Head of HR in Leeds - Cameron James

Head of HR / HR Lead

Financial Services | HybridOperational leadership with future succession to Group Head of HR

Are you a commercially minded HR leader who thrives in a hands-on, fast-paced environment while shaping the long-term people strategy? This role offers the best of both — operational ownership of the HR function today, with a clear development pathway into a future Group Head of HR position.

We’re looking for a Head of HR who can lead a high-performing team, partner closely with senior leaders, and build the people foundations needed for continued growth across the business and wider group.

About the role

For the first two years, you’ll take full operational ownership of the HR function — leading the team, strengthening processes, and ensuring the business receives a high-quality, commercially focused service. You’ll be the go-to expert for managers and leaders, providing clarity, confidence and practical solutions.

As the organisation continues to grow, you’ll play a key role in shaping the future Group HR model. With strong performance and impact, this role is designed to evolve into a Group-level leadership position, offering genuine long-term progression.

A typical week could involve reviewing ER trends with managers, coaching your team through complex cases, designing a development programme, or supporting a restructure. You’ll balance operational delivery with forward-thinking improvements that elevate the employee experience.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of HR professionals, ensuring high performance, accountability and continuous growth.
• Own the delivery of the full generalist HR remit — recruitment, performance, policy, legislation, and day-to-day people support.
• Build strong relationships with senior leaders, contributing to strategic discussions and supporting the delivery of business objectives.
• Provide confident, timely guidance on employee relations matters, ensuring issues are resolved fairly, consistently and efficiently.
• Strengthen leadership and management capability through coaching, guidance and targeted development interventions.
• Design and deliver training sessions that build core skills and support a culture of learning.
• Lead and support organisational change, including restructures, consultation processes and team-level change activity.
• Drive HR projects that enhance processes, improve efficiency and elevate the employee experience.
• Monitor team performance, productivity and service quality, ensuring HR delivers in a professional and cost-effective way.
• Hold regular 1:1s, oversee annual performance reviews and support ongoing development conversations.
• Stay up to date with employment legislation and industry best practice, ensuring compliance and proactive risk management.
• Role-model company values in all interactions and decision-making.
• Travel to other offices when required.

What you’ll bring

• CIPD Level 5 or above (Level 7 desirable).
• Proven experience leading and developing an HR team.
• Strong generalist background with depth in ER, performance management and development planning.
• Experience in a fast-paced, customer-focused, high-volume environment — Financial Services experience is desirable.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to balance people and business needs.
• Solid understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• A blend of strategic thinking and hands-on delivery.
• Ambition to progress into a future Group-level HR leadership role.

Why join?

You’ll be joining a respected Financial Services business that genuinely invests in people development, leadership capability and continuous improvement. This is a role with visibility, influence and the scope to shape how HR supports the organisation today — while building towards a future Group Head of HR position