Job Description

Comic Relief

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Employment Type Full time
Location Hybrid London, City of, UK 2 days a week in our London Office
Salary 80,000 - 90,000 (GBP)
Team People and Culture
Seniority Senior

Closing:

11:55pm, 18th Aug 2025 BST

Perks and benefits

Flexible working hours
Work from home option
Life Insurance
Wellness programs
Employee Assistance Programme
Additional parental leave
Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
Paid emergency leave
Sabbatical Opportunities
Professional development
Paid volunteer days
Salary sacrifice
Team social events
Extracurricular clubs
Cycle to work scheme
Free fruit
Free soft drinks

Please note this is a hybrid role based on the successful candidate working at least two days a week in our London office. Remote contracts would not be considered for this role.

Comic Relief reserves the right to close the role early if a large number of applications are received.

PURPOSE OF JOB:

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Comic Relief has a vision to create a Just World free from Poverty and is dedicated to creating lasting change and impact in the UK and Internationally by using the power of humour and popular culture to engage people to help others. We believe that our people are central to delivering our mission and creating lasting change in the communities we serve.


The Director of People and Culture will lead the development and implementation of the charity's People and Culture strategy, ensuring that all aspects of people, human resources (HR), Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) and culture are aligned to achieve the charity's objectives and vision. The DEIB function also spans more than internal people and culture, as it considers our external representation as well, so this role will need to support the Head of DEIB beyond people matters. As a key member of the senior leadership team, this role will oversee all aspects of human resources, talent management, learning and development, equity and inclusion and employee wellbeing. This Director of People & Culture will also oversee facilities management, ensuring our physical workspaces support the needs of our teams.


Managing and collaborating closely with the Head of People and Head of DEIB, you will oversee culture initiatives, ensuring Comic Relief's staff feel valued and supported to achieve their and the organisation's objectives. This role is key in finding a harmonious balance between meeting objectives, being financially sustainable, achieving vision, ensuring wellbeing, and listening and responding to employee needs. You will help build a culture of recognition, collaboration, and continuous improvement, promoting an environment where all staff can thrive and perform well.

Key responsibilities:

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Strategic People Leadership

Lead the development and implementation of the charity's People and Culture strategy, ensuring it aligns with our organisational goals, mission, and values. Develop effective people solutions that help achieve strategic business objectives and contribute to a positive culture while enabling employees to build their capabilities. Ensure that People and Culture offerings are right-sized for the organisation, and financially sustainable within budget parameters. Use data and insights to make effective People and Culture decisions. Collaborate with key Senior Leaders to champion the development of an inclusive, positive, and high-performing culture that reflects the charity's core values and mission. Develop and implement employee engagement strategies, ensuring staff feedback is heard, valued, and acted upon, including setting expectations on what an employer can and cannot address and tackle. Ensure alignment of both DEIB and People/HR strategies and related activities to ensure the functions are meeting shared objectives and supportive of one another. Clarify responsibilities between both, including how and where to handle informal staff feedback. Provide strategic People and Culture related advice to management as well as Comic Relief's People and Culture Committee and Board of Trustees, alongside the Head of DEIB doing the same for DEIB topics. Support organisational change initiatives, in line with the organisational change policy, advising leaders on how best to approach different aspects of organisational change.

Operational People Leadership

Support the Head of People to oversee all People functions, including HR, HR business partnering, learning and development, benefits, performance management, policies, culture offerings and employee support. Ensure the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, learning and development, and offboarding is well managed and the team follow consistent, fair, and transparent practices. Continually seek to learn and improve to ensure the lifecycle is being supported effectively. Continually review and monitor recruitment processes and data to ensure the organisation is well-placed to find and recruit great talent. Ensure Comic Relief's People policies and practices are inclusive and equitable, creating a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for all staff. Management of employee relations cases including acting as an escalation point for HR team seeking advice on their own complex cases. Lead on employee wellbeing, supporting initiatives that promote a healthy work-life balance and mental wellbeing. Monitor HR metrics and data, identifying trends and areas for improvement. Work with the Facilities and Logistics Manager to oversee the management of the office space and working environment (and remote working environments, as much as is possible), including security, maintenance, refurbishments, renovations, space and resource allocation and management of 3rd party contractors. Be a key point of contact for the staff's Union and Union representatives, meeting regularly with representatives to communicate, collaborate and negotiate on an ongoing basis.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Line Management

Support the Head of DEIB through line management and as a sounding board, so they can effectively lead the charity's DEIB strategy, ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion principles are embedded across the charity's operations and culture. Support the Head of DEIB through line management and as a sounding board ,to implement training programs, initiatives, and policies that enhance DEIB and create a culture of belonging. Be a sounding board for the Head of DEIB as they undertake external DEIB work, such as around representation in content, sharing learnings, and convening discussions. Work with the Head of DEIB and Head of People to ensure alignment between DEIB initiatives and People initiatives spanning recruitment, development, and retention strategies to ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce. Be a sounding board and thought partner to the Head of DEIB to ensure leadership and staff are playing an effective role in progressing the DEIB strategy, and provide backup and reinforcement of key messages and actions the Head of DEIB wants to progress. Review DEIB progress provided by the Head of DEIB through data and feedback, collaborating to identify areas for further development.

Compliance and Risk Management

Ensure the charity is fully compliant with UK employment laws, Equality Act 2010, Health & Safety law, relevant regulations, and best practices, minimising risk and ensuring equitable treatment of all staff. Oversee risk management within HR, DEIB, and facilities areas, ensuring proactive management of any potential issues. Stay informed of changes in relevant legislation and best practices to ensure policies are up to date and align with industry standards. Oversee and help to draft key policies, including when they are up for renewal. Chair Comic Relief's Health and Safety Steering Group, ensuring compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations in all facilities-related matters and ensuring compliance with the charity's Health & Safety Policy across the organisation. Lead efforts to enhance sustainability initiatives within the charity's facilities and workplace.

People management

Proactively undertake business planning, prioritise activities and set clear and realistic objectives based on capacity, expertise and aspirations Provide balanced, constructive feedback, undertake effective performance management to embed accountability and proactively support the professional development and growth of the People and Culture Team. Maintain regular two-way communication and dialogue with staff, ensuring information is cascaded and escalated as needed. Model an enabling, inclusive and empowering leadership style that builds a values-based culture throughout the charity.

Operational Leadership

As part of the Director Leadership Team, provide Comic Relief with visible and responsive operational leadership, ensuring teams are collaborating and co-operating with each other to ensure shared ownership of relevant outcomes Ensure there is quality management information for all organisational areas that enables knowledge sharing and proactive decision making Build a strong, effective and well-led enabling department, with the necessary capability, expertise, systems and processes to deliver the organisation's strategic and annual plans

Person specification

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Essential criteria

Experience in a senior HR role, with a proven track record in strategic HR management and an understanding of DEIB Experience in leading change, especially related to Culture and DEIB, and creating a collaborative culture to achieve organisational objectives. Experience operating in a unionised staff environment, and direct collaboration with Union representatives. Proven capability of operating as a trusted advisor to executive leadership. Effective relationship builder with strong stakeholder management skills and ability to positively overcome barriers. CIPD qualified / Relevant People Management qualification. An understanding of DEIB best practices and UK legislation, including the Equality Act. In-depth understanding of HR processes, policies, and systems, with experience in managing talent, performance, complex employee relation cases and employee engagement. Strong knowledge of facilities management principles. Proven ability to develop and execute strategies that integrate HR, DEIB, and culture with organisational goals. Strong communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder management skills. Resilient, determined to positively overcome barriers. Proven ability to build and manage budgets effectively.

Desirable criteria

Demonstrated ability to manage facilities and workspace requirements, ensuring a productive and safe working environment. Experience working in or with charitable or non-profit organisations, understanding the unique challenges and culture of the sector. Knowledge of sustainability practices and green workplace initiatives.

Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Comic Relief we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Why work at Comic Relief

There are lots of good reasons to join us at Comic Relief. You can read more about our employee benefits, such as our commitment to flexible and hybrid working. We ask staff to come to the office twice a week, normally on agreed team days, so that we can do all those things that are difficult to do online. Our office is based in Whitechapel, London, There are lots of opportunities to develop your skills and experience at Comic Relief, including opportunities to become a Mental Health First Aider or to participate in our Employee Network Groups that focus on making Comic Relief a more inclusive place to work

Disability Confident employer

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we take positive action by providing first-round interviews to candidates who have a registered disability, provided they meet the minimum criteria for the role, as demonstrated on their CV or application scores. We ask that candidates that wish to be considered for this scheme email Recruitment@comicrelief.com to discuss further. Please do not email CV's/cover letters.