Chief People Officer jobs in United Kingdom

Swap is a leading software provider dedicated to empowering e-commerce brands with innovative, data-driven solutions. Our cutting-edge platform helps online retailers optimise their operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment where creativity and innovation thrive.

Role Overview

As an HR Business Partner at Swap, you will act as a strategic partner to business leaders and teams across the organisation. You will ensure that our people strategy aligns with our business goals, foster a high-impact and inclusive culture, and provide expert HR support across the employee lifecycle. This role requires deep experience operating in both theUK and the Netherlands, and the ability to support a growing, international workforce.

Strategic Partnership

• Partner with senior leadership and business units to understand their strategy, challenges and people needs, translating these into actionable HR initiatives.
• Provide coaching, advice and support to managers and employees on performance management, career development, succession planning, organisational change, employee relations and more.

Talent & Capability

• Lead or support end-to-end talent acquisition for your business areas: role design, candidate experience, hiring manager capability, and onboarding.

Performance & Organisation

• Drive performance management processes, including goal-setting, feedback, review cycles and performance improvement plans.
• Support organisational design and workforce planning: structure, roles, spans, and ensuring we have the right resources in place for growth.

Culture, Engagement & ER

• Foster employee engagement, retention and culture through surveys, focus groups, action planning, and initiatives that reinforce our values and our culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Oversee employee relations matters and ensure compliance with employment law and best practice, acting as the escalation point for complex issues in theUK and the Netherlands.

Data & Change

• Monitor and report on key HR metrics (turnover, engagement, headcount, D&I, etc.) and provide insights that drive action.
• Act as a change agent as we scale, ensuring our people practices evolve and remain fit-for-purpose across fast growth, international operations and cross-functional teams.

• Proven experience (typically 3-5 years) as an HR Business Partner or HR Generalist, including hands-on experience supporting teams in both the UK and the Netherlands.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to partner with, challenge and influence senior leaders, tying HR initiatives directly to business outcomes.
• Operationally strong and comfortable working across the full employee lifecycle in a dynamic, high-growth SaaS or tech-scale environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust, navigate ambiguity, and maintain confidentiality.
• Expert knowledge of UK employment law and strong working knowledge of Dutch employment law and associated HR practices.
• Experience in organisational design, performance management, succession planning and change management.
• Data-driven with the ability to interpret HR metrics and turn insights into action.
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience working in inclusive, collaborative, remote/hybrid, and fast-paced environments, while introducing structure and discipline where needed.
• Exposure to broader international operations (e.g., EMEA, US, APAC).
• CIPD Level 5/7 or equivalent qualification is preferred but not essential.