Head of People Partnering
5 days ago
London
ABOUT THE ROLE As Head of People Partnering, you’ll lead a team of three Regional People Partners and an ER Lead, supporting a workforce of 3,000+ brilliant bakery team members across the country. You will partner closely with our Heads of Operations, Talent, L&D, and People Services to deliver exceptional people initiatives that improve performance, strengthen our culture, and enhance the employee experience across GAIL’s. This is a highly impactful, visible, and strategic role—perfect for someone who thrives on autonomy, collaboration, and meaningful relationship-building. Lead With Drive • Inspire and guide your People Partners to deliver local talent support and leadership coaching., • Shape an exceptional onboarding experience for new managers across regions., • Champion continuous improvement across all people processes, policies, and touchpoints., • Own key people metrics—driving improvements in retention, engagement, wellbeing, and absence., • Build strong, trusted relationships with bakery managers, regional operations teams, and the wider support office., • Role-model inclusivity, diversity, belonging, and our purpose: “Feed more people better.” Lead to Deliver • Analyse people data to identify trends and drive fact-based decisions., • Manage complex ER matters with expertise, pragmatism, and commercial awareness., • Oversee data accuracy on Fourth and ensure effective reporting., • Produce monthly board packs and support seamless onboarding and offboarding processes., • Manage team budgets and ensure efficient use of resources. Lead Through People • Coach, develop, and inspire your team—creating a culture of growth and accountability., • Maintain a healthy work-life balance for your team while supporting a 7-day operational business., • Drive succession planning for our ‘Fab 5’ bakery management roles., • Collaborate with L&D to bring career pathways to life for all roles and levels., • Ensure bakery leaders have the tools they need to lead their people brilliantly., • Own B-Heard survey results for your team and act on insights. Lead With Vision • Partner with the Head of People to enhance the end-to-end employee experience., • Stay ahead of industry trends and competitor activity, ensuring our people plans are best-in-class., • Build talent pipelines to support new openings, internal moves, and long-term growth., • Lead cross-functional projects, hitting key milestones and delivering strong outcomes., • Create space for reflection: what’s going well, what’s not, and what we’ll do differently. ARE YOU THE MISSING INGREDIENT • CIPD Level 5+ (desirable), • Experienced leading People Partners or operating as a senior People Partner within a fast-growing hospitality, retail, or consumer business of 3,000+ employees., • Passionate about “doing the right thing” for people and the brand., • Commercial, solution-oriented, and resilient., • A strong relationship-builder who can influence senior leaders and challenge constructively., • Authentic, grounded, and able to bring a sense of fun to your work., • Highly organised, detail-driven, and able to juggle competing priorities., • Comfortable with nationwide travel and occasional weekend working., • A natural coach and communicator who cuts through noise with clarity., • Trusted, confidential, and professional at a senior-leadership level. BENEFITS BAKED IN • Free food and drink when working, • 50% off food and drink when not working, • 33 days holiday, • Pension Scheme, • Discounts and Savings from high-street retailers and restaurants, • 24 hour GP service, • Cycle to work scheme, • Development programmes for you to RISE with GAIL’s