People Lead - Programmes

Ocean Infinity; Southampton; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Ocean Infinity is recruiting a senior HR leader to own the Programme People Plan and mobilise a global workforce for defence and security programmes.

Operating in a high-growth, programme-led environment, you will align workforce strategy, recruitment and organisational design to milestones, while mitigating people-related risks. Security vetting and clearance will be part of delivery, with collaboration across security, IT and facilities.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a senior HR leadership or HRBP role within programme-led environments.
• Experience supporting defence or security-cleared programmes.
• Strong analytical capability using workforce data to manage risk and performance.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver the Programme People Plan, aligning workforce structure and deployment to milestones.
• Lead workforce planning, including demand forecasting and mobilisation.
• Oversee onboarding, vetting and deployment logistics to ensure readiness.
• Governance and compliance with security requirements and programme risk management.

Skills

Senior HR leadership

Workforce planning

Recruitment leadership

Stakeholder influence

Data analytics

Security clearance experience

Job description

We are using and creating technology to transform operations at sea to enable people and the planet to thrive.

We are open-minded and fearless in our approach to innovation and don't believe in boundaries. We challenge everything and have massive ambitions to drag aging industries into the tech era.

We take safety, equality and education very seriously, and our responsibilities don't stop at our front door. Our business is built on the belief that there's definitely a more environmentally responsible way to operate at sea.

We employ people who share our core values. We expect our people to be courageous, trustworthy, and conscientious, driven by a desire to do the right thing. We strive for excellence, work collaboratively, and are genuinely excited by our work.

We offer opportunities for our people to develop beyond their role and span a multitude of disciplines. These are open to all, regardless of background and experience level. Working with us means being part of a team that is harnessing technology and creativity to disrupt a traditional industry.

We are not your average workplace.

The People Lead – Programmes is a senior, delivery-focused HR leader responsible for ensuring the workforce is mobilised and deployed to support complex, global defence and security programmes.

Operating within a high-growth, programme-led environment, the role owns the end-to-end People Plan, aligning workforce strategy, recruitment and organisational design to programme milestones and operational readiness.

Acting as a critical enabler of delivery, the HR Lead ensures people-related risks do not impact execution, working closely with Programme Leadership and enabling functions (Security, IT, Facilities, Recruitment) to deliver a security-compliant workforce at pace.

The role requires experience operating in global defence or security-cleared environments, including managing constraints related to vetting, compliance and deployment logistics.

What you will be doing

Programme workforce delivery

• Own and deliver the Programme People Plan, aligning workforce structure, ramp profile anddeployment to programme milestones
• Lead workforce planning, including demand forecasting, role prioritisation and phased mobilisation
• Ensure workforce readiness through effective onboarding and integration
• Oversee delivery of a scalable HR model aligned to programme demand

Recruitment and mobilisation leadership

• Oversee the recruitment delivery strategy (direct, agency and contractor models)
• Ensure candidate pipelines meet forecast demand across disciplines
• Partner with Recruitment to deliver hiring targets and mitigate risks (e.g. scarcity, offer drop-off, clearance delays)
• Track and report hiring performance against ramp plan and milestones

Operational integration

• Coordinate onboarding aligned to security clearance, IT and facilities requirements
• Ensure effective workforce integration into programme teams
• Oversee early lifecycle management, including engagement, retention and issue resolution

Governance, risk and compliance

• Ensure alignment with defence requirements, including: Security vetting and clearance, and handling of sensitive information
• Provide workforce reporting to programme governance, including risks and readiness
• Own workforce inputs to programme risk registers

Who you are

• Proven experience in a senior HR leadership or HRBP role within programme-led environments, supporting defence or security-cleared programmes
• In-depth workforce planning capability, including demand forecasting and mobilisation planning
• Experience leading large-scale recruitment aligned to programme milestones
• Ability to operate at senior stakeholder level and influence programme leadership
• Strong analytical capability, using workforce data to manage risk and performance
• Commercially aware, aligning people strategy to delivery, revenue and margin
• Experience operating in fast-paced, complex programme environments

Given the nature of the work, this role requires you to obtain and maintain the appropriate level of UK national security clearance. You must be willing and able to undergo the necessary security vetting process, and continued employment in the role may be subject to maintaining the required clearance. Security vetting will be conducted in accordance with the requirements and standards set by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV). Further information on UK security clearance levels, eligibility, and the vetting process can be found on the UK Government website:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/united-kingdom-security-vetting-applicant

What you can expect:

At Ocean Infinity, we believe in creating equal opportunities for all, celebrating each and everyone’s differences. We are driven by transforming the industry, through our technology, thoughts, behaviours and actions. Being inclusive and respectful to all is fundamental to who we are. It is the right thing to do and enables innovation and creativity to thrive.

There is more work to be done, and we know that we aren’t perfect, but our commitment to these values is unwavering. They are central to our mission and the impact we have on the industry, meaning, we cannot live without them.