Group Head of People & Culture | Hastings Hotels

Hastings Hotels is a long established, family owned, luxury hotel group based in Northern Ireland. We are pleased to be recruiting for the senior position Group Head of People and Culture , to support our strategic workforce planning, talent development and to lead our HR team. We are seeking an exceptional, confident, and experienced people and culture professional for the position, located in Head Office, next to the Stormont Hotel. Reporting to our Managing Director, James McGinn, you will lead Hastings Hotels workforce management, charting the course for recruitment, talent development, and employee engagement initiatives that align with the group's long-term vision and values while motivating your team through consistent communication, inspiring the team to success, supported by our Hastings Culture This is an exciting role for an experienced professional with excellent communication and influencing skills, with a proven track record in delivering and leading in a large organisation, to shape and influence high quality people practices. As a reward you can expect a highly, competitive salary, training, and development as well as employee discounts internally and externally. About The Role As Group Head of People and Culture you will lead in strategic planning, comprehensive people oversight, and the management of a dynamic team of people professionals for Hastings Hotels. You will have responsibility for ensuring optimal use and potential efficiencies of all resources and systems related to the People Function. You will strive for continuous improvement and development in our employee experience, strategy and processes to maintain a future ready focus. Key Skills: 1. Excellent communication skills at all levels with the ability to influence, negotiate and establish credibility to represent Hastings Hotels and enhance its reputation, internally and externally. 2. Ability to work proactively with fully delegated authority to use principled and seasoned judgement to deal with complex issues without referral. 3. Ability to recognise where change is needed, to embrace and create an enthusiasm for change and to work effectively with others to develop creative, innovative, and customer-focused solutions. 4. Ability to maintain a customer-focused approach, building working partnerships with others to foster effective joint working, based on collaboration and cooperation to deliver joined up services or programmes. 5. Proven people management skills with the ability to inspire and provide direction and support promoting a can do attitude and an environment of creativity and innovation. 6. Ability to delegate responsibility and provide constructive feedback and coaching to individuals in roles where there is a high degree of discretion in decision making. Responsibilities include: 1. Strategic planning and implementation of innovative and bespoke group wide People initiatives. 2. All matters relating to: People Strategy; HR consultancy/business partnering; HR policy; employment law; staff engagement; organisation improvement and development; learning and development; employee performance management; and employee health, safety and wellbeing. 3. Management of the People & Culture budget and resources, ensuring that they are allocated effectively for the delivery of intended outcomes in a manner which demonstrates value for money and compliance with relevant policies and guidelines. 4. Communicating regularly and effectively to Board, including reflective People and Culture reporting and proactive horizon planning to support the agreed outcomes. 5. Management of the HR Team, including focus on their professional learning and development, to achieve individual and team objectives, in conjunction with the CIPD's profession map. 6. Developing innovative and robust arrangements for employee resourcing, retention, and reward; including senior recruitment, recruitment strategy and campaigns for hard to fill roles and generic recruitment. 7. Supporting the senior managers in creating and effectively executing development plans for direct reports, based on their individual strengths, development needs, and career aspirations, to retain talent within the business. 8. Management of all internal and external training programmes to ensure continuous talent development and improved skills across all levels and departments, with a customer focused objective. Qualifications and/or Experience Fellow CIPD qualified (or equivalent experience) and relevant developed HR expertise. Experience Managing People in a large, multi-site or group environment. Demonstrable leadership qualities and passion to drive the People Strategy of this established hospitality group. Proven ability in influencing, interacting and consulting with senior managers regarding People processes, best practice and benchmarking. Exceptional leader with experience in leading large teams and bringing about organisational change. Recent experience of successfully leading the delivery of strategic objectives and business plans. Strong commercial and business acumen. Excellent computer skills and sound knowledge of all aspects of Microsoft 365 and other people management software. Excellent verbal communication and written communication skills. Desirable Experience Educated to post-graduate level or equivalent experience in one or more of the relevant technical specialist areas, for example, human resources, organisational change, or programme management. What we will offer you: Highly competitive salary offer for the successful candidate Kingsbridge Diamond Membership Club Access to wellness care Employee discount throughout the group. On-going training and development courses and industry events. To find out more about our benefits click here You must have: Right to work in the UK. No visas will be offered for this position. Required Criteria Excellent verbal communication and written communication skills. Excellent computer skills and sound knowledge of all aspects of Microsoft 365 and other people management software. Fellow CIPD qualified (or equivalent experience) and relevant developed HR expertise Experience Managing People in a large, multi-site or group environment. Demonstrable leadership qualities and passion to drive the People and OD aspects of this established hospitality group. Proven ability in influencing, interacting and consulting with senior managers regarding People and OD processes, best practice and benchmarking. Strong commercial and business acumen. Exceptional leader with experience in leading large teams and bringing about organisational change. Recent experience of successfully leading the delivery of strategic objectives and business plans. Desired Criteria Educated to post-graduate level or equivalent experience in one or more of the relevant technical specialist areas, for example, human resources, organisational change, or programme management. Skills Needed Human Resource Management, Recruiting, Succession Planning, Developing People, Building Teams, Employee Relations About The Company Hastings Hotels owns and operates six hotels in Northern Ireland, with over 1,000 bedrooms, one stand-alone grill bar/restaurant and a luxury spa. From city centre buzz to seaside resort, each outlet has a distinctive personality and market positioning. Over 50 years this family owned business has successfully earned its identity and in a crowded market place because we place quality at the heart of what we do. Quality in the design of our properties and their upkeep. Quality in the local sourcing of the food and drink we offer our guests. And quality in our people, people with personality, attention to detail, and a desire to develop their careers with us. Company Culture Our guests remember small details. The open fires in the front hall. The supremely comfy beds. The fabulous breakfast and the interactions they had with our staff. It is more important that you have the correct behaviours and attitude than every last qualification we can help you attain that. We place great attention on recruitment, induction, and integrating you into your department, your hotel, and the Group. We want you to think about how you want to develop your career with us, and we promise to do what we can to help you on that journey. As a result, we are proud to have some of the best staff retention levels in the hospitality industry. Company Benefits We offer a range of benefits including free staff meals, cash and credit card tips, employee discounts, 29 days holiday plus your birthday off, and opportunities for career progression and development. Vacation, Paid time off, Retirement plan and/or pension, Employee development programs, Employee discounts, Cycle to work, Competitive salary, Event tickets, Preferential room rates, Family and friends rates, Discount on meals purchased , Discount on spa treatments or products, Long service recognition, Free meals during shifts, Free parking or Discounted parking , Employee Assistance Scheme, Wellbeing Scheme, Social Opportunities, Employee of the Month Salary Not disclosed Skills: Human Resource Management Recruiting Succession Planning Developing People Building Teams Employee Relations Benefits: Vacation, Paid time off Retirement plan and/or pension Employee development programs Employee discounts Cycle to work Competitive salary

Location: Belfast, GB

Posted Date: 7/10/2025