About Matalan From humble beginnings to disruptive innovations in the retail industry, find out about how Matalan is ever-evolving here. We know as a team, we are stronger together we champion equality for all and make lasting connections that go beyond work. We thrive off our inclusive culture, encouraging our colleagues to bring their true selves to work and contributing to collective creativity, open-mindedness and growth. We want give every candidate the opportunity to perform at their best throughout the application and interview process and then ultimately in their role. If you require any adjustments during our recruitment process, please dont hesitate to let us know. In the event that a high volume of suitable applications are received, the post may close prior to the specified closing date. Please apply as soon as possible if interested. About the role We are seeking to recruit a strategic, commercially astute and engaging Director of People, to shape, lead and deliver the People agenda driving cultural change as we continue to grow, transform and modernise Matalan. Creating an engaging place to work, where colleagues feel trusted, empowered and can thrive, contributing to delivering a sustainable growing business is paramount to this role. With a workforce of over 10,000 colleagues across retail, distribution, and central functions, this role is critical in driving the cultural and organisational changes needed to build a modern, adaptable, high-performing business. Reporting directly to the Chief People Officer and being an active member of the senior leadership collective, youll lead a connected, engaged and commercially driven team that delivers best-in-class business partnering, organisational design, talent acquisition, talent development and DE&I initiatives. You will also play a visible role within the business, shaping people priorities that enable long-term commercial success. Key Responsibilities People Strategy & Transformation Lead the execution of the People Strategy, aligning it with our people and business transformation roadmap and commercial growth ambitions. Drive change initiatives that embed new ways of working, enhance leadership capability and elevate performance culture across all levels. Act as a senior advisor and thought partner to the CPO, CEO, and Executive Leadership team. Culture and Strategy Champion of cultural change, being both a role model and coach to successfully achieve the strategy ambition for culture. Ambassador of Matalans purpose and values that underpin the culture. Delivers tools and initiatives that underpins cultural change and accelerates business performance. Business Partnering Lead a strong People Partnering team that works hand-in-hand with business leaders to solve problems, deliver change, and enable performance. Build commercial credibility and ensure the People Team is seen as a trusted partner in achieving business goals. Work with other areas of the People Team to maximise specialist knowledge and lead a collective high performing People Team. Builds strong engagement with all stake holders that collaborates and delivers initiatives that builds trust and drives cultural change. Organisational Design & Workforce Planning Shape the organisational design to support a more adaptable, customer-centric and omni channel operating model. Develop a fit for the future capability framework that ensures all capabilities are either developed or acquired for the future. Lead strategic workforce planning to ensure the right structures, roles, and capabilities are in place to support future growth. Create an effective organisational design that drives efficiency and performance. Shapes the cadence and ways of working across the business to develop accountability, empowerment and decision making. Talent Acquisition & Employer Brand Oversee the recruitment strategy to attract top talent across stores, distribution, and support functions. Champions a brand of choice and creates a best in class candidate experience. Delivers a frictionless and automated, efficient processes that improves efficiency and experience. Creates a talent acquisition team that develops direct relationships with candidates and is a critical partner of the hiring manager. Position the business as an employer of choice, with a strong EVP that reflects our values, culture, and transformation journey. Talent Development Develop and implement a talent development strategy that grows our internal pipeline, builds future-fit skills, and enhances leadership depth. Embed consistent, high-impact development programmes across all levels, with a focus on frontline-to-leadership progression. Develop a learning offer that covers all areas of the business and is linked to the performance and cultural ambition. Create a strong emerging talent strategy that builds a pipeline of capability, builds strong external partnerships and utilises the apprenticeship levy to its full potential. Build strong succession plans for C-2 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging (EDIB) Develop, deliver and lead the EDIB (Unity) strategy and ensure it is embedded in everything we do the guardian of promoting inclusion and belonging from hiring to development, reward, and culture. Use data and insight to track progress, identify gaps, and create meaningful change that reflects and supports our diverse workforce. Culture, Engagement & Colleague Experience Drive initiatives and tools that support a positive, inclusive, high-performance culture through periods of change. Lead the development and delivery of our engagement strategy, using colleague insight to inform continuous improvement. Remain focused on delivery of a culture of empowerment and performance, utilising tools and frameworks available and improving the environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver on their role. Leadership & Team Integration Key role in leading a unified People Team, ensuring close collaboration across specialisms and a one team culture. Coach, mentor, and inspire the leadership team to deliver excellence and drive outcomes that matter to colleagues and the business. About You Significant senior People/HR leadership experience, ideally in large, complex, multi-site retail or consumer environments. Proven track record of delivering people transformation and culture change in turnaround/growth contexts. Deep expertise in organisational design, workforce planning, talent, and EDIB. Strong leadership presence and the ability to influence at all levels including Board. Highly commercial, insight-led, and focused on delivering measurable impact. Inspirational leader of people and teams, with a highly collaborative and courageous style. Energetic and relentless approach to driving a positive One Team attitude across the People Team and Leadership Collective. CIPD qualified desirable. Benefits In addition to competitive salaries, we also offer the below core benefits: 20% staff discount, which increases with length of service Thrive Recognition Scheme Wellbeing support provided by the Retail Trust Life Assurance Retail Rewards platform offering discounts for other retailers Pension Scheme Access to a wide range of career development Additional benefits may apply depending on your role and area of the business