Chief people officer

Chief People Officer

London

Professional Services/ Technology (PE Backed)

c. £180,000 Base + Bonus +

We are partnering with a mid-sized, private equity-backed organisation entering a critical phase of growth and evolution, to appoint a Chief People Officer.

This is a high-impact role focused on professionalising and scaling the people and culture offering, ensuring the organisation is equipped with the structure, capability and leadership required to deliver on its strategic ambitions.

Reporting to the CEO and working closely with the Board and investors, the CPO will play a central role in shaping a mature, commercially aligned people function.

You will bring rigour, structure and clarity to the people agenda, evolving it from a foundational platform into a best-in-class, strategically driven capability that supports performance, growth and value creation.

Operating within a dynamic, fast-moving environment, you will balance hands-on delivery with long-term strategy, embedding scalable frameworks while fostering a culture that enables innovation and accountability.

More about the role:

• Design and deliver a fit-for-purpose people strategy aligned to business growth and PE value creation plans
• Professionalise the People function, implementing robust frameworks across talent, performance, reward and employee experience
• Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Board and investors on organisational effectiveness and people-related risk
• Lead organisational design and workforce planning to support scale and evolving business priorities
• Embed a high-performance culture, underpinned by clear accountability and leadership capability
• Establish and enhance data, insight and metrics to inform people decisions and track impact
• Build and develop a credible, high-performing People team
• Support integration, transformation and change programmes within a PE-backed context
• Strengthen employer brand to attract and retain high-calibre talent in competitive markets

More about you:

You are an experienced Chief People Officer or senior HR leader who has successfully operated in private equity-backed, mid-sized scaling organisations.

You bring a track record of building or transforming People functions, with the ability to introduce structure and discipline without losing pace or entrepreneurial energy.

• Proven experience professionalising HR or People and Culture functions within growth-oriented businesses
• Strong understanding of PE environments, including value creation, governance and pace of change
• Commercially astute, with the ability to link people strategy directly to business outcomes
• Experience driving organisational transformation, scale and cultural evolution
• A modern, forward-looking perspective on people leadership and ways of working
• Credibility and gravitas to influence at Board and investor level
• A pragmatic, hands-on approach with a focus on delivering measurable impact