People Manager - South East & South London Area

Marks and Spencer; Gillingham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail company in Gillingham is seeking a People Manager to enhance colleague experiences through talent development and performance management. This role includes responsibilities like managing assessment processes and driving engagement among store teams. Ideal candidates will have proven people management experience and strong analytical skills. The company offers competitive benefits, including a colleague discount and wellness support.

Benefits

20% colleague discount

Competitive holiday allowance

Discretionary bonus schemes

Strong pension and life assurance

Tailored induction and training

24/7 wellbeing support

Paid volunteer day

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a people management role within the retail industry.
• Ability to manage assessment and recruitment processes.
• Outstanding skills in talent development and performance management.

Responsibilities

• Lead Team Manager resourcing across the region.
• Coordinate assessment processes for Team Managers.
• Drive high standards in performance management and colleague engagement.
• Manage people-related activities for store openings and closures.
• Analyse people data to enhance store performance.

Skills

People management

Talent development

Performance management

Data analysis

Communication

Job description

Overview

People Manager - South East & South London Area

Ready to make a real impact on the colleague experience? Join our dynamic People team and help bring our people plan to life. In this fast-paced, purpose-driven role, you'll be at the heart of creating brilliant moments for our colleagues, from driving talent development and performance to delivering seamless people processes across our stores. If you're passionate about people, thrive on collaboration, and love turning strategy into action, this is your chance to shape the future of our teams and make every colleague feel supported, empowered, and inspired.

This role requires regular travel across the region and on-site in our stores 5 days per week. Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible.

What You'll Do

• Talent Development & Succession Planning: Lead Team Manager resourcing across the region and support career progression through targeted programmes like Stepping into Team/Store Manager, ensuring a strong pipeline of future leaders.
• Assessment & Onboarding Excellence: Coordinate assessment processes for internal and external Team Managers including early career colleagues.
• Performance & Engagement Support: Partner with store teams and regional leaders to drive high standards in key people practices such as performance management and colleague engagement.
• Operational Delivery & Change Management: Drive people-related activities for store openings, closures, and transformation activity, while ensuring accurate execution of HR processes and systems.
• Data-Driven Insights & Coaching: Analyse people data to identify opportunities, mentor leaders, and promote compliance with tools like MyHR and People Hub to enhance store performance.

Key Relationships

• Regional People Partner
• Regional Learning Partners
• Regional Manager
• Store Management Teams

Who you are

• Proven experience in a people management role within the retail industry.
• Strong ability to manage assessment and recruitment processes.
• Outstanding skills in talent development and performance management.
• Flawless execution of people processes with a focus on accuracy and compliance.
• Ability to analyse data and provide actionable insights.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

What’s in it for you

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

Everyone’s welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen. We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you’d benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.

Are you ready for it? Take Your Marks and apply today.

#LI-Onsite