Head of People Culture (Full or Part Time)
Sustainable Venture Development Partners, United Kingdom
Job Description
About Sustainable Ventures
Our impact on the planet’s climate and its natural resources is being felt more often and by more people than ever before. It is clear that significant changes must be made to achieve the targets set by the IPCC and reach Net Zero by 2050. This presents the world’s biggest challenge and it is something that Sustainable Ventures has been addressing since 2011. We believe in the power of commercial innovation to address the twin challenges of climate change and resource scarcity.
Over the past 12 years we have expanded our services to cover: Investment with five seed-stage funds raised to date, Workspaces with over 500+ innovators and entrepreneur members and delivery of a range of Venture and Commercial Support Services, including securing gt;10m in non-dilutive funding through grants and Ramp;D tax credits. The companies we have supported have gone on to raise significant follow-on funding and acquired by larger corporates e.g. ECarClub to Europcar and Zeigo to Schneider Electric and won numerous awards.
We are Europe’s largest ecosystem of climate tech startups and have recently opened our new HQ at County Hall as we continue on our mission to develop 1000 new businesses by 2025 and expand our operations across the UK regions.
Head of People
Our team is growing and we are looking for a purpose-driven, passionate individual to join us as Head of People amp; Culture. It is essential that we invest in our people and recognise the value of our team and actively support their performance and career development.
The Role
The Head of People role will be the first people hire into the company and your mission offers unparalleled exposure to many exciting start-ups, with opportunities for long-term career progression as Sustainable Ventures continues to scale. Based at Sustainable Ventures’ flagship co-working space, candidates can expect a lively and engaging work environment amongst a diverse range of innovators.
The development of our people has been set as one of the five key Company objectives; as such the role will initially report directly into the CEO.
Tasks will include, but are not limited to:
- Working with the management team to develop, plan and roll out the strategy for all HR activities;
- Evolve the culture as the business begins to scale and ensure values are fully embedded;
- Increase employee retention through enhanced onboarding, employee engagement, performance reviews, HR metrics and succession planning;
- Perform a full benefits review and implement agreed changes;
- Provide leadership on people related issues and policies across the company;
- Change management of organisational changes;
- Create and manage impactful employee communications (e.g. team meetings, promoting support case studies);
- Promoting diversity, equality and inclusion values within the company, setting ambitious DEI goals and leading tangible actions to deliver on these, aligning with the company values;
- Design and implement training and development programmes ensuring a high standard is met;
- Introduce and implement appropriate HR systems suitable for scale;
- Provide HR support for our growing team, acting as first point of contact for our employees
- Opportunity to provide venture support to selected start up and scale up ventures within our 500+ strong ecosystem.
Requirements
/ We expect you to:
- Have 5+ years’ relevant professional experience in people roles, ideally CIPD qualified;
- Have 2+ years’ experience within a fast moving innovative/entrepreneurial/SME environment, ideally within a scale-up venture environment;
- Proven track record of delivering a blend of hands on and operational strategies;
- Proven interpersonal and organisational skills - for managing multiple projects/clients simultaneously, co-ordinating deliverables and taking a pragmatic approach when meeting deadlines; and
- Knowledge and/or experience of the sustainability sector, and an understanding of technological and commercial innovation.
/ Desirable
- Keen interest in sustainability;
- Excellent written, verbal and presentation communication skills;
- Very strong people skills with a high level of self awareness and emotional intelligence;
- Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to connect and be empathetic with individuals at all levels.
Benefits
- Remuneration: 60-70k pa FTE (depending on experience amp; prorated for full or part time basis) + discretionary bonus + equity long-term incentive scheme.
- Full time or part time (25 hours per week) basis (depending on your circumstances).
- Holiday: 25 days per year (pro-rata) + Bank Holidays + 1 day per month can be taken as a Wellness Day.
- Locati