Head of People Operations

Up to £85,000 + benefits | 4 days on‑site, Portsmouth | Private equity‑backed | c.800 employees

A newly created role at a point where the organisation needs to mature — fast.

With private equity investment, multi‑site operations and a three‑year growth pipeline, the business is now outgrowing informal processes. The Head of People Operations will be the person who brings order to the pace, structure to the ambition, and a consistent people experience to an organisation that needs HR operations to work at scale.

Reporting to the Chief of Staff and leading a small, focused team, you’ll build an operational backbone that supports both clinical excellence and commercial performance.

If you're an HR operations leader who thrives in complexity, understands the realities of regulated environments, and values clarity over chaos — this is a role with real impact and none of the bureaucracy.

The opportunity

Leading a small but high‑impact team of two Recruiters and one Senior HR Advisor, you will:

• Define what “people experience” looks and feels like across diverse homes and teams
• Build scalable, robust HR operations that support both outstanding care and business expansion
• Determine where consistency is critical and where local autonomy should remain
• Embed effective collaboration between People, Operations, Quality, and Governance

It’s a hands‑on leadership role with genuine strategic impact in a sector where employee experience directly influences care outcomes.

What you’ll lead

In close partnership with the Chief of Staff and Executive team, you will:

• Design and implement a fit‑for‑growth People Operations framework across a multi‑site, 24/7 environment
• Bring clarity, structure and pace to recruitment, onboarding, ER and the full employee lifecycle
• Strengthen people data, KPIs and reporting, giving leaders clear insight into workforce trends and risks
• Ensure HR processes, policies and systems are compliant
• Build and coach your team to deliver a high‑quality, service‑oriented People Ops function
• Partner with Operations leaders to ensure workforce stability, retention and engagement underpin care quality
• Support integration activity linked to acquisitions and new openings, ensuring people processes keep pace with growth

About you

You’re likely to be an experienced HR/People Operations leader who has:

• Operated in a multi‑site, regulated or clinical environment
• Taken a business from informal or founder‑led HR towards more structured, scalable People Operations
• Successfully led small HR/People teams, coaching and upskilling colleagues while remaining close to the detail
• A strong grasp of HR systems and data, and how to turn insight into action for busy operational leaders
• The confidence to advise and challenge senior stakeholders in a calm, commercially grounded way
• A genuinely values‑led approach – combining accountability and pace with empathy, compassion and professionalism

The offer

• Salary: Up to £85,000 per annum, plus benefits
• Location: Portsmouth – 4 days per week on‑site, with visibility across other locations
• Structure: Newly created, permanent role reporting to the Chief of Staff, leading a team of three