People Lead / CPO

People Lead / Chief People Officer

Working: Full Time, hybrid – Barley Wood (just outside of Bristol) weekly.

THE WHY

If you vaguely know Vivobarefoot, you might think of us as a shoe company. And you would be right, in a sense. But you would also be missing most of the story. Although we’re passionate about barefoot footwear, what really gets us moving in the mornings is reconnecting people with nature with the aim of making both healthier (and happier!).

There isn’t a paint-by-numbers approach to working regeneratively. There are certainly useful frameworks, but in practice we digest good thinking from diverse sources and then figure out how to apply it to our unique ecosystem. This is what makes working regeneratively fresh, exciting and complex. At the same time, we’re experiencing all the hurdles that come with rapid growth and keen to make sure our Ecosystem evolves with growth, without losing what makes us, us.

We’re trying to inspire a community of regenerative leaders, home-grown coaches, and cross functional communicators. We self-manage our work, give and receive great feedback and test and learn as we flow together in a furiously fast and rapidly changing ecosystem. We’re wild mavericks, curious thinkers, troublemakers and creative dreamers. We forget the status quo and try push the boundaries to where no one dared to go before. It’s hard, but vital work.

WHERE YOU’LL PLAY

We are looking for a confident and energising People Lead with ambition to move into a Chief People Officer role or maybe you’re already a Chief People Officer who is looking for growth. You will seamlessly own all things People, supporting the wider Ecosystem organisation as we navigate our global growth journey. You will lead the way in expanding our Ecosystem of 160 people to support business growth from £90M to £200M+, creating a network of high-performing individuals, who work seamlessly from all corners of the earth – and all the vital infrastructure required to support global Hybrid Working. You will also be responsible for developing the People & Culture strategy, aligned with the company’s regenerative vision and growth objectives.

We are looking for someone who knows what it takes to evolve a fast-growing business, has witnessed best practice across HR compliance, people operations and culture, and is ready to apply their experience with a regenerative Vivo lens. This is an ideal role for an efficient individual with a strong foundation in People Operations, who understands the needs of a growing Founder-led business, and who is confident to advise a variety of stakeholders from first-time managers to board-level executives.

At Vivobarefoot, we champion a network organisation inspired by regenerative leadership, but for context, you will be the most senior People professional at the table and expected to strategically support and directly advise the founders and executive management team. This role has 4 direct reports across Recruitment, Operations and Partnering.

BRILLIANT SYSTEMS & WORKFLOWS

Re-invigorate our tools, systems and structures, resourcing the foundations of our growth journey.

• Optimise and futureproof all Operational HR processes (i.e recruitment, payroll, EVP, expenses and compliance) to accommodate rapid company growth.
• Oversee People Compliance efforts, ensuring adherence to relevant labour laws, data protection regulations, and employment equity
• Own all People systems (tools currently exist across Performance, Expenses, Payroll & Engagement), ensuring company-wide utilisation and process efficiencies. This should include the implementation/consolidation of an appropriate HRIS or equivalent.
• Lead and execute on Guidelines and Policy updates, adjusting industry best-practice for our Hybrid organisation of regenerative leaders
• Lead the evolution of our hybrid working design, ensuring our team thrives together, through the roll out of digital productivity tools, amplifying internal comms and company information sharing.
• Develop data reporting and metrics to drive strategic data insights, including the development of People Team SLAs and monthly, quarterly and annual KPI’s and long-term People Roadmaps.

GROW OUR VIVOBAREFOOT COMMUNITY

Recruit, develop and support self-managing, adult-adult teams of changemakers & entrepreneurs

• Oversee our Head of Talent, ensuring a diverse and talented workforce that reflects our regenerative values and a best-practice candidate experience.
• Oversee our Head of Learning and Development to ensure motivated teams and excellent development plans.
• Support the team to develop and execute on a comprehensive onboarding program that reinforces our hybrid working organisation.
• Lead the development and implementation of a fair and transparent pay and progression guideline, which takes Vivoers on profound individual development journeys that fulfil teams needs beyond salary.
• Identify opportunities for continuous learning and professional development, strengthening Vivo immersions (our version of training) to enhance employee skills and capabilities, in line with People & Culture Strategy and Vivo Values (dance, simplicity, diversity)
• Create a culture of high performance, managing a Heat Map strategy to help Senior Leadership understand how the teams are operating and feeling at any point in time.
• Ensure our reporting and documentation is up to speed, maintaining compliance with employment laws and regulations in the UK and globally
• Responsible for Reporting & Analysis on everything people, and ensuring the correct employee record keeping, documentation and filing (incl contracts, Visas, training, joining, leaving etc).

BUILDING A THRIVING CULTURE

Sensing into the system and driving action to inspire and engage our talented group of humans.

• Immerse and engage the company around our Natural Health principles and Live Barefoot culture, supporting leadership to drive a cultural shift across the Ecosystem.
• Foster a positive and inclusive company culture that aligns with our regenerative mission and goals.
• Act as a trusted advisor to employees and management on HR-related matters to prevent, address and resolve employee relation issues in a fair and consistent manner.
• Advise and support the wider Ecosystem to manage cultural nuances and operational challenges in different regions, in support of a unified and cohesive global team.
• Review and evolve our methods of engagement measures and feedback collection, to nurture our adult-adult feedback culture and maximise engagement across global teams.
• Support Senior Management and our Spaces team to develop the future of regenerative working from our new Nature Home.

ALL ABOUT YOU

• You’ll either be a Head of People driven to progress your career to C-suite or already hold a Chief of People role but want to work for a company you are aligned with and grow with your new role.
• Qualified and experienced HR professional with 5-10 years broad experience running small to medium sized organisations (including exposure to remote or hybrid working teams)
• Ambitious, entrepreneurial mind set to help drive us to success
• Keen interest in Regenerative Leadership and building future-fit businesses – keen to do what’s not been done before with a demonstrated capability in managing change and innovation.
• Experience in a fast-growth or scale-up environment, preferably in a global context, with strong awareness of cultural sensitivity and adaptability to different work environments.
• Forward-thinking with the ability to anticipate future HR needs, confident to persuade, influence and engage across all levels of experience and seniority.
• Able to flip between long-term strategic planning, and tactical project management, able to lay out a clear path for supporting teams and the wider organisation, whilst comfortable to pick up projects on your own.
• Deeply comfortable to represent the Company on HR & employment issues, able to provide clarity and ‘translate’ what we must do to remain compliant in all areas.
• Thrives in fast paced, constantly changing environment with varying levels of structure - this is your happy place!
• Strong understanding of HR best practice, with the confidence and ability to develop traditional processes in line with our regenerative values and hybrid way of working.