Head of People - Northumberland

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 Northumberland

The most northern of the counties in the north-east of England, Northumberland is bordered by Cumbria, County Durham and Tyne and Wear. It also shares a border with Scotland and has coastline on the North Sea.

Those looking for Head of People roles in Northumberland will have a variety of opportunities to consider, particularly in the major settlements, such as Morpeth, Ponteland, Prudhoe and Alnwick. Parts of the county are also common choices for those who want to work in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but live away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Northumberland has a tumultuous history. It was occupied by the Angles and Romans, and as an important location in the wars between Scotland and England, the region is known for having more castles than anywhere else in England. Many of these are now popular tourist destinations, such as Lindisfarne, Alnwick and Bamburgh.

The modern economy of Northumberland is predominantly based in tourism, as well as the service sector and retail.

A few large companies have factories in the area. These include SCA Hygiene - once part of Kimberly-Clark, the company manufactures paper products like tissues - and Hammerite Products, which makes paints and paint-thinning products.

Other large companies include Eclipse Translations, Barter Books and Thompsons of Prudhoe. There's also the Sanofi Alnwick Research Centre - it specialises in the research and testing of pharmaceuticals.

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.

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