Job Description

Head of HR (People & Culture) - RIOT Labs Ltd

Reporting to:

COO |

Line manages:

People & Culture Coordinator

RIOT Labs is looking for a hands on

Head of HR

to lead our people strategy and deliver brilliant day to day HR. You'll partner closely with the HoD team and line managers to translate business goals into clear people plans, strong processes, and a standout employee experience - while building a high-performance, compliant, safe and inclusive workplace.

If you love building structure without bureaucracy, coaching leaders, and using data to drive better outcomes for people and the business - this one's for you.

What you'll be responsible for;

People strategy & leadership

Own and deliver the

People Strategy

aligned to RIOT's growth plans. Set HR priorities, annual roadmap, budget, and measurable success metrics (e.g retention, engagement, time to hire). Provide pragmatic, data led guidance on organisational design, change and capability building.
Performance management

Build and run a clear performance framework (goal setting, check-ins, reviews, reporting). Coach managers on feedback, performance improvement and difficult conversations. Own performance improvement processes with fairness, consistency and strong documentation.
Compensation, payroll & benefits

Partner with Finance to ensure accurate payroll and smooth admin of pay changes, bonuses/commission and deductions. Own compensation principles: salary bands, benchmarking, pay reviews and promotions. Ensure benefits are fit for purpose, well communicated and well managed with providers.
Learning & Development

Create a practical L&D plan for managers and employees (core skills, leadership, compliance). Support development planning, progression pathways and capability building across functions. Measure training impact and continuously improve learning offerings.
Policy, HR systems & documentation

Maintain the employee handbook, contracts, templates and HR documentation standards. Keep policies current, legally compliant and consistently applied. Own HR systems and records management, ensuring confidentiality and GDPR compliance.
Recruitment & onboarding

Lead workforce plans with department heads and translate them into recruitment activity. Improve the end to end hiring process (role design, interviewing, decision-making, candidate experience). Deliver a high-quality onboarding experience that sets people up for success in their first 90 days.
Employee relations

Lead ER cases (disciplinary, grievance, absence, capability) with pace, empathy and legal rigour. Reduce ER risk through coaching, early intervention and consistent processes. Manage external HR/legal support when required.
Culture & employee experience

Be the custodian of RIOT culture: values, behaviours, ways of working and leadership standards. Run engagement listening (surveys, focus groups), build action plans and track follow-through. Drive initiatives that improve belonging, communication, recognition and retention.
Workforce planning

Build workforce plans (headcount, skills, capacity, succession, attrition risk). Use people metrics to inform decisions and prioritise interventions. Support organisational design and growth planning (including location/shift considerations where relevant).
Health & Safety

Ensure RIOT meets H&S obligations appropriate to the workplace (office/warehouse/production as applicable). Maintain risk assessments, incident reporting, training and compliance documentation. Partner with internal owners and external specialists to continuously improve safety culture.
How we'll measure success;

North Star KPI

Improved staff happiness at RIOT

(e.g. employee happiness score / eNPS / engagement index), with clear targets and measurable progress across the year.
Counter KPI

Revenue ? headcount cost

(ensuring people investment translates into business value)
Supporting measures

Performance framework adopted consistently; improved accountability and outcomes. Reduced regretted attrition; improved retention in critical roles/teams. Hiring plan delivered with improved time to hire, quality of hire and candidate experience. ER cases handled quickly, fairly and consistently, with strong documentation and reduced repeat issues. Payroll delivered on time and accurately; comp and policy frameworks understood and trusted. Strong L&D uptake and impact (manager capability, internal progression, skills coverage). H&S compliance maintained with improved training completion and reduced incidents.
What we're looking for;

Skills & experience

Significant HR leadership experience (generalist) in a fast-paced, scaling business. Strong UK employment law knowledge and confident ER case management. Experience owning performance cycles, compensation frameworks and talent processes. Proven ability to influence leaders and coach managers; calm and credible under pressure. Strong operational discipline: process design, documentation, HRIS/data, confidentiality. Comfortable partnering cross-functionally with Finance, Ops and leadership.
Qualifications

CIPD Level 5/7 (or equivalent experience).
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: Up to 50,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Canteen Casual dress Company events Cycle to work scheme Discounted or free food Employee discount Free parking On-site parking Private medical insurance Profit sharing
Application question(s):

If employed, what is your notice period? This role is fully onsite. Please confirm that you are happy to proceed with your application.
Experience:

Human resources: 5 years (preferred)
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (preferred)
Work Location: In person