Head of People - Strategic Operations

We are seeking a Head of People (Strategic Operations) to help us build an AI-native, high-performing, scalable and commercially focused People function.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will own the strategic People Operations agenda across Nearform, leading People Operations across multiple regions and time zones through the Operations Lead. You will ensure our people infrastructure, operating model, processes, systems, data and governance support the business as we scale, while transforming how People Operations works through AI, AI agents, automation and technology. 

The role combines senior business partnering and strategic project leadership, working with Sales, Solutions, Strategy, Marketing and Shared Services - and leading cross-functional initiatives across the People function and wider business. You will be commercially minded, data-led and pragmatic, with the ability to simplify complexity, influence senior stakeholders and turn strategy into scalable execution.

• Be a senior member of the People Leadership Team (PLT), contributing to the direction, strategy and leadership of the People function as a whole.
• Provide leadership and challenge across the wider People team, helping create a joined-up, high-performing and service-oriented function across People Operations, People Advisory, Talent Acquisition and Transformation.
• Act as a member of the extended leadership team for Nearform, contributing beyond the People agenda and bringing a strong organisational and commercial perspective to business decisions.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders across the organisation, creating confidence in the People function as a strategic partner to the business.

• Own the People Operations operating model and its evolution, ensuring the way People services are structured, delivered and governed supports Nearform's strategy, scale and ways of working.
• Lead and develop a high-performing global People Operations service across multiple regions and time zones, working through the Operations Lead to deliver an effective employee lifecycle and high-quality service to employees and managers.
• Ensure People services are simple, scalable, consistent and commercially effective, with clear accountability, service standards and effective processes across the function.
• Lead the continuous improvement and transformation of People processes, using AI, AI agents, automation, workflow orchestration, self-service and systems integration to reduce manual activity, remove complexity and fundamentally improve how People services are delivered.
• Identify where AI agents can automate or augment employee and manager interaction, employee lifecycle activity, knowledge access, workflow execution and administrative processes, while retaining appropriate human judgement and controls.
• Ensure policies, processes and systems are designed for scalability and future AI capability, with transformation initiatives effectively embedded into business-as-usual.

• Own the effectiveness and evolution of the People data, technology and governance environment, ensuring it provides the infrastructure, insight and controls required for a global, data-led People function.
• Drive the use of AI, AI agents, automation and integrated workflows to improve data quality, reporting, decision-making and the efficiency of People processes.
• Develop increasingly sophisticated workforce insights and analytics, enabling leaders to make evidence-based decisions on workforce cost, capacity, retention, mobility and capability.
• Maintain robust governance across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring appropriate controls, documentation and oversight of employment practices, policies, data, systems and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain oversight of global employment compliance, audits and regulatory obligations to ensure material risks are identified, managed and escalated.
• Ensure the People function is due diligence ready, maintaining the data, documentation, policies, controls and evidence required to support investment, acquisition, audit, ISO certification and other external scrutiny.

• Act as the senior People partner to Sales, Pre-Sales, Solutions, Consulting, Strategy, Marketing and Shared Services, developing a deep understanding of their strategies, organisational needs and commercial priorities being hands on with employee relations matters as they arise - and getting ahead of them where possible.
• Partner with senior functional leaders on organisation design, workforce planning, leadership capability, talent, performance, retention and organisational effectiveness.
• Bring together the appropriate People expertise to provide integrated solutions to business challenges.
• Use workforce data, commercial insight and organisational expertise to challenge thinking, identify risks and opportunities, and improve business performance.

• Own and lead high-impact strategic People and organisational projects aligned to Nearform's business priorities, working across People Practices and with senior leaders and other functions.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives involving People, Finance, Technology, Legal, Delivery and other business areas where appropriate.
• Turn strategic priorities into clear programmes of work, establishing ownership, measures, governance and delivery plans.
• Ensure major initiatives move effectively from strategy and design through implementation, with the required policies, processes, systems and capabilities embedded into sustainable business-as-usual.

You understand how AI-native organisations operate and how AI tooling, AI agents, automation, data and integrated workflows can fundamentally change People Operations. You can distinguish between adding AI to existing processes and genuinely redesigning how work is delivered, using technology to reduce administration, improve self-service and employee experience, strengthen data and enable a more strategic function. You are curious, practical and comfortable experimenting with emerging technology and turning it into scalable solutions.

You combine strategic thinking with strong operational execution. You have significant experience leading global People Operations, with a strong understanding of the employee lifecycle, service delivery, systems, policies, processes, data, governance and compliance. You know what good looks like and can build simple, scalable and commercially effective operations across multiple jurisdictions, while embedding sustainable improvements.

You understand that the People Team is a business function, not simply an administrative service. You are comfortable working with Finance and P&L leaders and can connect People decisions to cost, revenue per head, growth, retention, workforce capacity and organisational effectiveness.

You are highly comfortable with People data, systems and technology and understand how good infrastructure and workforce analytics improve decision-making. You have significant experience managing People governance, employment compliance and operational risk across multiple jurisdictions, including audits, regulatory scrutiny and leading due diligence processes.

You have experience operating across multiple countries and jurisdictions, balancing global consistency with local requirements. You understand the people and commercial dynamics of professional services or consulting, including workforce capacity, capability, utilisation, revenue, client delivery and organisational cost.

You are an experienced People leader who can build high-performing teams and influence senior stakeholders without relying solely on formal authority. You are pragmatic, collaborative and confident in challenging existing approaches when there is a better way.

You have experience operating in organisations undergoing significant growth, transformation or change. Experience preparing for investment, merger/acquisition, integration, audit/due diligence or IPO would be highly valuable.