Head of HR

Nestlé; Crawley; Hybrid; GBP 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food and beverage company in Crawley is looking for an experienced Head of HR to drive strategic people initiatives and transformations. You will partner with senior leadership, champion a high-performance culture, and lead complex change programs. Applicants should have substantial HR leadership experience, exceptional influencing and communication skills, and ideally experience in FMCG environments. The role operates in a hybrid setting, with potential for flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

17% car allowance

Potential annual bonus

Generous pension scheme

12 flexible days on top of holiday

2 paid volunteering days

Focus on personal development

Qualifications

• Significant HR leadership experience in a complex environment.
• Proven ability to influence and inspire senior leaders.
• Experience in FMCG environments preferred.

Responsibilities

• Champion a high-performance culture that empowers and holds the team accountable.
• Lead transformational change to guide teams through complexity.
• Align workforce planning to business priorities to build critical skills.

Skills

HR leadership experience

Influencing skills

Communication skills

Organizational design

Relationship-building skills

Job description

Business Area

Nestlé UK&I

Location

Crawley (Hybrid with a minimum of 2 days a week in the office)

Salary

Circa £85,000 depending on experience.

Benefits

• 17% car allowance
• Potential annual bonus
• Generous pension scheme – up to 12% contribution from Nestlé
• 12 flexible days on top of 25-day holiday entitlement
• 2 paid volunteering days
• A focus on personal development and growth

Although this is a full‑time opportunity, please speak to us about what flexibility means to you as we are always open to discuss individual’s flexible working needs. Don’t let this stop you from applying.

Position Summary

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced, commercially minded Head of HR to join us at a pivotal moment in our journey. Partnering with our dynamic business categories, you’ll play a central role in shaping and delivering a people strategy that enables performance today and builds capability for tomorrow.

This is a role for a strategic thinker and confident operator, someone who thrives in complexity, enjoys influencing at senior levels, and is passionate about enabling people and business transformation. You’ll lead critical HR processes, oversee organisational capability, and lead high‑impact change programmes that strengthen our talent pipeline and ensure we remain future focused.

Your Impact

This position offers a unique opportunity to be a strategic advisor to the UK business category leadership teams. Acting as a trusted advisor, you will have a critical role to play in enabling our business categories to deliver their full potential and be fit for the future, through driving brilliant strategic and operational people initiatives.

You Will

• Champion a high‑performance culture, ensuring that our people experience is rooted in empowerment, accountability, and excellence.
• Lead and deliver transformational change programmes, guiding leaders and teams through complexity with clarity and confidence.
• Act as a true talent and capability expert, aligning workforce planning to business priorities, building critical skills, and identifying high‑potential talent.
• Collaborate seamlessly across the Ulrich model, working closely with the wider HR teams to deliver joined‑up, high‑quality support to the business.

Your Ingredients for Success

You’ll bring significant HR leadership experience, gained within a complex matrix environment, along with the ability to influence, inspire, and shape strategic decision‑making. You’ll be comfortable operating as part of a senior leadership team, contributing to the broader commercial agenda and balancing long‑term thinking with day‑to‑day operational excellence.

Your resilience and adaptability will set you apart - you’ll navigate ambiguity with confidence and steer leaders toward positive, pragmatic outcomes.

Additional Requirements

• A strong track record of developing and coaching senior leaders, enabling high‑performing, inclusive team cultures.
• Exceptional influencing, communication, and relationship‑building skills, allowing you to deliver results through others and create strong alignment across the matrix.
• Deep experience of organisational design, development, and transformation, with the ability to lead complex change effectively.
• Solid expertise in employee and labour relations, applying expert judgement and a balanced, people‑centric approach.
• Experience in FMCG environments would be an advantage.

What You Need to Know

Advert closing date: 10th February 2026.

We will be considering candidates as they apply and we will occasionally close job advertisements early in the event we receive sufficient applicants, so please don’t delay in submitting your application.

Recruitment Journey

To find out more about your recruitment journey with Nestlé: Recruitment Journey | Nestlé UK & Ireland.

Inclusion & Diversity

We take pride in championing inclusion and diversity. We proudly signed the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter, are committed to Disability Confidence, and have been recognised as a Times Top 50 Employer for gender equality for three consecutive years. Additionally, we are a headline partner of Diversity and Inclusion in grocery.

At Nestlé, our values are rooted in respect and we believe that embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment allows everyone to reach their full potential and drives innovative thinking. We strongly encourage applications from individuals of all gender identities, ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, parents, carers, and members of the LGBT+ community. Please let us know if we can provide accommodations to ensure your full participation in the application process.

To find out more about Nestlé’s commitment to DEI: Nestlé's Commitment to a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace.