People Director

Story Terrace Inc.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A high-growth AI beauty startup in Holborn, London, is seeking a People Director to build and lead the entire people strategy and function. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years in People/HR and experience scaling fast-paced organizations. This full-time role offers a competitive salary and hybrid working conditions, including 3 days onsite.

Benefits

Competitive salary

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Private healthcare

Qualifications

• 10+ years in People/HR, with 3+ years in senior leadership.
• Experience scaling fast-paced, founder-led organizations.
• Track record of designing people frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Build the entire people strategy and function from the ground up.
• Develop progressive frameworks for performance and career growth.
• Shape and lead a lean People & Culture team.

Skills

Emotional intelligence

Strategic capability

Storytelling instinct

Culture shaping

Leadership

Job description

People Director

📍 Holborn, London
🕒 Hybrid – 3 days onsite / 2 days WFH
💼 Full-Time

About Noli

Backed by L’Oréal, Noli launched in 2024 with a big mission: to solve the ultimate beauty dilemma — helping people find the perfect products for their unique needs through AI‑driven personalisation. We’re a fast‑growing, forward‑thinking AI beauty brand blending science, technology, and creativity to help people feel confident in their own skin. Our People Promise, “No one like I,” is at the heart of everything we build — for customers and for our team.

The Opportunity

This is not a typical HR leadership role. As People Director, you will build the entire people strategy and function from the ground up for a high‑growth AI startup with empathy and purpose at its core. You'll shape an environment where people aspire to belong, grow, and do their best work.

Your mission: bring “No one like I” to life across every touchpoint of the employee experience, ensuring work at Noli feels as personal and human as our approach to beauty.

What You’ll Do

Lead the People Promise

• Translate “No one like I” into meaningful hiring, development, and reward experiences.
• Partner with founders and leaders to shape and evolve culture as we scale.
• Embed our values across all people systems and rituals.

Define and Deliver the People Strategy

• Create an actionable people strategy including hiring plans, L&D, budgets, and org design.
• Partner with leaders to enable high performance across teams.
• Build and report on people metrics to support strategic decisions.
• Work closely with the Finance Director and CEO on workforce planning.
• Collaborate with L’Oréal teams where required.

Build High-Impact People Foundations

• Develop progressive frameworks for performance, reward, and career growth.
• Design scalable processes that balance individuality with fairness and clarity.

Champion Growth, Learning & Leadership

• Build personalised development pathways.
• Coach managers to lead with empathy and clarity.
• Embed continuous feedback and growth mindsets into everyday work.

Build & Lead a Small but Mighty People Team

• Shape, hire, and lead a lean People & Culture team (starting with a People Experience Partner).
• Drive a culture of trust, empowerment, experimentation, and data‑led decision‑making.

Be the Cultural Architect

• Bring Noli’s energetic, connected culture to life every day.
• Partner with the senior team and Vibes Squad to activate culture and rituals.
• Ensure insights from our people translate into meaningful action.
• Model kindness, clarity, courage — and an AI‑first approach.

About You

You’re a seasoned People leader who knows how to scale high‑growth, values‑led organisations. You blend emotional intelligence with strategic capability, and you care deeply about how people feel, not just how they perform.

You likely have:

• 10+ years in People/HR, with 3+ years in senior leadership.
• Experience scaling fast‑paced, founder‑led or creative/tech/consumer organisations.
• A track record of designing people frameworks that balance autonomy and accountability.
• Strong capability in shaping culture, leadership, and organisational excellence.
• A storytelling instinct — you understand brand, narrative, and experience.
• Comfort with ambiguity and building from 0→1 and 1→100.

What You’ll Get From Us

• Competitive salary
• Holborn (Central London) location
• Hybrid working: 3 days onsite / 2 days WFH
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Private healthcare