcomes
• A home base within easy reach of Cambridge, as most client work is onsite

You don't need to tick every box. If you meet most of these and the rest excites you, we encourage you to apply.

What you'll get

• Earnings typically from £60,000 in your first year as you build your portfolio, rising to £135,000+ once established
• Marketing, lead generation and business development support
• Referral opportunities through the wider People Puzzles network
• Ongoing CPD, proven tools and methodologies
• A brand trusted by over 1,000 business leaders

Full details of how our model works are shared with applicants through our recruitment portal.

We welcome applications from People Directors of every background.