Interim Head of People

Role

Who you are

• You've led a people function in a scaling, commercially driven and regulated environment
• You have direct experience of SMCR and ideally Enhanced firm governance requirements
• You're confident operating at exec and Board level, able to influence and hold senior leaders to account
• You bring strong organisational design and workforce planning capability
• You have deep knowledge of UK employment law and regulatory people risk (European experience desirable)
• You balance strategic clarity with operational pragmatism and are comfortable rolling up your sleeves
• You're calm in ambiguity and energised by growth, change and evolving complexity
• You lead through others, building trust quickly while combining empathy with accountability
• If this sounds like your kind of thing, we encourage you to apply even if you don't tick every box. We'd love to hear from you!

What the job involves

• This role is a maternity cover on a 12-month FTC, ideally to start in May 2026
• We're looking for an Interim head of people to join our People team, reporting directly to the CEO and working closely with our executive team
• This is a pivotal maternity cover role with full accountability for the people function at an exciting moment in our growth and change - including our transition from Core to Enhanced SMCR, potential European expansion, the evolution of our hybrid and location strategy, and the increasing impact of AI on how we work
• Our People team plays a critical role in enabling Seccl's growth ambitions - shaping culture, building leadership capability, and ensuring our people foundations are strong, scalable and compliant
• As technology and AI continue to reshape the fintech world, you'll help the business and our people adapt thoughtfully and responsibly – ensuring we build the skills, governance and ways of working needed for the future
• You'll lead a capable team across partnering, development, operations and talent acquisition, balancing strategic direction with hands-on delivery
• With major governance, expansion, organisational and technological priorities ahead, this is an opportunity to influence at the highest level and leave a lasting impact on how Seccl scales – strengthening our readiness not just for regulatory change but for the future of work itself
• Partnering with the CEO and exec team to ensure people strategy is fully aligned to business goals and growth plans
• Holding senior leaders to account for embedding our culture and role-modelling our operating principles
• Leading organisational readiness for Enhanced SMCR, strengthening governance, accountability frameworks and regulatory learning
• Shaping organisational design and workforce plans to ensure we have the right skills, structure and succession in place
• Preparing the business for European expansion, including hiring, policy localisation and operational setup
• Driving the evolution of our hybrid and location strategy, including office moves, future footprint planning and health & safety oversight
• Supporting responsible AI adoption across the business, ensuring our approach enhances productivity and innovation while maintaining fairness, compliance and strong ways of working
• Overseeing performance and engagement frameworks, ensuring insight from feedback and survey data translates into clear action
• Acting as an escalation point for complex people relations and regulatory matters, ensuring fair, consistent and compliant outcomes
• Leading and enabling the People team, setting priorities, running quarterly planning and ensuring operational excellence across the full people lifecycle
• Partnering with Finance on reward strategy, salary reviews, executive incentives and long-term workforce cost planning

Compensation & Work Arrangement

• £100-120k
• 12-month FTC (maternity cover)
• 3 days a week in office
• Locations: Edinburgh or London
• Start date: May 2026 (ideally)