Interim Head of People - Tech start-up

Handle Recruitment; London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic recruitment agency is seeking a talented Head of People and Culture to lead global HR initiatives. This role requires a strategic partner with experience in fast-paced environments, particularly in tech. You will support office culture, employee engagement, and performance management. The ideal candidate thrives in a collaborative environment and values in-person connections. This position is based in London and offers a flexible office arrangement.

Qualifications

• Proven strategic generalist experience at Head of or HRBP level.
• Experienced in fast-paced, start-up or scale-up environments.
• Strong leadership in employee relations and engagement.

Responsibilities

• Act as lead HR business partner globally.
• Provide support to the London office, especially to the sales team.
• Contribute to leadership decisions and foster a high-performance culture.

Skills

Strategic HR business partnering

Employee relations

Performance management

Culture-building

Proactive collaboration

Job description

Are you a creative thinking Senior HR Generalist with a background in start-up tech world open to a fixed term contract?

Handle are partnering with a market-leading, AI-powered scale-up, transformative in its space. A global organisation of around 200 employees across EMEA, APAC and the US. With continued growth and exciting plans ahead, they are looking for a Head of People and Culture to be based out of their London hub. The People & Culture team is small but collaborative and high-impact function and with two key team members taking maternity leave soon, they're looking for a confident, experienced HR leader to cover a 12 month period

Reporting directly into Leadership, you will be strategic partner to stakeholders globally, playing a central role in shaping and driving the people strategy across performance, engagement, ER, policy, and facilities - while being a hands-on, go-to figure for the London team of 40 employees. A typical day could see you moving from coaching a sales leader on performance strategy, to reviewing global policy, to ensuring the office culture is flourishing even down to the fridge being well stocked!

Key Focus Areas:

• Act as lead HR business partner globally, partnering with local team members to deliver initiatives across ER, performance, engagement, and policy.
• Provide strategic and hands-on support to the London office, particularly the commercial/sales team.
• Contribute to leadership decisions, providing sound people advice and fostering a culture of high performance and fun.
• Help maintain and elevate office culture and employee experience during a pivotal growth phase.

About You:

• Proven strategic generalist experience, ideally at Head of or HRBP level, ready to step into a Head of role.
• Experienced in fast-paced, start-up/scale-up environments, preferably in tech or SaaS.
• A hands-on leader with strong expertise in employee relations, performance, engagement, and culture-building.
• Comfortable navigating global environments, experience with APAC is a bonus, but not essential.
• Naturally proactive, positive, and collaborative, someone who thrives in a people-first, roll-up-your-sleeves culture.

The business is looking for someone who thrives being in person and connecting with people, ideally 3 or 4 days in the office (can consider flex on this)

If this sounds like you then please apply!

Handle actively welcomes applicants from under-represented backgrounds - we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent for every opportunity through a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.