Lead People Business Partner (1 Year FTC)

THE CARWOW GROUP

Carwow Group is driven by a passion for getting people into cars. But not just any car, the right car. That’s why we are building the go-to destination for car-changing. Designed to reach drivers everywhere with our trail-blazing portfolio of personality rich automotive brands; Carwow, Auto Express, evo, Driving Electric and Car Buyer.

What started as a simple reviews site, is now one of the largest online car-changing destinations in Europe - over 10m customers have used Carwow to help them buy and sell cars since its inception. Last year we grew over 50% with nearly £3bn worth of cars bought on site, while £1.8bn of cars were listed for sale through our Sell My Car service.

In 2024 we went big and acquired Autovia, doubling our audience overnight. Together we now have one of the biggest YouTube channels in the world with over 1.1 billion annual views, sell 1.2 million print copies of our magazines and have an annual web content reach over 350million.

WHY JOIN US?

We are winners of the prestigious Culture 100 award that recognises the most loved and happiest tech companies to work for! We have just raised $52m in funding led by global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners (an early backer of LinkedIn and Shopify) to accelerate our growth plans!

As pioneers, we’re always driving for new territory and positive change, so our work as a group is never done. Where others see difficulty, it’s our responsibility to see possibility – building new experiences, launching new titles and listening to drivers.

Being a part of Carwow Group means championing drivers and the automotive industry, acting as a disrupter and never being afraid to fail (but learning fast when we do!).

Our team of 500 employees across the UK, Germany, Spain and Portugal are revolutionising car-changing and we are fast expanding our mission across every single brand and country we operate in, so jump in!

THE ROLE

This is an exciting and strategic 12-month fixed-term contract opportunity, covering maternity leave, to step in as our Lead People Business Partner. You will be the linchpin in driving our People Business Partnering strategy, leading and developing a talented team of People Business Partners, and being a key voice with our leadership. You'll ensure the delivery of high-quality, impactful People support, champion our high-performance culture, and lead critical People projects that directly impact the business's success. This role is perfect for a People leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and can quickly build trust and influence across all levels of the organisation.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT

For the next 12 months, you'll be instrumental in ensuring the continuity of strategic People support. You will directly influence our organisational health by elevating the capability of the People Business Partnering team and coaching our senior leaders to foster a truly high-performance culture. Ultimately, your success will be measured by your ability to deliver key People projects seamlessly, manage risk effectively, and drive evidence-based talent outcomes (i.e. retention / performance / engagement / succession) across the business.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the People Business Partnering team, providing hands-on coaching, mentorship, and effective distribution of workload to ensure team excellence and high-quality support.

• Establish and cascade clear Business Partnering OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) for the team, ensuring alignment with the overall People roadmap and Carwow's strategic priorities.

• Equip your team with clear frameworks and decision-making tools, fostering an independent and problem-solving culture while providing strategic guidance for complex situations.

Strategic Partnering & Impact

• Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership, providing critical support and strategic insights on people-related matters.

• Drive and champion a high-performance culture across the business by coaching People Partners to elevate leadership development and performance management capabilities.

• Guide the team in developing advanced organisational design solutions and fostering a culture of robust succession planning to identify and nurture high-potential talent.

• Collaborate with Leads within the wider People team to support and execute broader team strategies and initiatives (e.g., DE&I, People Operations, Talent etc).

Execution & Expertise

• Serve as the internal subject matter expert for complex employee relations (ER) cases, guiding senior leaders through strategic coaching and risk-mitigation strategies.

• Lead and implement key People projects, including cyclical processes (e.g., performance reviews, salary review) and strategic initiatives.

• Advise on change management initiatives (e.g., restructure), ensuring smooth execution, clear stakeholder buy-in, and equipping the team to manage change effectively.

• Champion Carwow's values and ensure they are integrated and live in everything we do, while also promoting high emotional intelligence and active listening within the team.

• Utilise data and evidence to generate actionable insights, presenting them effectively to leaders to drive informed, evidence-based decisions.

• Be agile and adaptable to anticipate and respond effectively to evolving business needs and challenges.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Please note: We know that no candidate will be the perfect match for all we've listed in this posting, so we’d encourage you to apply if you feel you're close to the brief but not an exact match. Ideally you’ll have:

• Proven experience as a Senior or Lead HR/People Business Partner, including demonstrable experience in managing and developing people.

• Experience working within a scale-up or fast-paced environment, able to work in ambiguity, anticipate and adapt to change swiftly and effectively.

• In-depth knowledge of employment law and employee relations, with a track record of successfully navigating and resolving complex cases.

• Exceptional relationship-building skills across all levels of an organisation, capable of building trust and influencing strategic decisions.

• Strong commercial and strategic acumen with the ability to translate business needs into People-focused solutions.

• Proficiency in using data and People metrics to diagnose issues, identify trends, and advise on measurable actions.

• High emotional intelligence and excellent communication skills, with experience coaching leaders and handling sensitive, confidential situations.

• A highly proactive and agile mindset, able to anticipate and adapt to change swiftly and effectively.

INTERVIEW PROCESS

• Step 1: Meet with Talent Partner

• Step 2: Interview with Becky James, Head of People & Talent, and Amber Newman, Lead People Business Partner (whose role you’d be covering)

• Step 3: Interview with Zaina Ishaq, Senior Culture & Inclusion Manager, and Idan Shteinberg, People Operations Manager

• Step 4: Values based interview with 2x stakeholders across the business.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU

• Hybrid working

• Competitive salary to fund that dream holiday to Bali

• Matched pension contributions for a peaceful retirement

• Share options - when we thrive, so do you!

• Vitality Private Healthcare, for peace of mind, plus eyecare vouchers

• Life Assurance for (even more) peace of mind

• Monthly coaching sessions with Spill - our mental wellbeing partner

• Enhanced holiday package, plus Bank Holidays

  • 28 days annual leave

  • 1 day for your wedding

  • 1 day off when you move house - because moving is hard enough without work!

  • For your third year anniversary, get 30 days of annual leave per year

  • For your tenth year anniversary, get 35 days of annual leave per year

  • Option to buy 3 extra days of holiday per year

• Work from abroad for a month

• Inclusive parental, partner and shared parental leave, fertility treatment and pregnancy loss policies

• Bubble childcare support and discounted nanny fees for little ones

• The latest tech (Macbook or Surface) to power your gif-sending talents

• Up to £500/€550 home office allowance for that massage chair you’ve been talking about

• Generous learning and development budget to help you master your craft

• Regular social events: tech lunches, coffee with the exec sessions, lunch & learns, book clubs, social events/anything else you pester us for

• Refer a friend, get paid. Repeat for infinite money

Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our culture. We know that diverse teams are strong teams, so we welcome those with alternative identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply for this position. We make recruiting decisions based on experience, skills and potential, so all our applicants are treated fairly and equally.

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