Head of People

About the Role

As Head of People, you will support the development and delivery of Norwood's People & Culture strategy, turning strategic priorities into effective operational delivery across the charity

You will lead the People Partnering, Employee Relations, Reward & Recognition and people operations functions, ensuring people practices are high-quality, compliant and values-led.

Working closely with senior leaders across the organisation, you will strengthen wellbeing, organisational effectiveness and leadership capability while helping create a positive and inclusive culture where colleagues can thrive.

You will:

• Lead and develop a proactive and customer-focused People function
• Strengthen employee relations, governance and people operations
• Drive wellbeing, engagement and retention initiatives
• Lead people aspects of organisational change and transformation programmes
• Improve people systems, insight and reporting capability
• Support the ongoing development of equitable pay, reward and recognition approaches
• Build leadership capability through coaching, partnership and support

This is a role with significant organisational impact, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on leadership across operational people services.

Your Day to Day

You will:

• Lead the People Partnering and Employee Relations functions across Norwood
• Provide expert guidance on complex people and organisational matters
• Strengthen management capability through coaching and operational support
• Oversee governance, compliance and safer recruitment processes
• Develop and implement people policies aligned to best practice and organisational priorities
• Lead reporting, people analytics and management information frameworks
• Drive continuous improvement across people systems, processes and digital capability
• Support organisational change, transformation and culture initiatives
• Work collaboratively with leaders across services in London and Berkshire

Your impact will be demonstrated through:

• Stronger employee engagement and experience
• Improved governance and regulatory assurance
• Effective management of organisational change and employee relations
• Better insight and strategic decision-making
• A high-performing, inclusive and values-led culture

Qualifications, Experience & Training
Essential

• CIPD Level 5 qualification or equivalent degree
• Experience leading an HR or People function within a fast-paced organisation
• Experience managing complex employee relations matters
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams
• Strong knowledge of employment law, governance and HR best practice
• Experience leading organisational change and transformation activity
• Strong operational and commercial awareness
• Ability to develop meaningful people insight, reporting and performance metrics

Desirable

• Experience within health or social care
• Experience of organisational development and engagement initiatives
• Experience of HR systems improvement and digital transformation
• Knowledge of CQC employment requirements within the care sector

A bit more information: Norwood's Broadway House, located at 80 - 82 The Broadway, Stanmore HA7 4HB, is the charity's head office and main administrative base.

It brings together Governance, Leadership, Fundraising, Finance, People and Culture, and Marketing and Communications, providing coordination and support to Children & Family Services and Adult Services.

The office supports Norwood's mission to help people with neurodevelopmental disabilities, their families, and children in need across London and the South East. It is also the main point of contact for referrals, general enquiries, and charity business.

Safe Recruitment: Norwood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children, young people, and adults we support. This role is subject to safer recruitment checks in line with CQC Regulation 19, and appointment is conditional upon satisfactory pre-employment checks, including Right to Work in the UK and a DBS check appropriate to the role.

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Disclaimer: At Norwood, we welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates. At this time, Norwood is not a UK Home Office licensed sponsor and is unable to offer visa sponsorship.