Head of HR

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is the UK's chartered professional body dedicated to educating, developing and regulating actuaries based both in the UK and internationally.

The IFoA regulates and represents over 34,000 members worldwide, overseeing their actuarial education at all stages of qualification and development throughout their careers. We set examinations, continuing professional development, professional codes and disciplinary standards for our members.

We are currently recruiting a Head of HR for a Permanent contract.

This role is hybrid, both working from home and in our Oxford or Edinburgh hub. Attendance in the hub is required at least monthly.

We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly between home and the hub to suit their needs and preferences, in line with our hybrid working policy. Colleagues are able to work their hours flexibly, in line with core business hours and requirements. We also offer formalised flexible working agreements.

The starting salary is £67,830.

The closing date for this vacancy is 25 June, with initial interviews to take place in the week of 29 June.

The Head of Human Resources is a strategic leader responsible for shaping and delivering a high-impact people agenda aligned to organisational strategy and transformation priorities. The role drives the development of a high-performing, inclusive and values-led culture, ensuring that people strategies, frameworks and interventions enable organisational effectiveness, resilience and long-term sustainability.

The postholder leads the design and evolution of core HR frameworks including employee relations, performance, reward, job architecture and governance, ensuring these are forward-looking, data-driven and aligned to organisational risk appetite. The role partners with senior leadership to proactively manage workforce risks, strengthen leadership capability and embed a culture of accountability, inclusion and continuous improvement.

Key activities in the role:

• Lead the strategic direction of employee relations, shifting from reactive case management to proactive risk identification, trend analysis and organisational intervention
• Shape and embed a high-performance culture through ownership of a modern, outcome-focused performance management framework
• Partner with senior leaders to build organisational capability in performance, accountability and leadership effectiveness
• Lead the internal delivery of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy through measurable outcomes, data insight and systemic change to policies and practices
• Use workforce analytics to identify trends, risks and opportunities, informing strategic decision-making and targeted interventions
• Own and evolve job architecture, evaluation and grading frameworks to ensure alignment to organisational design, market positioning and equal pay principles
• Provide strategic employment law guidance, ensuring risk is anticipated and mitigated within a complex and evolving regulatory landscape
• Develop and maintain forward-looking HR policies that enable agility while ensuring compliance and fairness
• Lead strategic workforce planning, aligning capability, capacity and cost to organisational priorities
• Oversee recruitment strategy and governance, driving quality, diversity and cost-effective hiring approaches
• Champion wellbeing as a strategic priority, embedding sustainable approaches to workforce health, resilience and engagement
• Drive continuous improvement of HR operations, systems and service delivery, leveraging technology and data to enhance effectiveness
• Lead, develop and inspire the HR function, ensuring high-quality advice, consistency and a strong customer-focused ethos
• Ensure integrity, governance and strategic use of people data to inform organisational insight and reporting

We are looking for somebody with these skills and experience:

• Experience of operating at a strategic HR leadership level
• Proven track record of shaping and delivering people strategies aligned to organisational transformation
• Deep expertise in workforce planning and performance frameworks
• Strong understanding of UK employment law, governance and risk management in a complex environment
• Demonstrable experience embedding DEI strategy with measurable outcomes
• Experience leading job architecture, reward or grading frameworks
• Exceptional influencing capability with senior stakeholders and boards
• Strong analytical capability, using data to drive insight and decision-making

The full job description, is available on https://actuaries.org.uk/ifoa-jobs/head-of-hr/

To apply, please send a CV and covering letter to [email protected] before the closing date of 25 June 2026.

The IFoA encourages applicants from a variety of backgrounds and experience and welcomes diversity with regard not only to protected characteristics but also diversity of thought. Diversity, equity and inclusion are more than just words for us. That’s why we are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels included and respected, and where no one is unfairly discriminated against. Consequently, we promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all our policies, practices and procedures, and actively encourage applications from a diverse range of potential candidates. All applications for our roles are considered on merit alone, and if you don’t meet all the criteria but believe you have something to offer, we want to hear from you. For more information on our commitments, please see our DEI strategy page.

The IFoA is an ethical, inclusive organisation where colleague wellbeing is a priority. Our people are supported to achieve their potential through a mixture of challenging work, opportunities for role- and project-based growth and formal training and development. Their value is evident to them through competitive salaries and a generous reward package in addition to outcomes-focused assessment and the ability to work flexibly.

Read more on working for the IFoA: https://actuaries.org.uk/ifoa-jobs