Fancy helping us build a brilliant business full of brilliant people?
Abbey Sales and Lettings Ltd, trading externally as Shires Estate & Letting Agents, is looking for a dynamic, commercially minded and people-focused Head of People & Performance to join our growing business.
This is not a traditional HR role.
We are not looking for someone whose idea of people management starts and ends with policies, paperwork and telling managers what they cannot do.
We want someone who understands that great businesses are built by great people.
Someone who can recruit them, develop them, motivate them, challenge them, retain them and, when necessary, make difficult decisions too.
The Job
We currently have around 50 people across the business and are continuing to grow, including through acquisitions.
This is a brand-new role, which means you will have the opportunity to build our people function properly rather than inherit something that has always been done a certain way.
You will report directly to the Managing Director, work closely with the wider Senior Management Team and become a key voice in decisions relating to people, performance and the future structure of the business.
The role will be mainly based from our head office in Risby, with regular visits to our branches.
You will need to understand the bigger commercial picture.
Yes, you will deal with HR.
But you will also help us answer bigger questions.
Are we recruiting the right people?
Are our managers getting the best from their teams?
Are people performing?
Are our best employees progressing?
Are we dealing with underperformance quickly enough?
Are people motivated?
Do we have the right structure for where the business is going next?
And, as we acquire and integrate businesses, are we bringing people with us properly?
That is where you come in.
You Will:
- Take ownership of the people function across the business
- Work closely with the Managing Director and Senior Management Team on people, performance, culture and organisational development
- Help drive individual, branch and company performance
- Monitor employee KPI performance and work with managers to identify where additional support, development or intervention is required
- Create, implement and manage Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) where performance falls below expectations
- Develop Performance Development Plans to help strong employees progress and reach their potential
- Work with managers to create clear actions, expectations and accountability around performance
- Help keep our people motivated, engaged, supported and focused on the wider goals of the business
- Identify high performers and future leaders and help create meaningful career progression opportunities
- Develop succession plans for key positions across the business
- Build structured career paths and development frameworks as the company grows
- Support managers with leadership, communication, performance management and people development
- Design and deliver manager and leadership training
- Coach managers to deal confidently and consistently with their teams rather than simply passing every people issue to HR
- Take ownership of the full recruitment process across the company
- Write and improve job descriptions and recruitment adverts
- Proactively source candidates rather than simply waiting for applications to arrive
- Approach suitable candidates directly through platforms including Indeed and LinkedIn
- Manage applications, screening, interviews, offers and candidate communication
- Work with managers to identify future recruitment requirements
- Improve how we attract talented people into the business
- Manage employee onboarding from offer through to successful completion of their initial training and probation
- Develop structured onboarding programmes so new employees understand the company, their role, expectations and KPIs from the outset
- Coordinate and improve training across the business
- Support probation reviews and ensure issues are identified and addressed early
- Manage employee relations matters including disciplinaries, grievances, performance concerns, absence and conduct issues
- Support managers with difficult conversations and ensure matters are dealt with fairly, professionally and consistently
- Manage termination processes and associated documentation where employment needs to end
- Support recruitment, restructuring and employee changes arising from business acquisitions
- Be confident and competent in the TUPE process, including employee consultation, due diligence, communication, documentation and integration
- Help make acquired employees feel part of the wider business while ensuring standards and expectations remain clear
- Prepare and maintain employment contracts, variations and other employment documentation
- Manage documentation relating to promotions, pay rises, changes of role, working arrangements and other contractual amendments
- Support organisational restructures and office relocations from a people perspective
- Maintain and continually improve the company employee handbook
- Create, review and maintain HR policies and procedures
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date job descriptions across the business
- Maintain organisational charts and support workforce planning
- Manage the company HR system and ensure employee information is accurate and current
- Maintain secure and accurate personnel files
- Monitor and manage sickness, absence, lateness and holiday records
- Identify absence or attendance trends and work with managers to address issues
- Oversee annual pay reviews, salary benchmarking, benefits and incentive structures
- Make recommendations to the Board regarding pay, benefits, commission structures and employee initiatives before implementation
- Help develop recognition and reward initiatives that actually motivate people
- Monitor employee engagement and identify opportunities to improve retention
- Understand why good people stay, why people leave and what we can do better
- Conduct or oversee exit interviews and use the information to identify trends
- Keep the business commercially aware and legally compliant in relation to employment matters
- Work with external HR or employment-law advisers where specialist advice is required
- Balance protecting the business with doing the right thing for our people
- Bring new ideas rather than simply repeating what another company did
- Challenge senior managers where needed
- Help create a culture where people enjoy coming to work but also understand that performance matters
You’ll Have:
- Strong previous experience in a senior HR, People, People & Culture or People & Performance role
- Significant practical experience dealing with employee relations and performance management
- Experience managing disciplinaries, grievances, absence, performance and termination processes
- Strong knowledge and practical experience of TUPE
- Experience supporting or integrating employees following acquisitions would be highly advantageous
- Strong recruitment experience, including proactively sourcing and approaching candidates directly
- Experience using platforms such as Indeed and LinkedIn for candidate sourcing
- Experience designing and managing onboarding processes
- Experience managing employee KPIs and performance frameworks
- Experience developing Performance Improvement Plans and employee development plans
- Experience coaching and developing managers
- Confidence delivering management and leadership training
- Experience creating policies, employee handbooks, contracts and other HR documentation
- Experience managing HR systems and employee records
- Strong knowledge of UK employment practices and employee relations
- Experience with salary benchmarking, pay reviews, benefits or incentive structures
- The confidence to challenge senior leaders professionally when needed
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong organisation and attention to detail
- The ability to deal sensitively and professionally with confidential information
- The confidence to have difficult conversations rather than avoiding them
- A practical, commercial and solutions-focused mindset
- The ability to look beyond an individual HR issue and understand what is right for the wider business
- The ability to balance employee wellbeing with accountability and commercial performance
- The confidence to build a new function rather than needing an existing structure to follow
Previous experience within estate agency, property or another multi-site sales and service business would be advantageous, although strong commercial people experience is more important.
A CIPD qualification would be welcomed, but practical experience, judgement and commercial understanding are equally important to us.
The Person
You will probably frustrate us slightly if your first response to every idea is:
"We can't do that."
We would much rather hear:
"Here is what you're trying to achieve, here are the risks, and here is the best way of doing it properly."
You will understand that being a good Head of People sometimes means supporting someone, sometimes developing them, sometimes challenging them and occasionally telling them something they do not particularly want to hear.
You will be approachable enough that people feel comfortable talking to you, but commercially minded enough to remember that we are running a business.
You will care about people.
You will also care about performance.
We do not think those two things are opposites.
You’ll Get:
- £35,000 per annum full-time
- Salary pro rata for part-time applicants
- Full-time or part-time considered
- Minimum 3 days per week for part-time applicants
- Working hours of 9:00am – 5:30pm
- Occasional weekend work where required
- A brand-new role you can genuinely shape
- Direct access to and regular involvement with the Managing Director and Senior Management Team
- A senior position with influence across the wider business
- The opportunity to build our people function as the company grows
- Genuine involvement in acquisitions and business integration
- The chance to develop our managers and future leaders
- Opportunities to grow alongside the business
- Discounted fees across sales, lettings and related property services
Location
The role will be predominantly based at our head office in Risby, Bury St Edmunds.
This is an office-based position, although regular travel to our branches will be required.
As our business continues to grow, there will also be occasions where travel is required to support new offices, acquisitions, recruitment, training and employee matters.
About Us
Abbey Sales and Lettings Ltd trades externally as Shires Estate & Letting Agents.
We are an ambitious, independently owned property business with around 50 employees and plans to keep growing.
Part of that growth will come organically.
Part of it will come through acquisitions.
And that means getting our people strategy right is becoming increasingly important.
We are big enough to offer genuine opportunity, but independent enough that good ideas do not have to travel through seven committees before something happens.
We care about:
- Developing our people
- Rewarding great performance
- Creating opportunities for people who want to progress
- Doing things properly
- Building strong relationships
- Supporting our colleagues
- Learning and improving
- Holding ourselves and each other accountable
- Being ambitious without becoming painfully corporate
Why You’ll Love It Here
Because you will not be joining us to administer an HR department.
You will be building our people function.
You will have the opportunity to influence who joins the business, how they are trained, how they perform, how our managers lead, how people progress and how we integrate future acquisitions.
You will be working directly with the people making the decisions and will be expected to contribute ideas rather than simply implement them.
For the right person, this could become an incredibly influential position within the business as we continue to grow.
If you are commercially minded, genuinely enjoy developing people and believe a great culture should go hand-in-hand with high performance, we should probably talk.
Sound Like You?
Lovely.
Send us your CV and tell us why you think you could help us build an even better business.
Pay: £21,000.00-£35,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Free parking
Experience:
- recruitment: 2 years (preferred)
- HR: 3 years (required)
Work Location: In person
