Role description
The Premier League’s People team is looking for a Head of People to provide operational leadership across the core HR services that support our employee lifecycle. This is a new role that will ensure that our delivery across the core People service continues to be streamlined, effective and in line with best practice. You will have oversight of multiple workstreams, including payroll and benefits provision; statutory periodic reporting obligations; data management; employee relations; policies and procedures; talent acquisition; learning and development and wider business servicing.
Success in this role will facilitate the wider Premier League workforce, which is currently over 300 staff, to operate at their best in a well-structured, inclusive and high-performance environment. The People team currently has nine members and delivers a proactive and highly supportive HR function to the business. The team currently supports the UK workforce, a Singapore office and a small team in Belgium.
Premier League staff lead by example, focus on the game plan, strive for best results and play as one team. The People team play a key role in supporting these behaviours and your role will be an important new addition to the work that we do.
Reporting to the Director of People, you will work collaboratively with them on delivering against our People strategy, as well as working closely alongside the Head of Culture and Inclusion. You will have three direct reports, who each manage our core delivery workstreams – people operations, talent acquisition, and learning and development respectively. This means you will have oversight of the end-to-end employee lifecycle. This work will be high quality, people focussed and delivered in line with our company behaviours, strategic priorities and inclusion goals.
The individual in this role will need to be able to operate across senior stakeholders, both internally and externally, and be an experienced HR practitioner. It is expected that you will have experience of managing multiple workstreams in a busy People team environment and be able to produce executive-level reports and content. The role requires you to help drive a culture of continuous improvement and you will be leading, developing and coaching the core People team to ensure they meet business and personal goals.
You will need to be an excellent communicator, be best in class in your understanding of HR processes and regulation, be approachable, a team player and enjoy connecting with colleagues.
Who we are
The Premier League is home to some of the most competitive and compelling football in the world. The League and its Clubs use the power and popularity of the competition to inspire fans, communities and partners in the UK and across the world. The Premier League brings people together from all backgrounds. It is a competition for everyone, everywhere and is available to watch in over 880 million homes in 188 countries.
We have a wide variety of responsibilities. These include organising the competition and its Handbook as well as managing the centralised broadcast and commercial rights. The work we do in conjunction with the Clubs also goes far beyond the 90 minutes. We support and provide a framework for youth development, we protect the organisation’s intellectual property, support the wider game and community programmes, undertake international development work and liaise with governing bodies and other leagues.
The Premier League is an equal opportunities employer and strives to create an inclusive culture where talent can flourish. We believe in the potential of everyone and open our doors to those who share those values. All appointments will be made based on merit; however, we particularly encourage applications from women, people from minority ethnic communities, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people.
Our hybrid-working model also allows you some variety on your place of work, offering you the chance to work from home on some days each week, where possible. You will be expected to attend the office or site visits in line with our company policy. All staff liaise closely with their line manager to manage their time appropriately and according to their work and team requirements.
Key Responsibilities
Lead, motivate and grow the People team core services function which includes People Operations, Talent Acquisition and Learning and Development
Support the Director of People in developing and implementing action plans for achieving and maintaining strategic and operational organisational goals
Oversee the management of a best in class service to Premier League staff across the employee lifecycle. This includes having oversight of payroll and benefits provision; statutory periodic reporting obligations; data management; employee relations; policies and procedures; talent acquisition; learning and development and wider business servicing.
Innovate and drive forward best practice across this core service provision, ensuring that the delivery not only meets statutory obligations, but operates with a focus on continuous improvement
Oversee the implementation of new systems that will facilitate ongoing team effectiveness and continuous improvement. This includes, but is not limited to, a new integrated payroll and people system
Operate as a senior HR business partner to stakeholders across the business and grow your team’s ability to also successfully deliver in this framework
Provide support, guidance and coaching to your direct reports and wider team across their remit. This includes providing senior expertise across a range of HR matters, where required.
Produce high quality business reports across relevant HR matters, including the presentation of regular written reports to leadership groups and the Premier League Board.
Remaining abreast of relevant legislation and best practice across people matters. This includes completing regular benchmarking exercises and retaining a strong external HR network.
Deliver meaningful data insights across your remit, ensuring that these are aligned with statutory obligations and business reporting, as well as driving continuous improvement
Oversight and responsibility for a number of areas of the People team budget
Be involved in ad hoc project work and cross-company collaborative groups, to support delivery of the people agenda
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Seen as a role model, with management experience in an HR team and the ability to lead colleagues operating across multiple functions
CIPD Level 7 qualified or equivalent experience, with evidence of continuous professional development
Excellent interpersonal skills, able to relate to and build relationships with a varied stakeholder group, including senior leaders
Evidence of a passion for working with people and being inclusive in this approach; often working beyond the confines of the job description
Outstanding communication skills
Always acting with integrity, being highly approachable and connected to staff
Exceptional writing skills and experience of producing high-quality executive reports (e.g. to a Board or similar)
Comfortable in developing team members and empowering staff
Experience of managing budgets across the HR remit
Extensive knowledge and expertise of current UK employment law and proven experience of applying updated legislation to a variety of HR situations
Experience of managing a variety of employee relations matters
Experience of working on projects across the HR remit, including talent acquisition, learning and development, engagement, reward and HR systems
An interest in the business and the game of football is not essential, but you will need to develop a sound understanding of the Premier League organisation and the range of expertise and remit that exists across the Premier League workforce
Sharing our commitment to safeguarding children and adults at risk, and playing an active leadership role to embed effective safeguarding practice.
