Hours: 37.5 per week, Monday to Friday
Location: Hybrid working 3 days a week in Virgin Atlantic HQ, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex
Contract: Permanent
Closing date: 10th June 2026
We review applications on a first-come, first-served basis and may close the application window early if we receive a high volume of applications.
At Virgin Atlantic, our people have always been the difference.
Whether it’s the crew welcoming customers onboard, the engineers keeping our operation moving, or the leaders shaping what comes next - our success is powered by brilliant people delivering brilliantly together.
As we continue transforming our business for the future, we’re looking for an exceptional People Director to join our People Leadership Team as VP People.
This is one of the most significant People leadership roles in our business - operating at the heart of strategic decision-making while shaping the experience of thousands of colleagues across a complex, operational and highly visible environment.
Reporting to the Chief People Officer, the VP People is responsible for delivering Virgin Atlantic’s People Strategy through a high-impact People Partnering model, while leading our approach to Employee Relations, Industrial Relations and employee voice.
You’ll work across every part of the business - partnering senior leaders to drive performance, leadership capability, organisational effectiveness and operational delivery, while ensuring we continue to build a culture where our people can thrive.
You’ll also play a key role in shaping the future capability of the People function itself, acting as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and a senior deputy to the CPO.
This role combines strategic thinking with operational leadership at scale. One day you could be shaping workforce priorities for the future, the next leading through complex operational, organisational or industrial challenges.
- Lead a commercially focused People Partnering model embedded across the business, ensuring leaders are equipped to deliver performance, engagement and change
- Lead strategic workforce planning and future workforce capability, helping the business evolve for the future of work, including opportunities created through technology and AI
- Oversee Employee Relations and Industrial Relations across Virgin Atlantic, ensuring effective governance, constructive union relationships and balanced people decisions
- Lead employee voice and engagement approaches, including forums and representative groups
- Partner with LT and senior leaders to align people priorities with operational and commercial goals
- Drive leadership capability, succession planning and talent outcomes across the organisation
- Develop and inspire high-performing People teams, building future capability across the function
- Act as a senior deputy to the CPO, contributing to enterprise-wide leadership and organisational decision-making
Continue evolving the People function to ensure it remains modern, commercially impactful and fit for the future
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We’re looking for a senior People leader who combines commercial thinking, operational credibility and strong people instincts.
You’ll bring:
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Significant senior HR leadership experience in complex, operational and fast-paced environments
- Experience leading large-scale People Partnering teams and translating strategy into business delivery
- Strong commercial judgement and the ability to balance people outcomes with operational performance
- Proven experience influencing executive and senior stakeholders in complex organisations
- Strong leadership capability, with experience developing high-performing teams and future leaders
- Deep expertise across Employee Relations and some Industrial Relations experience including union engagement and ideally collective bargaining
- Experience leading organisational change, transformation and workforce planning activity
- The credibility, resilience and judgement to operate effectively in high-profile and fast-moving environments
- Experience in aviation, hospitality, travel, retail or similarly customer-focused industries
Chartered FCIPD (or equivalent experience), with the capability to operate at enterprise leadership level
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Our customers come from all walks of life and so do our people.
At Virgin Atlantic, we believe everyone can take on the world, no matter their background, identity or life experience. We’re proud to create an environment where people feel they belong, can thrive, and can be themselves at work.
If you need any support or adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll work with you to make your journey with us accessible and inclusive.
To make your journey with us accessible and individual to you, we encourage you to let us know if you’d like a little extra help with your application, or if you have any individual requirements at any stage along your recruitment journey. We are here to support you, so please reach out to our team, ([email protected]) feeling confident that we’ve got your individual considerations covered.
At Virgin Atlantic, our leaders empower teams to thrive through collaboration, innovation, and excellence. Explore our Leadership Recipe and discover the 20 core ingredients that define what it means to lead with us, driving our mission to be the most loved travel company and achieve sustainable profit. : https://careers.virginatlantic.com/leadership
