Interim Associate Director, People, Int'l

Key Responsibilities

HR Strategy & Leadership

Deliver a scalable people strategy aligned to business growth objectives.

Partner closely with senior leadership to support organisational design, workforce planning, and change management initiatives.

Act as a trusted advisor to managers and leadership teams on all people-related matters.

Lead and support the business through periods of rapid growth, transformation, and continuous change.

Culture & Working Environment

Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performance culture across the organisation.

Champion employee engagement, wellbeing, and a positive working environment where individuals feel supported and empowered.

Drive initiatives that enhance employee experience, communication, and team connectivity.

Promote company values and behaviours that support innovation, accountability, and teamwork.

Talent Acquisition & Development

Lead recruitment strategy to attract and retain high-performing talent.

Strengthen employer branding within the beauty, retail, and consumer sectors.

Oversee onboarding, performance management, succession planning, and talent development initiatives.

Build leadership capability through coaching and development programmes.

Employee Relations & HR Operations

Manage all employee relations matters with professionalism and fairness.

Ensure HR policies, procedures, and practices remain compliant with UK employment legislation.

Develop and improve HR processes, systems, and infrastructure to support business scalability.

Support managers with performance, absence management, disciplinary, and grievance matters.

Change Management & Organisational Growth

Lead HR support through periods of organisational change and business transformation.

Help embed structure, clarity, and effective communication during change initiatives.

Build resilience and adaptability across teams within a fast-moving environment.

Reward, Data & Compliance

Skills & Experience Required

Essential

Proven experience in a senior HR leadership role within a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

Strong HR generalist background across the full employee lifecycle.

Demonstrable experience managing within high-change and evolving business environments.

Strong understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice.

Commercial mindset with the ability to align people strategy to business objectives.

Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills.

Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational delivery.

Experience building and improving HR frameworks, processes, and culture.

Preferred

Experience within beauty, fashion, retail, e-commerce, or consumer sectors.

CIPD qualification preferred

Experience supporting multi-site or international teams advantageous.

Personal Attributes

Positive, approachable, and highly collaborative.

Resilient and adaptable within changing environments.

Strong emotional intelligence and relationship-building capability.

Hands-on, proactive, and solutions-focused.

Passionate about creating a supportive and engaging employee environment.

Comfortable operating within ambiguity and rapid growth.