People & Culture Lead

Organisation: British Triathlon
Salary: £45,000 - £55,000
Location: Loughborough (hybrid: 2-3 days in office)
Contract type: Permanent (Full time)
Closing date: 31 July 2026
Job Description: Purpose

To lead and deliver a standalone, end-to-end people function for around 85 employees, operating in a hybrid environment across Loughborough and remote teams. The People & Culture Lead will own day-to-day HR operations and act as the organisation’s main people advisor, ensuring an effective, compliant and engaging people function.

This role combines hands-on operational delivery with advisory support to the Executive team, helping shape people strategy, culture, organisational development and ways of working. The role requires someone who is agile and can navigate ambiguity - able to work with pace and autonomy in an evolving organisation, balance practical delivery with continuous improvement, and can build trusted relationships across the organisation’s remote and geographically dispersed teams.

This is a broad and evolving role, and we recognise the scope it brings. Over time, the focus of the role will shift - moving away from current administrative requirements through admin support, improved systems, automation and process design, towards a more strategic and value-adding people leadership focus on culture, organisational effectiveness and employee experience.

Responsibilities & Contributions

Strategic People Leadership
- Act as a trusted advisor to the Executive team, providing pragmatic insight on people strategy, organisational design, culture and ways of working.
- Contribute to organisational decision-making by bringing a clear people and culture perspective to change, growth and operational priorities.
- Build strong, credible relationships with leaders and managers, creating trust and confidence in the people function.
- Support the embedding of organisational values and behaviours, helping shape a positive and consistent employee experience.
- Build visibility and maintain strong relationships with teams through regular in-person and virtual engagement, ensuring the people function is accessible, trusted and responsive across all locations.

Recruitment & Onboarding
- Own and deliver end-to-end recruitment, partnering with hiring managers on job design, advertising, selection and offers, ensuring a fair and inclusive candidate experience.
- Manage the ATS (currently Applied) and coordinate vacancy advertising.
- Deliver effective onboarding and induction processes that set new starters up for success.

HR Operations & Administration
- Act as the first point of contact for HR queries, managing the HR inbox and triaging requests.
- Maintain accurate HR records and systems, ensuring data integrity, GDPR compliance and consistent employee lifecycle documentation.
- Prepare and issue contracts, letters and core HR documentation.
- Partner with Finance to administer payroll changes accurately and on time.
- Deliver clear and timely HR communications to managers and employees.

HR Systems, Data & Continuous Improvement
- Manage and optimise HR systems (currently BrightHR), supporting manager and employee self-service where appropriate.
- Use data and insight (e.g. people metrics, exit interviews, surveys, employee feedback) to identify trends, inform priorities and improve decision-making.
- Track and report on key people data and metrics for the Executive team, recommending actions to improve organisational performance, engagement and employee experience.

Performance, Development & Engagement
- Coordinate and continuously improve performance review and appraisal processes, supporting managers to use them effectively and consistently.
- Design and deliver simple, practical engagement initiatives (e.g. pulse surveys, feedback loops, action planning) and follow up on themes with the Executive team, managers and employees.
- Support the organisation in developing a more engaging, values-led and people-centred culture through effective listening, feedback and follow-through.

Policy, Compliance & Governance
- Ensure compliance with UK employment law and HR best practice, advising leadership on changes, risks and implications.
- Ensure HR policies and procedures are up to date, accessible, fit for purpose and clearly communicated to managers and employees.
- Champion equality, diversity and inclusion across all people activities and processes.
- Support the organisation in maintaining proportionate and effective governance across the employee lifecycle.

Employee Relations & Advisory
- Provide expert, pragmatic advice and guidance to managers and employees on all people matters, building manager confidence and capability.
- Lead on employee relations cases (e.g. disciplinary, grievance, absence, performance, wellbeing and flexible working), ensuring fair, consistent and compliant outcomes.
- Support managers to address people issues early, confidently and constructively.
- Use sound judgement to balance business needs, employee experience and organisational values.

Wider Organisational Contribution
- Contribute to cross-functional projects, bringing a clear people and culture lens.
- Support leaders and teams through change, helping embed new ways of working effectively.
- Contribute to building a strong operational foundation that enables teams to perform at their best.

We are always looking for how we can make things better at British Triathlon. You will identify opportunities to streamline, standardise and improve people processes to increase efficiency and reduce unnecessary administration. This includes leading small-scale people projects and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen systems, processes and ways of working, and support a more proactive, insight-led people function through improved reporting, data quality and consistency.

Relationships

This is a standalone people role reporting into the Director of Finance, Governance & Operations. You will be an integral and valued member of the Operations Directorate and maintain close working relationships with the Executive team, Finance, Governance and Analytics. You will work closely with managers across all Directorates to ensure people practices, policies and ways of working are fit for purpose, value-adding and as consistent as possible across the organisation. You will also be expected to work confidently and independently, using sound judgement and taking ownership of priorities with limited day-to-day direction.

About You

Our values sit at the heart of everything we do, and we’re looking for someone who truly lives them:
- Inclusive – You collaborate naturally, seek diverse opinions, and welcome feedback. You treat everyone with respect, integrity, and honesty.
- People-Centred – You’re an excellent communicator who builds strong, lasting relationships across all levels. You demonstrate high emotional intelligence in your interactions.
- Ambitious – You’re proactive, creative, and open to new ideas. You set ambitious goals, take accountability, and embrace learning through experimentation and failure.
- Do What’s Right, Not What’s Easy – You’re decisive, resilient, and unafraid to tackle difficult issues. You show sound judgment, protect confidentiality, and lead with courage.

In addition to these values, the following knowledge, skills, and experience are essential or desirable for this role.

Knowledge & Skills

Essential
- Significant experience in a generalist HR role, covering recruitment, HR administration and employee relations.
- Strong working knowledge of UK employment law, with experience managing employee relations cases (disciplinary, grievance, performance, absence and flexible working).
- Ability to interpret and apply HR policies, procedures and legislation in a pragmatic, business-focused way.
- Confident partnering, advising and coaching managers on people issues, with the ability to influence and gain buy-in from stakeholders at all levels, including senior leaders.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt style to different audiences.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities, balance strategic and operational demands, and work autonomously using sound judgement.
- High attention to detail, particularly in HR administration and people data management, with a strong sense of discretion when handling sensitive information.
- Comfortable using HR systems (e.g. HRIS, ATS) and leveraging data to inform decisions, improve processes and enhance user experience.
- Proactive, solutions-focused mindset with a focus on continuous improvement.
- Experience building and maintaining trusted relationships across geographically dispersed and remote teams, with the ability to be visible and accessible through both in-person engagement and virtual working.

Desirable
- Experience using HR systems (e.g. BrightHR, Applied or similar HRIS/ATS platforms).
- Understanding of the sports sector, National Governing Bodies, or not-for-profit/member-based organisations.
- Knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) best practice and its practical application in HR.
- Experience designing and delivering HR training for managers.
- Experience operating as a standalone HR lead or most senior HR contact within a small or developing organisation, function or site.
- Experience leading or supporting organisational change, including process improvements, growth, and cultural development initiatives.

Qualifications
- CIPD Level 5 (or equivalent experience) – essential.
- Evidence of ongoing CPD in HR, employment law or related fields – desirable.

If you don’t tick every box, please apply anyway - many skills and experiences can be developed on the job, and what matters most is that you share our values, can build trust, and are excited to improve, lead and drive things forward at British Triathlon.

If you're inspired and excited about this opportunity and working at British Triathlon, we'd love to hear from you!
How to apply: If you’re inspired and excited about working at British Triathlon, we’d love to hear from you. Please have a good read through of the full Job Description at www.britishtriathlon.org/about-us/job-vacancies. To apply, click this link - https://app.beapplied.com/apply/lruodlaqox?utm_source=UK-Sport - and “Start your application”. Include your CV and a cover letter (or another format if you prefer) explaining why you are the right fit for the role and what excites you about the opportunity.