[Hiring] Head of HR @Actus Verto

Role Description

The Head of HR is the senior people lead for Actus Verto, reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer. This is a standalone role with full ownership of the people agenda from the operational foundations that keep the business running compliantly and effectively, to the strategic advisory work that shapes how the business grows, organises, and performs. This is both a strategic and operational role where no two days will look the same. It is a trusted seat at the leadership table and a roll-your-sleeves-up position getting involved in all aspects of delivering the people agenda, supporting leaders, managers and their teams. In a professional services business where our people are the product, this role is foundational to everything Actus Verto is building.

Key Responsibilities

• Employee Relations & HR Operations
  • Own the employee relations function handling all ER matters with care, consistency, legal rigour, and commercial pragmatism.
  • Maintain HR governance ensuring all contracts, policies, processes, and practices are compliant with current employment law.
  • Lead onboarding designing and delivering a first-class onboarding experience.
  • Manage offboarding ensuring leavers are treated with dignity and that exit intelligence is captured.
  • Manage all aspects of the employee lifecycle contracts, variation letters, right-to-work compliance, DBS checks, HR system maintenance, and management information.
• Workforce Planning & Organisational Design
  • Advise the CEO and leadership team on workforce planning.
  • Support organisational design advising on structure, job architecture, role design, and reporting lines.
  • Own headcount planning in collaboration with the CEO and COO.
  • Identify capability gaps and advise on how to close them.
• Talent, Performance & Development
  • Design and run the talent review process.
  • Own the performance management framework.
  • Coach and develop line managers.
  • Support learning and development identifying development needs.
  • Own succession thinking at leadership level.
• Reward & Salary Benchmarking
  • Own salary benchmarking maintaining a regular and rigorous view of market rates.
  • Design and maintain the compensation framework.
  • Manage the annual salary review process.
  • Advise on benefits ensuring the benefits package reflects what matters to Actus Verto's people.
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Transformation
  • Lead people-side due diligence in mergers and acquisitions.
  • Own TUPE and transfer processes.
  • Support integration planning post-acquisition.
  • Act as a people advisor during any significant business transformation.
• Management Reporting & Executive Advisory
  • Provide regular people reporting to the executive team.
  • Advise the CEO and founders on people risk.
  • Support the board with people-related information and analysis.
  • Contribute to the leadership team as a trusted peer.

Core Behaviours

• Personal Growth: You have a relentless appetite for personal and organisational growth.
• Disruption: You challenge the status quo and are comfortable being uncomfortable.
• Innovation: You bring creativity to every problem.
• Fun: You create energy in the room.
• Integrity: You do the right thing, especially when it is hard.
• Success: You are driven to win for your clients, your colleagues, and yourself.

Skills & Experience

• Proven experience as a (Senior) HR Business Partner, Head of HR, or standalone people lead.
• Deep and current knowledge of UK employment law.
• Demonstrable experience of M&A due diligence and TUPE.
• Track record of advising senior leaders and founders on complex people decisions.
• Experience of salary benchmarking and compensation framework design.
• Comfortable with management reporting.
• Strong coaching capability.
• Degree / CIPD qualified (Level 5 minimum; Level 7 preferred) or equivalent demonstrable experience.
• Resilient and pragmatic.
• Commercially astute.

What Success Looks Like

• Employee relations are handled promptly and fairly.
• Retention is tracked, understood, and below industry benchmark.
• Manager capability is visibly improved.
• Compensation framework is documented and defensible.
• Workforce planning is clear and structured.
• Talent reviews are completed biannually.
• M&A readiness is confident and comprehensive.
• People reporting is accurate and timely.
• Culture is positive and supportive.