ExecutiveFull TimeEN
Head of People - Activate Accident Repair
Location: Home-based/remote with national travel 2-3 days per week
Department: People Team
Contract type: Permanent, Full-time
About the role
We’re looking for a Head of People to join our team, and play a key role in leading the People Team for Activate Accident Repair, driving the Group People strategy, and ensuring that the needs of the area(s) are understood and met.
Activate Group is a growing UK business approaching 1,000+ team members nationwide. This is an exciting opportunity to build a long-term career with a company that values its people and offers genuine development and progression opportunities.
Key responsibilities
• Lead, manage and develop divisional People Team members, driving a culture of high performance and continuous improvement, in line with the Activate Group vision and purpose
• Collaborate with Executive Team stakeholder(s) as part of their management team to understand their strategy, objectives and related people needs
• Own and deliver Group People Plan activities / change initiatives into business area, leading and supporting Group-wide people projects / teams where needed
• Work collaboratively with the wider People Team, drawing in colleagues to support initiatives as required
• Work with stakeholders to continually evolve their functional organisational design to meet business requirements, and ensure that all roles have clear job descriptions that are evaluated in line with the Group career map
• Produce and share people data and insights with stakeholders to identify issues and inform decision-making
• Design and implement local people initiatives/plans as required
• Manage team to provide advice and guidance to people managers on employee relations issues, using a coaching style to develop their capability and encourage ownership, and ensuring that risks are identified and mitigated wherever possible
• Support the managing performance and pay review processes in partnered business area(s), helping people managers to make robust, data driven performance and pay decisions
• Lead talent reviews, ensuring that these are carried out regularly and that appropriate development plans are in place for all team members
• Lead recruitment activity, developing a thorough understanding of jobs, proactively sourcing candidates, and facilitating attraction and recruitment activity to support current and future organisational needs.
• Oversee administrative people processes ensuring they are compliant, effective and accurate – continually looking for opportunities to make improvements and efficiencies.
• Support Group engagement survey in partnered business area(s), driving completion rates, exploring results, and developing action plans
• Act as an ambassador for the Group Values in partnered business areas, ensuring that the link between culture and strategy is understood and that the values are embedded in every stage of the colleague life cycle
• Member of the Wider Leadership Group, accountable for delivering in line with Group responsibilities
• Deputise for Director of People as required.
Experience
• Excellent knowledge of UK employment legislation and HR best practice
• Experience of working closely with senior leaders to drive results
• Experience of managing change initiatives
• Experience of designing and implementing HR solutions
• Good knowledge and understanding of partnered business area(s)
• CIPD Level 7 qualified/working towards (or equivalent experience)
• Payroll experience (desirable)
Skills
• Ability to influence others, including at a senior level
• Strong relationship building/client management skills
• Ability to work confidentially with sensitive information
• Ability to solve complex problems based on the analysis of multiple sources of information
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong IT skills, including configuring HR/Payroll systems and Excel data analysis and presentation
• Strong coaching skills
• Project management skills
Benefits
We believe in rewarding our people for the great work they do. When you join Activate Group, you can expect:
What you can expect from us
At Activate Group, we want everyone to have the tools and support they need to do their best work. We’re an innovative business that continuously reviews and improves our systems, processes and ways of working, making sure they support our teams to do their jobs effectively.
Every role at Activate Group is aligned to our wider business vision and purpose – making someone’s bad day better. You’ll understand how your role contributes to the bigger picture and how your work helps deliver excellent outcomes for customer and partners.
We believe work should be enjoyable. We make time to celebrate success, recognise achievements and bring people together at team events and company-wide celebrations. We’ll also support your ongoing development through regular feedback and career planning.
Whether you’re based in one of our contact centres in Halifax, Peterborough or Huddersfield, working at an Activate Accident Repair (AAR) site, or working from home, you’ll be part of a supportive culture where people are encouraged to succeed.
A bit about us
Activate Group is a fast-growing business approaching 1,000 team members nationwide.
We work with some of the UK’s largest fleets and insurance companies, supporting drivers that have been involved in road incidents through our contact centres in Halifax, Peterborough and Huddersfield.
We manage every step of the repair journey - repairing vehicles at our own Activate Accident Repair (AAR) body shops, as well as through a UK-wide network of trusted independent repair partners.
We also work with the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturers, supporting their approved repair programmes, and deliver innovative technology solutions to fleets, vehicle repair centres and dealerships.
Our purpose & values
Our purpose underpins everything we do: Make someone’s bad day better
Our values define how we work with our team members, customers and suppliers:
