Head of HR

Skipton Building Society; Skipton; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent financial services provider in England seeks a Head of HR to align people strategy with corporate plans. The role involves strategic partnership with the Executive Committee, leadership in organizational culture, and driving talent management strategies. Ideal candidates will have extensive HR expertise, commercial acumen, and experience leading transformation initiatives. Benefits include generous leave, private medical insurance, and a commitment to training and development.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Quarterly discretionary bonus scheme

Matching employer pension contribution up to 10%

Private medical insurance

Cycle to work initiative

Discounted gym membership

Qualifications

• Broad experience across all HR disciplines with a focus on Reward.
• Experience in developing and challenging senior leaders at SLT and Exec level.
• Proven leadership in enabling business change through HR processes.

Responsibilities

• Act as a strategic partner with the Executive Committee to deliver the colleague strategy.
• Design and implement people solutions tailored to business needs.
• Lead the talent agenda by collaborating with the recruitment team.

Skills

Comprehensive HR expertise

Strong commercial acumen

Exceptional stakeholder management

Strong leadership and coaching abilities

Matrix environment experience

Proven leadership in transformation

Education

Degree or equivalent

Job description

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About the Job

Hours

35 hours per week. Hybrid working. Weekly presence required in the office with some travel to sites as and when required to suit business needs.

Closing Date

Mon, 1 Sept 2025

We’ve got an exciting opportunity for an experienced, senior leader to join Skipton Business Finance as our Head of HR.

As a strategic partner to the Executive Committee, you’ll be the driving force behind aligning our people strategy with our ambitious corporate plan. You’ll lead the SBF People Function, collaborate across teams, and empower managers to bring out the best in their people.

This role is about building a culture, enabling change, and delivering impact. If you thrive on influence, innovation, and making things happen through people, we’d love to hear from you.

Who We Are.

Skipton Business Finance, part of the Skipton Group, have been helping UK SMEs fulfil their aspirations for over 20 years by providing working capital solutions that support their ambitious growth plans.

With a rich history rooted in reliability and innovation, we leverage our expertise to offer a diverse range of financial products, including invoice finance. Our commitment to understanding the unique needs of each client enables us as a team to deliver personalised and responsive services, fostering long-term partners hips built on trust and mutual success.

At Skipton Business Finance, we strive to be more than just a financial provider. We aim to be a strategic partner, guiding businesses towards sustainable growth and prosperity. Join our team as we navigate the dynamic landscape of business finance together.

What You Will Be Doing.

Reporting directly to the CEO, you will:

• Act as a strategic partner between the Executive Committee, senior leadership, and the People team to embed and deliver the colleague strategy across the organisation.
• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders to influence, advise and challenge on cultural and people related matters, driving meaningful change.
• Design and implement people solutions that are commercially focused, aligned with bets practice and tailored to business needs.
• Leverage organisational change expertise to enhance ways of working, shape operating models, and support structural transformation.
• Use data-driven insights to inform decision across key people areas including resourcing, reward, performance, learning, succession planning, and talent management – aligned with the Group Talent framework.
• Lead the talent agenda by attracting, identifying, developing, engaging and retaining top talent. Collaborate with the Skipton Building Society Talent Acquisition team to create tailored recruitment strategies.
• Shape the future of the People Strategy by bringing local insights that influence planning and decision making.
• Develop and embed the organisational culture and behaviours throughout the organisation, ensuring our senior leaders and line managers exhibit our behaviours whilst fostering a diverse and inclusive environment throughout the colleague lifecycle.

What Do We Need From You.

• To be successful in this role you’ll need to be or have:
• Comprehensive HR expertise, with broad experience across all HR disciplines with a particular focus on Reward.
• Strong commercial acumen, with a deep understanding of industry best practices, business challenges and operating environments to ensure credibility and impact.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and business partnering skills, with a proven ability to influence and collaborate effectively at all levels.
• Strong leadership and coaching abilities, including experience in developing and challenging senior leaders at SLT and Exec level.
• Extensive experience in matrix environments, with a track record of successful partnership working across complex organisational structures.
• Proven leadership in transformation, with in-depth experience in enabling business change through strategy, technology, HR processes, policies, target operating model design, service delivery, cultural change and engagement strategies.
• Qualifications: Degree or equivalent, and/or qualified by relevant HR experience. Accredited project management, coaching or practitioner qualifications are desirable.

What’s In It For You.

• 25 days standard annual leave + bank holidays + rising 1 day per year of service to a maximum of 30 days.
• Holiday trading scheme allowing the ability to buy and sell additional annual leave days.
• Quarterly discretionary bonus scheme.
• Matching employer pension contribution (up to 10% per annum).
• A commitment to training and development.
• Private medical insurance for all our colleagues.
• Salary Sacrifice Scheme for Hybrid/Electric Car.
• Colleague Mortgage (conditions apply).
• Diverse and inclusive colleague networks available for you to join including our Carers and Pride Alliance groups.
• We care about your health and wellbeing – we provide a range of benefits th at support this including cycle to work initiative and discounted gym membership.

Location: United Kingdom (Hybrid)