People & Culture Lead

• A CIPD qualification is welcomed but is not essential for the right candidate.

Job Description:

Location: Based at the head office of Kinect Services Limited in Rayleigh

Reporting To: Managing Director

Direct Reports: Recruitment & Compliance Manager (plus wider oversight of the Recruitment & Compliance function)

Working Arrangement: Part-Time / Fractional
Approx. 2-3 days per week initially, with flexibility for the right candidate.

About Kinect Services Limited

Kinect Services Limited is a growing operational business specialising in:

• SEN transport
• Domiciliary care
• Related passenger transport services

As the business continues to scale, we are entering an important phase of organisational development focused on:

• Improving operational consistency
• Strengthening leadership capability
• Developing clearer ownership and accountability
• Enhancing communication across teams
• Continuing to build a positive, collaborative culture

We are seeking an experienced People & Culture Lead to support and guide the next stage of this journey.

The Opportunity

This is not a traditional HR administration role.

We are looking for a commercially aware and people-focused leader who can operate as a trusted partner to the senior leadership team, helping the business professionalise and strengthen its:

• Organisational structure
• Leadership capability
• Workplace culture
• Communication and accountability
• Onboarding and employee experience
• Long-term organisational scalability

The successful candidate will support both operational and strategic priorities, helping the organisation navigate growth and change in a pragmatic, collaborative, and people-centred way.

This is a genuine opportunity to help shape the future direction of a growing business.

Key Responsibilities People & Culture

• Support the continued development of a positive, collaborative, and accountable workplace culture
• Help embed consistent management practices and behaviours across the organisation
• Support leadership with organisational development and change initiatives
• Develop frameworks that improve communication, engagement, feedback, accountability, and management consistency

Leadership & Management Support

• Coach and support operational managers with day-to-day people management
• Performance management
• Difficult conversations
• Absence management
• Employee relations matters
• Help strengthen leadership capability and management confidence across the organisation

Organisational Development

• Support the development of clearer organisational structures, ownership, and accountability
• Assist with role clarity, onboarding frameworks, progression pathways, and management processes
• Identify organisational risks, bottlenecks, and operational dependencies
• Support wider business improvement initiatives and organisational scalability
• Assist with organisational change and restructuring projects where required

Recruitment & Compliance Leadership

• Provide leadership, support, and strategic direction to the Recruitment & Compliance function
• Support the continued development of recruitment, onboarding, and compliance processes aligned to operational and cultural objectives
• Improve consistency between recruitment, onboarding, management, and overall employee experience
• Work alongside operational leaders to strengthen retention, onboarding quality, and employee support

Employee Relations & HR Oversight

• Act as an escalation point for employee relations matters where required
• Support investigations, disciplinaries, grievances, and formal HR processes
• Ensure compliance with employment legislation and HR best practice
• Review and develop HR policies, procedures, and documentation
• Support organisational change processes sensitively and professionally

What We're Looking For

We are less focused on finding someone "corporate" and more interested in someone pragmatic, emotionally intelligent, and experienced in supporting growing organisations through change.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have strong HR and People leadership experience
• Be commercially and operationally minded
• Thrive in fast-paced, evolving environments
• Balance structure with flexibility
• Build trust and credibility quickly
• Be confident coaching managers and constructively challenging where appropriate
• Have experience supporting organisational growth and change
• Be comfortable operating both strategically and hands on when required

Experience & Background

Relevant experience may include:

• Head of People
• HR Business Partner
• Organisational Development roles
• Fractional People Director positions
• Operational or service-led organisations

Why Join Kinect?

This is an opportunity to play a meaningful role in shaping the next phase of a growing business where:

• Culture genuinely matters
• Leadership is open to challenge and improvement
• Ideas and innovation are encouraged
• The role can have real influence and impact

We are looking for someone who wants to help build, improve, and influence - not simply maintain processes.