Head of People/HR - 16mo maternity cover

About the role

We’re looking for somebody to lead our People Ops department for a 16-month maternity cover contract, starting in October 2026. In this role, you’ll lead a team of five to develop and deliver the People strategy for our fast-growing, scaling company.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, we have a team of 170+ across the UK and US. You’ll play a critical role sitting on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and providing strategic direction for the People department. You’ll ensure that we attract and retain top talent, and embed a culture of high performance. We want people to consider their time at Dayshape the best part of their career and this role will be instrumental in shaping this.

What you’ll do

You’ll be overall responsible for these areas, able to deliver both directly and through the People team:

Strategic Leadership

Work as part of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to develop, communicate, and deliver on overall company strategy

Develop and drive our People strategy

Provide thought leadership, counsel, and support to the SLT, People team, and wider community of people leaders at Dayshape

Talent Acquisition & Management

Develop and execute innovative strategies to attract and hire top talent for our growing team

Build and maintain a strong employer brand to attract and retain top talent in a highly competitive market

Provide effective onboarding, training, and development programs to ensure new hires feel at home quickly and existing colleagues develop their careers

Employee Engagement & Culture

Cultivate a positive and inclusive company culture that aligns with our values and fosters employee growth and happiness

Work with our People team to build upon our Investors in People (IIP) accreditation and improve our employee value proposition

Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts across the organisation, supporting the DEI Board in their work

Performance Management & Reward

Build on our existing performance management processes to ensure clear expectations, regular feedback, and effective performance reviews.

Support managers and leaders in addressing performance issues, driving a high-performance culture

Conduct regular market analysis to ensure our offerings remain equitable

Review our benefits offerings as part of overall remuneration and compensation strategy

Compliance, Policies, and Employee Relations

Ensure all People policies and procedures align with legal and regulatory requirements, regularly reviewing and updating these to reflect best practices and a progressive approach

Handle employee visas and visa sponsorships, maintaining compliance with immigration laws and regulations

Manage employee relations to ensure a positive and collaborative work environment

Address and resolve employee issues effectively and in line with our policies and best practices, providing mediation and support to employees and managers

Operational Excellence

Manage People operations, including contract administration for employees and contractors, ensuring employee records are up to date, and providing employee payroll information to the Finance team

Provide regular update reports to the SLT and Board to help with forward planning and decision making

Manage supplier relationships and budgets, maximising the value they provide

Manage multiple projects and ensure the People team is being utilised effectively to deliver the most impact

About you

To succeed in this role, you will be passionate about company culture, attracting and developing talent, driving exceptional performance, and will thrive in a fast-paced environment. You will be both strategically minded and hands-on, able translate strategy into action and bring others on the journey with you to deliver excellence.

Demonstrable experience in an HR/People leadership role, driving and delivering on People initiatives

Experience managing HR/People Ops in a scaling software company

Previous experience directly managing HR or People functions for global/overseas entities (ideally the US), including recruitment

Experience developing and implementing successful talent acquisition and retention strategies

Demonstrable experience of providing visible, inclusive, and collaborative leadership in the People and culture space

Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills; able to connect with people individually and to communicate effectively company-wide with authenticity

Highly adaptable; able to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, and able to figure out a path through new challenges and opportunities

Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities

A pragmatic approach, balancing the priorities of the organisation with the demands of our team

Able to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion

Strong knowledge of HR best practices and compliance regulations

Bonus points if you have

HR degree, CIPD, or similar relevant qualification

What you’ll get

Salary c. £65,000 - £70,000 (FTE, pro rata for 20-30 hours per week)

At least £1,000 per year to spend on professional and personal development

33 days' holiday per year (including bank holidays), increasing by 1 day each year to a maximum of 40 days (FTE)

Private healthcare

Income protection and death in service cover

Matched 5% auto-enrolment workplace pension scheme

Access to wellbeing offerings, such as our Employee Assistance Programme and a dedicated counselling service

Volunteering time – up to 20 hours a year to participate in volunteer work

Regular All Hands meeting for inspiration and over-communication

Time out of the working week for team socials each month, with a mix of in-person and virtual options: past events include hiking, family BBQs, board games and at-home cocktail classes!

Genuinely nice, smart people to work with, who are excited about growing our company

Working Details

This is a part-time role (22.5-30 hours per week), falling within our usual office hours of 09:00 - 17:30 from Monday to Friday.

We’re ideally looking for someone in/around Edinburgh, though we’re open to the possibility of this being a remote role (as long as you're in the UK). We're making the most of hybrid working, so you won't need to come into the office everyday (unless you want to!).

About Dayshape

We’re Dayshape - an award-winning software scale-up with big ambitions and the momentum to match. Trusted by Big Four and many other top professional services firms globally, our AI-powered resource management platform is helping organisations to achieve extraordinary results.

At Dayshape, our purpose is to improve people's working lives, and our culture is an important driving force in helping us to do just that. We're a friendly, inclusive, and ambitious team - driven by our values and a shared commitment to success. If you’re ready to join a fast-growing, high-impact company that’s reimagining resource management, then let’s talk.

Join the team!

Equality of opportunity is more than just a responsibility: we believe it’s a huge advantage to welcome a variety of experiences and perspectives into the team. Diversity is a great asset and, as such, we strongly encourage applications from any background, including those returning to work after a career break.

This is your opportunity to really influence how we get things done, and how to shape Dayshape’s culture and success through our next stage of growth. We're doing well, but there's lots more to do in order to maintain the high bar and pace that we've set.

Everyone here is growing personally as the company grows, so if that sounds like something you’d like to be part of, we’d love to see your application.

Please note the successful candidate for this role will be subject to background checks and will have an opportunity to declare anything to us beforehand.