Chief People Officer / CPO
London based (Hybrid)
Are you ready to make a meaningful impact in the healthcare industry? Join us as our Chief People Officer and be part of a transformative journey!
Carnall Farrar (CF) is a fast-growing management consulting and data science company dedicated to innovation in healthcare. We work across the entire healthcare industry including health systems and life sciences companies, as well as working with health investors and their portfolio companies. We inspire clients to make change happen and improve health outcomes.
As Chief People Officer and the visionary leader of our People Function, you will champion recruitment, retention, learning and development, equality, inclusion, diversity, human resources, and resourcing initiatives. With a focus on agility and responsiveness, you will lead a dedicated team, recognising that our people are our most invaluable asset.
As a key member of our senior leadership, you will craft and implement a people strategy integral to our corporate vision, ensuring alignment with business objectives and the delivery of exceptional results. Your role will be pivotal in enhancing leadership capability and capacity across the business, empowering leaders to nurture and develop their teams effectively. As a strategic partner to our Partner leadership team, you will design and execute initiatives aligned with our business objectives, fostering employee growth and contributing to the overall success of CF.
Are you ready to pioneer change and drive innovation? Apply now and seize the opportunity to make history with us.
About us
CF is dedicated to improving healthcare through working with health systems and the life sciences industry. We offer clients consulting and data services and products.
Our work with health systems includes work with public and private providers of all kinds of care as well as their commissioners and regulators. We work at every level including national, regional, place and local level. We support health systems on critical strategic, performance and organisational issues to deliver the best outcomes for the populations they serve.
Our work with the life sciences industry includes pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as medical devices, diagnostics, and health tech companies as well as their investors. We support the life sciences industry in the uptake of innovation including access, pathway transformation, and use of data & digital, and how they partner with health systems to improve patient outcomes.
Responsibilities
As Chief People Officer at CF, you will lead a dedicated team responsible for overseeing the People Function, ensuring the delivery of objectives and managing additional resources as needed.
This role will provide leadership across corporate functions, acting as a Development Sponsor to support employee development and wellbeing. Your responsibilities will include implementing and refreshing the People Strategy, aligning it with the corporate agenda, and driving initiatives to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion. You will collaborate with partners to identify staffing needs, implement innovative recruitment strategies, and oversee the end-to-end recruitment process. Additionally, there will be a focus on talent development, onboarding, induction, and performance management, ensuring compliance with employment laws and fostering a culture of continuous learning and professional growth within the organisation.
Your role will be instrumental in driving our organisation forward by ensuring alignment between people strategies and business objectives, fostering a positive workplace culture, attracting and retaining top talent, and facilitating continuous learning and development across all levels at CF.
Team Leadership:
* Manage a small team dedicated to the People Function, ensuring the delivery of team objectives
* Provide leadership to the wider corporate functions in coordination with Operations and Commercial Directors
* Act as a 'Development Sponsor' to support employee development and wellbeing
People Strategy:
* Implement the People Strategy, incorporating substantive refreshes as necessary
* Stay updated on innovations in People Strategy and maximize professional networks
* Translate corporate strategy into relevant business plans and align implementation priorities
Culture and Values:
* Champion equality, diversity, and inclusion initiatives within the organisation
* Collaborate with Partner leadership to set and drive initiatives enhancing diversity and equality
* Act as a trusted advisor for employees and managers on HR-related matters
* Proactively address and resolve employee relations issues to maintain a positive workplace culture
Resourcing:
* Collaborate with Partners and business development teams to identify staffing needs
* Implement innovative recruitment strategies to attract top talent
* Oversee the end-to-end recruitment process and maintain the annual Graduate recruitment cycle
* Lead the resourcing function to ensure adequate staffing for all projects
Talent:
* Develop and maintain the onboarding experience to foster a sense of belonging
* Oversee induction processes for all staff and ensure timely communication
* Engage with leadership to establish collective development needs and design leadership development programme
* Oversee delivery of learning and development programs to enhance employee skills and capabilities
* Lead the performance management process, providing guidance to managers on addressing performance gaps
People Processes:
* Stay updated on UK employment laws and regulations, ensuring compliance across all HR practices
* Review and update HR policies and procedures as necessary
* Oversee delivery of agile and responsive HR support, utilising technology and automation effectively
Requirements
The ideal candidate will have experience in HR and people development, ideally in the professional services sector. You will be professional, knowledgeable, organised, flexible and driven, balancing the need to ensure excellent delivery of functions today, with anticipating and meeting future needs. You will be comfortable working in an SME and be motivated by supporting growth. Additionally, the following:
Mandatory:
* Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred)
* Chartered member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development, ideally qualified to level 7.
* Proficient in MS Office and use of technology to support ways of working
* Good familiarity with the range of technological options to support the delivery of the People function and the scope of future developments including the use of AI to automate standard systems and processes
* Substantial experience in a senior HR leadership role, with a focus on strategic HR management
* Excellent understanding of UK employment laws and regulations
* Extensive experience in talent acquisition, employee development, and engagement initiatives
* Excellent leadership and people management skills
* Proven track record of managing teams to deliver strategic and operational requirements
* Demonstrated success in designing and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
* Strategic thinker with a track record of aligning HR initiatives with business goals
* Exceptional communication, skills, able to synthesis and convey complex messages to a range of stakeholders
* Extensive negotiation, and interpersonal skills
* High levels of emotional intelligence
* Forward thinking with a structure-based approach
* Robust administrative and operational process experience
Desired:
* Management consulting experience would be beneficial
Benefits
* Holiday entitlement: 32 days/year, after six years’ service this would increase to 35 days, which is the maximum entitlement
* Annual leave purchase: employees with less than 35 days annual leave entitlement are able to purchase additional annual leave days
* Income protection: in the event of long-term incapacity and a qualifying claim, 75% of salary will be paid
* Enhanced sick pay benefit beyond Statutory Sick Pay for up to a total 12 weeks in any 12-month period
* Life insurance covering four times your basic salary in a tax-free lump sum payable to your beneficiaries in the event of your death whilst in service
* Enhanced family leave policies: additional pay for parents who have a baby or adopt
* Access to an interest-free season ticket loan, repayable by 12 monthly instalments
* Workplace nursery scheme: access to a scheme to help working parents save tax and NI on the cost of the nursery care
* Flexible working policy: including the ability to work fully remotely for up to 4 weeks a year
* An Employee Assistance and Wellness Program: including access to telephone counselling, life coaching, interactive tools online and digital content downloadable from Lifeworks
* Seasonal flu jabs: provided by Boots annually
* Eye care tests: vouchers and discounts at Vision Express
* Ride to work scheme, saving up to 42% on bikes and cycling accessories at Evans Cycles
* Access to ClassPass a monthly fitness membership that provides access to thousands of different studios, gyms, and wellness at a discounted rate
* Membership to the Health Service Journal (HSJ)
* Flexible working
We have a hybrid-working policy. This will see our employees collaborate in the office at least 40% of their allocated time, with one of those days being a ‘team’ day and the remainder of the week can be spent working remotely. More office-based time may be required in certain roles, and this will be agreed on a role-by-role basis.
Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to building an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all our people can excel. We only recruit, promote and reward our people based on their skills and contribution, without regard to gender, race, disability, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or other characteristics.
We are Disability Confident Accredited, and we want you to feel comfortable and able to perform at your best in the recruitment process, if you require any reasonable adjustments for any part of the recruitment process, please let us know.