People Director

MHR; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Car allowance

60+ internal training courses

GP access Help at Hand

Private medical insurance

Dental coverage

25 days holiday

Job summary

MHR is seeking a strategic People Director to shape our people and talent agenda as we scale a growing HR, Payroll and Finance business. You’ll partner with the Executive Leadership Team, report to the Chief People Officer, and lead development and delivery of our people strategy to ensure leadership capability, organisational design and future workforce readiness.

You’ll drive large-scale transformation, champion AI and digital tools in people practices, build an engaging, high-performance

Qualifications

• Senior People leadership experience within HR, Payroll and Finance, SaaS or technology.
• Experience partnering with Executive teams and influencing business strategy.
• A strong track record of organisational design, transformation and change management.
• Experience developing leadership capability, succession planning and workforce strategies.
• Strong knowledge of employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience building scalable People functions and operating models.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A commercial, data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Experience leading People technology transformation.
• Knowledge of AI, automation and people analytics.
• CIPD Chartered or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Delivering a people strategy that supports business growth.
• Leading organisational design and change programmes.
• Building future workforce capability through succession planning and skills development.
• Driving leadership capability and management effectiveness.
• Embedding data, analytics and technology into people decision-making.
• Championing continuous improvement, AI and digital transformation across the People function.
• Creating an engaging, inclusive and high-performing culture.
• Ensuring our People function remains commercially focused, scalable and aligned with business objectives.

Skills

Senior People leadership

HR leadership

Stakeholder management

SaaS/Technology

Data-driven decision making

AI and analytics

Employee relations

Commercial mindset

People technology transformation

Education

CIPD Chartered or equivalent

Tools

HRIS

Job description

At MHR, our employees are central to our success and play a key role in helping customers achieve sustainable high performance. With a team of over 900 professionals, we work to make things flow smoothly, whether it's for large organisations or individual employees. As businesses face rapid changes in the world of work, our team is here to help them adapt and thrive.

By focusing on the core needs of efficiency, productivity, growth, and impact, our employees use their expertise to deliver real solutions through our People and Finance platform. This system, which covers finance, HR, payroll, and learning, helps businesses run more smoothly and make better decisions in real time.

With over 40 years of experience behind us, MHR’s track record as a high-performance organisation is built on clear goals, a shared vision, and strong communication - all of which we pass on to our customers.

MHR is more than just a place to work; it’s a platform for empowerment. Joining us means bringing innovation, technology, and teamwork seamlessly removes obstacles, enhances your skills, and allow you to focus on what’s most important to you- work that matters.

With us, you’ll grow, find your flow, and make a lasting difference in your career, your team, and your impact.

About the Role

As People Director, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of MHR as we continue to grow as a leading HR, Payroll and Finance business. You’ll be reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will lead the development and delivery of our people strategy, ensuring we have the leadership capability, organisational design, culture and future workforce needed to support our ambitious growth plans.

This is a high profile role, where you will be working closely with our Executive Leadership Team, you'll be a trusted strategic partner, driving organisational change, developing future talent and ensuring our people practices enable the business to scale successfully.

In this role you'll have the opportunity to:

• Shape the future People strategy of a growing technology business.
• Partner with Executive and Board-level stakeholders to influence strategic decisions.
• Lead large-scale organisational design, workforce planning and transformation programmes.
• Drive innovation through AI, automation and modern People practices.

Your Team.

You’ll lead a high-performing People function responsible for delivering exceptional support across the employee lifecycle. Working collaboratively across the business, you’ll build strong relationships with Chiefs, Directors and senior leaders to ensure our people strategy supports business priorities.

This includes:

• People Operations
• People Business Partnering
• Talent Acquisition
• Employee Relations
• Workforce Planning
• Learning academy
• Leadership Development
• Organisational Development
• Learning & Capability

Your Impact.

As our People Director, you’ll make a significant impact by:

• Developing and delivering a people strategy that supports business growth.
• Leading organisational design and change programmes.
• Building future workforce capability through succession planning and skills development.
• Driving leadership capability and management effectiveness.
• Embedding data, analytics and technology into people decision-making.
• Championing continuous improvement, AI and digital transformation across the People function.
• Creating an engaging, inclusive and high-performing culture.
• Ensuring our People function remains commercially focused, scalable and aligned with business objectives.

What You'll Bring:

• Senior People leadership experience within HR, Payroll and Finance, SaaS or technology.
• Experience partnering with Executive teams and influencing business strategy.
• A strong track record of organisational design, transformation and change management.
• Experience developing leadership capability, succession planning and workforce strategies.
• Strong knowledge of employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience building scalable People functions and operating models.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A commercial, data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Experience leading People technology transformation.
• Knowledge of AI, automation and people analytics.
• CIPD Chartered or equivalent.

Success in this role will include:

• Delivering a people strategy that enables business growth.
• Building a highly engaged and high‑performing workforce.
• Strengthening leadership capability across the business.
• Successfully leading organisational transformation.
• Improving workforce planning and future skills capability.
• Delivering efficient, scalable and commercially focused People operations.
• Being recognised as a trusted strategic partner to the Executive Leadership Team

Benefits to support you personally and professionally

Alongside the opportunity to work with an incredible team and express your individuality, we offer a range of personalised benefits including:

• Competitive salary, company bonus scheme, car allowance
• Access to over 60 internal training courses, professional qualifications, and cross‑departmental mentoring and coaching programs
• 24/7 access to a GP through Help at Hand for you and your family, confidential mental health support, and paid sick leave
• Ability to purchase or sell additional holiday days beyond 25 days and bank holidays
• Enhanced Family leave
• My MHRewards offering discounts at over 900 retailers
• Monthly employee recognition program and departmental awards
• Referral bonus scheme of up to £2,000
• Employee‑led social events such as running clubs, football teams, book clubs, and bake‑offs
• On‑site subsidised restaurants offering a variety of fresh meals daily
• Opt‑in benefits schemes such as private medical insurance and dental coverage

We value the well‑being, financial stability, and inclusivity of our employees, and strive to provide a supportive working environment.

At MHR, we’re completely committed to creating a supportive and inclusive workplace where all voices are heard, and everyone feels valued and supported.

Whatever your background, abilities and experiences, if you’re excited by this role we want to hear from you. If you require assistance for an interview, please let us know and we’ll make sure your needs are met when you arrive.

If we receive an exceptionally high volume of applications, we reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than originally advertised.