Senior HR Manager
Our client is a leading creative communications agency specialising in entertainment, with offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, and Dubai. Following significant international growth across teams and divisions, the business is now seeking a Senior HR Manager to help embed robust people processes while preserving its long-standing, people-first culture.
This role will act as the central HR lead for UK and US teams, balancing hands-on operational delivery with forward-looking HR planning. The successful candidate will be a confident, commercially minded HR leader who can partner closely with the business during a period of continued change.
Key Responsibilities
Operational HR
*Develop, implement, and maintain HR policies, procedures, and systems, ensuring compliance with UK and US employment legislation.
*Act as the primary point of contact for day-to-day HR guidance for managers and employees across the UK and US.
*Manage complex employee relations matters, including grievances, disciplinaries, performance, and absence.
*Oversee HR administration and data integrity through the Breathe HRIS.
*Design and manage inclusive, compliant recruitment processes, working with external partners where required.
*Ensure consistent, best-practice onboarding and offboarding processes across regions.
*Regularly review and update HR policies and documentation to reflect legal, cultural, and organisational change.
*Introduce and standardise new policies across countries where appropriate, ensuring clear communication and understanding.
*Develop and report on key HR metrics, providing accurate insights to the leadership team.
*Support pay review cycles, salary frameworks, and development planning to ensure fairness and scalability.
*Ensure clear, consistent job descriptions are in place to support role clarity and career progression.
Culture & Employee Experience
*Champion and evolve a culture that reflects the company’s creative, collaborative values.
*Deliver employee engagement surveys and translate results into actionable improvement plans.
*Implement initiatives that support employee development, recognition, and retention.
*Partner with Heads of Department to align people objectives with the company vision.
*Establish and maintain clear performance and behavioural standards across the business.
*Define skills and capability frameworks to support promotions and progression.
*Identify and benchmark key talent to enable merit-based pay and promotion decisions.
*Develop succession plans for critical roles.
*Collaborate with managers to build structured training and development programmes at all levels.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
Essential
*Proven experience in a senior HR leadership role.
*Strong working knowledge of UK and US employment law, with experience managing complex ER cases (in-house or via legal partners).
*Demonstrable experience designing and delivering operational HR initiatives.
*Track record in organisational development, policy implementation, and culture management.
*Experience leading inclusive, compliant recruitment processes.
*High proficiency with HR systems and technologies.
*Experience supporting geographically dispersed UK and US teams.
*Experience in rlevant industry sectors such as Media, Communiations, PR, Events, Talent Management will be of value.
Personal Attributes
*Empathetic, approachable, and emotionally intelligent.
*Strong relationship-builder with the credibility to influence at all levels.
*Proactive, solutions-focused, and commercially aware.
*Adaptable and resilient in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
*Committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Technical & Professional Skills
*Strategic mindset with the ability to align HR initiatives to business objectives.
*Strong analytical capability, using HR data to inform decisions.
*Effective project management skills, with the ability to lead initiatives end-to-end.
*Up-to-date knowledge of HR best practice, systems, and digital tools.
Education
*CIPD Level 7 or equivalent.
*Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration, or a related discipline (desirable).
(Salary on offer based upon experience)