Talent and Performance Manager

Ocado Group; Hatfield; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave plus 2 days after

Private Medical Insurance

Pension with employer matching

Sharesave & BAYE

Cycle to Work Scheme

Free shuttle Hatfield/Welwyn

Job summary

Ocado Group in Hatfield is seeking a Talent and Performance Manager to lead group-wide performance and succession initiatives, bridging strategy with on-ground delivery. You’ll shape tech-enabled processes, partner with the People Committee and Board, and drive AI-driven improvements across the employee lifecycle.

You’ll collaborate with HR partners and senior leaders, design scalable processes, and ensure clear expectations, regular feedback, and meaningful internal mobility to create maximum

Qualifications

• Experience in performance and talent management (cycles, reviews, succession)
• Ability to define problems with a product mindset and deliver impact
• Strong collaboration with senior leaders and HR partners
• Comfort navigating complexity and driving adoption of new processes
• Proficient in using data to drive decisions and measure outcomes
• Experience shaping people processes within systems with a user-centric approach

Responsibilities

• Define problems from strategy and user needs with a product mindset
• Diagnose talent and org challenges with leaders and partners
• Lead end-to-end delivery with scope, budget and risk management
• Bring in cross-functional expertise at the right time
• Apply AI-first approaches to research, analysis and design of solutions
• Measure impact and apply learning to future work
• Build manager capability and lead communications on expectations and performance
• Own performance and talent processes in our systems with tech partners

Skills

Performance management

Talent development

Data & insight

AI fluency

User-focused design

Tools

People Systems

AI tooling

Job description

We are Ocado Group, and we're bringing world-class automation to online grocery. Our Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) combines cutting-edge robotics, AI, and IoT within our advanced CFCs (Customer Fulfilment Centres). We've mastered the single pick, transforming online delivery for our global partners. Join us and be part of a team pushing the boundaries of retail technology.

About the Role

As our Talent and Performance Manager, you’ll help Ocado Group and its people operate at their full potential, bridging high-level strategic thinking with the drive to make things work on the ground. You will lead key talent initiatives and design our group-wide approach to performance and succession management, approaching internal people processes with the rigor, user focus, and iteration of a product owner. Working alongside HR business partners, the wider People team, and senior leadership, you'll ensure that business performance is powered by clear expectations, regular feedback, fair assessments, and real internal mobility that places colleagues where they create the greatest value.

Looking ahead to 2027, you’ll focus on two interconnected priorities: technology and governance. You will modernise the everyday manager and colleague experience by designing tech-enabled processes with AI at the centre, ensuring modern tools remove friction and elevate talent development. At the strategic level, you’ll partner directly with the People Committee, our Designated Non-Executive Director, and the Board to shape long-term people strategy and deliver flagship initiatives that prepare us for our next phase of growth.

Day to day responsibilities

Talent projects and internal consulting

• Define problems that come from strategy or emerge in the business using a product mindset, beginning with the user's need and evidence, and being clear on what success looks like.
• Diagnose talent and organisational challenges with leaders and People Partners, designing solutions that may span talent, organisation design, ways of working and culture.
• Break complex work into clear plans and lead delivery end to end, managing scope, resources, budget and risk.
• Bring in expertise from across People, the business and external partners at the right time, and facilitate the conversations that move work forward.
• Take an AI-first approach to the work, using AI by default to research, analyse and build, and push forward what’s possible by designing solutions that would not otherwise be possible.
• Measure and report impact, and apply what is learned to the next piece of work.

Performance and talent

• Build a clear view of what drives performance at Ocado, and what colleagues and the organisation need to perform at their best.
• Shape how we set expectations, give feedback, develop talent and plan succession.
• Design and run the processes and cycles that make this work well in practice, with HRBPs and the business.
• Build manager capability, so managers have the skills and confidence to hold good performance and development conversations.
• Lead clear communication so managers and colleagues understand what is expected, why it matters and how to take part.
• Own how performance and talent processes work in our systems, working with People Systems and technology partners on design and adoption, with the manager and colleague experience in mind.
• Use data and AI to understand what is working in practice, and improve it over time.

About you

• Performance and talent expertise: Practical experience in performance and talent management, such as performance cycles, talent reviews, succession or capability building, with a clear, evidence-based view of what works.
• Problem solving and delivery: Uses a product mindset to define complex problems, break them down and deliver measurable impact.
• Consulting and collaboration: Builds trusted relationships with senior leaders, People Partners and colleagues at all levels, influencing without authority and knowing who to involve and when.
• Navigating complexity: Finds solutions that work for different groups, and sees them through until they work in practice.
• AI fluency: Uses AI confidently in day-to-day work, with examples of building something with AI that changed how work gets done. Sound judgement on data privacy, accuracy and appropriate use.
• Technology and experience design: Experience shaping how people processes work in systems, from requirements to adoption, with a strong focus on the user.
• Data and insight: Highly skilled in using people data to find what matters, test assumptions and show impact.
• Clear communication: Writes and presents clearly for senior audiences, and turns complex work into simple messages for managers and colleagues.

What we offer

We believe in supporting our people with meaningful, flexible benefits that prioritise well-being and work-life balance. Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect:

• Time to recharge:
  25 days annual leave (rising to 27 after 5 years), plus the option to buy more – and 30 days a year to work from anywhere in the world.
• Health & wellbeing:
  Private Medical Insurance from your first month, wellbeing support through specialist apps and EAP, plus Income Protection and Life Assurance.
• Family-first policies:
  22 weeks paid maternity/primary carer leave and 6 weeks paid paternity leave
• Financial support:
  Pension with employer matching up to 7%, share schemes (Sharesave & BAYE), and interest-free loans for train tickets.
• Commuter perks:
  Cycle to Work Scheme and free shuttle buses to/from Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City stations.
• Exclusive discounts:
  15% off at Ocado.com with free delivery (starting in your first month).

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