Head Of People

About Napo

Napo is a fast-growing pet care company.

We have built the best pet insurance product in the UK and are now diversifying in other verticals, such as online dog training. Our end vision is to be an end-to-end solution to help millions of pet parents be responsible and fulfilled.

The Role

As Head of People, you will report to JP, the CEO of Napo, and be a key part of the leadership team. Over the last three years, we’ve built an incredible team of 80 people and put the basic People frameworks in place. These frameworks have got us to where we are now. However, they will likely need iterating to take us to the next phase. Over the next three years, we’ll take the team north of 200 people across at least two geographies. You’ll be a core part of making that growth possible!

You will lead a small team; currently, we have an experienced people lead and administrative support. You’ll have a budget to hire a lean team across TA & HR support.

The Responsibilities

Innovative HR Practices

• Drive the adoption of innovative HR technologies and practices to streamline processes and enhance employee experience.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and creativity in developing HR solutions that can adapt to the changing needs of a dynamic workforce.

Talent Acquisition

• Napo must become a destination for exceptional talent. This is the single biggest reason we’ve been successful and will continue to be in the future. You’ll ensure our Talent attraction & assessment principles, models, and structures are world-class.

Performance & Development

• We’ve put a lot of effort into our performance and development structures over the last three years. We run frequent performance reviews and have put in place progression frameworks. You’ll be responsible for ensuring these scale and that we’re balancing the dynamic between high performance and engagement correctly.

Culture Building and Management:

• Design and implement initiatives that strengthen the company's culture, ensuring it remains cohesive and strong even as the company grows and expands internationally.
• Work closely with leadership to embed the company's core values and mission into all aspects of People management and decision-making processes.

Collaboration Across Departments:

• Act as a strategic partner to all departments, ensuring HR strategies and initiatives are aligned with company-wide goals and objectives.
• Facilitate cross-departmental committees or working groups to address company-wide challenges and opportunities from a people perspective.

International Expansion:

• We will expand to at least one geography over the next three years (likely two). You’ll be responsible for the People side of international expansion, coordinating with finance, operations and compliance to ensure a seamless setup in new geographies.

Experience you need

• You have a proven track record of at least 5 years as a Head of People in a technology company with more than 150 employees.
• You demonstrate the ability to influence and drive strategic initiatives within the leadership team and across the organization, leveraging a deep understanding of business operations and people management.
• You have proven experience in leading change management initiatives, demonstrating the ability to manage the human side of changes to processes, systems, and technologies within a growing organization.
• You’ve scaled a technology company internationally in the past.
• You’ve run lean, high-performing people teams that focus on empowering leaders and managers.
• You’ve built talent attraction and assessment structures that have allowed 100% year-on-year growth.
• You have experience building and managing diverse teams, with a strong understanding of cultural differences and how they can impact team dynamics and business success.
• You have excellent negotiation and conflict resolution skills, focusing on building consensus among diverse stakeholders.

Skills you’ll need

• You can build People structures and models that work today and scale with us in the future.
• You’re able to communicate using data (qual & quant) & principles to align a leadership team and the whole company.
• You are able to devise and implement international expansion strategies.
• You can “handle” complex HR situations any business may have to go through from time to time.
• You can support managers at early stages of their careers in hiring, developing, and engaging teams.

Our Values

Be candid and authentic.

• We bring our true selves to work - who we wholly are.
• We are transparent and are not afraid to share information with each other - good and bad news.

Trust and care for each other.

• We trust each other to do the right thing.
• We are not afraid to make mistakes, and we ask for help when we need it.
• We encourage each other; when people struggle, we help them.

Do the right thing.

• We are fair to our customers, and we care about the well-being of their pets.
• When facing difficult decisions, we put ethics above profits.
• We always act in the best interest of the company.

We are all owners and optimise for impact.

• We are always looking for the most impactful thing to work on.
• We take responsibility, and we’re problem solvers - hold yourself and others accountable.
• Nothing is somebody else’s problem; we are collaborative and always jump in to help where needed.