Head of People - Darlington

Head of People Jobs

Staffing of a business has been revolutionized over the past 10–15 years as companies recognize and capitalize on the advantages of having a happy, satisfied and fulfilled workforce. It’s all about ensuring the human factor is a part of human resources. While perks and bonuses have long played a part in the equation, with a modern recognition that it’s a more complex and finely tuned process, HR departments are now employing heads of people to oversee and refine the workplace processes to help with satisfaction and therefore retention and attractiveness to talent.

The head of people typically looks after a team or a department, often reporting to a people manager or director. Those members of staff have direct contact with the board and have access to the funds and the strategic information required to put people-focused initiatives into action. The head of people is normally required to understand and interpret plans and implement them at team level, often as one of several heads of people in a company.

The skills required

A background in delivering bonuses and benefits to teams is a key asset in this role. That can often mean basing benefits on individual assessments to create focused, personalized schemes, or it could be a generalized task over complete teams. You are expected to implement strategies and initiatives that drive cultural change throughout the business, as dictated by the board and your line managers. Whether they go into detail on how these are implemented or you are expected to interpret them into actions depends on the policy of the company.

Experience within the industry the company operates in is useful as employees in different sectors have different expectations and motivations. You must be able to demonstrate that you can implement complex initiatives that have been possibly decided without your input.

Head of People Jobs in Darlington

Anyone familiar with the history of railways will already be familiar with the name Darlington. The 26-mile Stockton and Darlington railway was the first commercial railway in the world, opened in 1825 to great acclaim. Within 50 years, the railway system covered the whole country, and many of the mainlines remain in place today. Because of its early adoption, Darlington became a centre of engineering, with several of the large companies, including Robert Stephenson & Co., setting up there.

Bridge building and engineering are still strongly associated with the town. The Darlington name is embossed on bridges the world over, and many a lorry driver will be familiar with the name Cummins, the American engineering firm that makes diesel engines among many other things, which has a plant in Darlington employing around 700 people.

Darlington was originally a market town, part of the reason it required a rail link, and that remains today, with much of the surrounding area being served by its shopping area. Its largest single employer is Orange, which has a call centre there. The town is well served by rail, air and road, with great links to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool. With so much engineering and commerce going on, and a mobile population, Darlington is a great place to look for Head of People jobs, so please get in touch if you’re in the area looking for this kind of work.

Popular locations

Find Head of People Jobs with Cast UK

At Cast UK we pride ourselves on our ability to match top HR jobs with excellent candidates, which is why companies come back to us time and time again to fill their positions. We have an incredible reach, too, filling positions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but also further afield when needed.

Our recruitment consultants are always dealing with companies looking for a head of people, so if you are such a person, there’s nothing to lose by leaving your details with us so we can get the ball rolling next time an appropriate position becomes available. Call us today on 0333 121 3345.

Contact us