* Head of People and Communications
* Perm
* Reading | Hybrid (3 days per week onsite)
* You must be eligible to work in the UK without the need for Sponsorship
Shape the culture. Enable performance. Lead the people strategy that powers MBNL.
The Head of People & Communications plays a pivotal leadership role in shaping the culture, capability, and performance of MBNL. As a member of the Extended Leadership Team, you will lead the organisation’s People, Engagement, and Internal Communications agenda—ensuring the business has the right people, leadership, and environment to deliver for customers and shareholders.
This role sits at the heart of organisational transformation. You’ll partner closely with senior leaders to challenge thinking, strengthen leadership capability, and embed a culture that supports high performance, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Why this role matters:
People and culture are fundamental to MBNL’s success. This role ensures the organisation has the leadership, capability, and environment needed to deliver today while preparing for tomorrow. This is a hybrid role with a minimum of 3 days per week in our Central Reading office.
What you’ll be here to do:
You’ll lead the strategic and operational delivery of MBNL’s people agenda—ensuring people, culture, and communications enable the organisation to succeed. You’ll:
People & Culture Strategy
* Design and deliver MBNL’s People, Engagement, and Internal Communications strategy aligned to the overall business strategy.
* Shape and embed a strong organisational culture built around MBNL’s behaviours and values.
* Ensure the employee experience supports engagement, performance, and long-term organisational health.
Leadership Partnership
* Act as a trusted business partner to the Extended Leadership Team, helping leaders navigate organisational challenges and opportunities.
* Challenge and support senior stakeholders to develop their teams and deliver results within agreed headcount.
* Coach and develop senior leaders to strengthen leadership capability across the organisation.
Organisational Design & Transformation
* Lead complex organisational design and development, ensuring structures, processes, and capabilities support the evolving needs of the business.
* Champion a people-centred approach to transformation, embedding change effectively across programmes and portfolios.
* Work with the Change Centre of Excellence to ensure people considerations are fully integrated into change initiatives.
Talent, Capability & Reward
* Create and embed a talent management strategy, identifying and developing future leaders and critical capabilities.
* Design reward frameworks that attract, motivate, and retain high-performing talent.
* Build leadership and management capability to support a high-performing organisation.
Operational Excellence
* Lead and develop the People & Communications team, setting clear direction and ensuring alignment with organisational priorities.
* Oversee complex employee relations matters while proactively managing organisational risk.
* Use market insight, digital tools, and data to continuously improve the HR service and move toward a more manager-led people model.
Key challenges you’ll tackle
* Driving cultural and organisational transformation across MBNL and its wider ecosystem.
* Leading complex organisational design and enabling new ways of working.
* Embedding new behaviours and leadership expectations across the organisation.
* Creating strategies and services that deliver an exceptional employee experience.
* Developing the leadership capability needed for MBNL’s future.
* Leveraging digital technology, insight, and automation to modernise people services.
Who we’re looking for
You’re a strategic HR leader with the credibility, influence, and commercial insight to operate at senior leadership level. You’ll have:
* Significant HR leadership experience at senior level.
* Proven track record of delivering people transformation in complex organisations.
* Strong experience partnering with senior leadership teams.
* Experience leading internal communications and engagement strategies.
* A commercially minded approach to designing HR strategies that drive business performance.
* Strong understanding of organisational culture, leadership, and engagement.
* Demonstrated ability to lead teams, inspire people, and create high-performance environments.
* Experience coaching and developing senior leaders.
If you also have the following, we’re especially interested in talking to you:
* Experience working in a joint venture or partnership environment.
* Background in infrastructure, asset-based, or operational organisations.
* Experience driving continuous improvement and high-performance cultures.
You’ll be shaping not just strategy, but how people experience work at MBNL—building a culture where individuals, teams, and the organisation can perform at their very best.