Head of HR - Aspire Defence Services Ltd

Title:

Head of HR - Aspire Defence Services Ltd

The Head of HR plays a pivotal leadership role in driving the execution of the DNTS People Strategy across a multi-site facilities and services organization, supporting a workforce of approximately 1,000 employees. As the senior HR authority on the project/private finance initiative, you will be accountable for shaping and overseeing all HR operations — spanning people, processes, and systems — to ensure seamless alignment with strategic business objectives. This is a high-impact, hands-on leadership role that demands a forward-thinking professional capable of fostering and embedding a high-performance culture, ensuring full compliance, and enhancing employee engagement at every level of the organization.

Strategic Leadership

• Implement the comprehensive KBR HR strategy aligned with the company’s goals, values, and operational priorities.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the senior leadership team on people matters, organizational design, and change management.
• Drive cultural alignment, leadership development, and succession planning across the organization.

Talent Management

• Oversee recruitment and workforce planning to ensure optimal staffing levels, skills alignment, and diversity.
• Champion internal mobility, performance management, and leadership development programs.
• Lead initiatives to enhance employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention.
• Identify existing skills requirements, anticipate future needs and undertake analysis of current skills base. Create strategies to fill “skills gaps”.
• Oversee strategies, procedures and policies that encourage career progression

Learning & Development

• Implement learning strategies that enhance employee capability, compliance training, and career development.
• Drive leadership development and coaching for mid-to-senior managers.

HR Operations & Compliance

• Ensure effective delivery of core HR services (e.g., payroll, contracts, records management) through robust HR systems and processes.
• Maintain compliance with all employment laws, health & safety standards, and regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
• Accountable for policies and processes that deliver the optimum efficiencies across the employee life-cycle of attraction, recruitment, onboarding, development, retention and separation.
•  Utilize HR metrics to identify trends  to inform decision-making, people strategies and continuous improvement.

Employee Relations

• Establish and maintain effective communication channels.
• Maintain effective Trade Union relationships, promoting a positive working environment and minimizing risk to the business and disruption
• Oversee Employee Performance Management strategies and policies (processes that manage conduct, capability, grievance)
• Lead and/or oversea large scale change management activities & requirements
• Oversee employee relations strategies to ensure a positive, fair, and legally compliant workplace environment.
• Foster a culture of transparency, accountability, and mutual respect.
• Own people policies that drive a culture aligned with KBR values and employment law compliance
• Own well-being programmes for the workforce
• Accountable for strategies that increase employee engagement levels and minimize attrition to acceptable level of churn

Compensation, Benefits & Reward

• Design and oversee fair and competitive total rewards programs.
• Ownership of senior leadership incentive programmes
• Negotiate pay agreements and remuneration packages with recognized Trade Unions and staff representative bodies
• Conduct regular market benchmarking and review of compensation structures.
• Partner with Finance to manage the HR budget and workforce cost planning.

Skills & Competencies

• Strategic thinking with hands-on operational capability.
• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Expert knowledge of employment law and HR best practices & strong expertise in change management
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, presentation and influencing skills at all levels
• Keen to continually review and
• Proficiency in HRIS systems and data analytics.

Key Relationships:

• Executive Leadership Team
• Site Managers & Operational Leaders
• Trade Unions
• Legal & Compliance
• Finance & IT
• External vendors and regulatory bodies
  
  closing date for applications 17 August 2025