HR Director, Audit UK & Switzerland

Job description

About the capability

Group Corporate Services (GCS) is the home for all internal support services that support the combined firm. Working with our Capability-led matrix and throughout the whole firm, GCS executes on our Group's strategic goals by enabling growth, protecting the firm and running operations effectively and efficiently, resulting in improved profitability. We do this using a ‘We are Group’ mindset.

About the team

The People and Resourcing domain’s purpose is to enable the Group’s business strategy through its people. We maintain our position as an employer of choice by fostering a Values-led culture, enabling our people to thrive, and delivering a positive experience through the employee lifecycle. We are a strategic HR function that leverages digitisation, automation, and data-driven insights to enhance decision-making and productivity.

Role Purpose:

• Shape and deliver the Group Audit people & culture strategy, aligning talent, learning, reward and workforce priorities to business growth and the capability-led model. 
• Act as a trusted advisor to the Group Capability Leadership Team, using insight and analytics to strengthen decision-making, engagement, inclusion, organisational effectiveness and resilience. 

Key Accountabilities:

• Partnering with the Audit Executive and the Head of Culture to shape and deliver the Group Audit People & Culture Strategy, enabling growth, organisational effectiveness and the capability-led model through agreed strategic people priorities. 
• Embed people insight into senior decision-making through timely, high-impact workforce, talent and employee experience analysis. 
• Strengthen organisational effectiveness, leadership capability and change readiness through agreed transformation, talent, succession and workforce planning outcomes. 
• Provide Group-level oversight of people risk, governance and compliance through effective controls, reporting and escalation of material people risks. 
• Embed Group HR Business Partnering standards across the Capability and member firms, ensuring aligned HRBP priorities, consistent delivery and stakeholder confidence. 
• Works as part of an integrated HR service delivery model, partnering with COEs, Shared Services and Capabilities to ensure services are strategically aligned, operationally effective, colleague-centered and delivered to a consistently high standard across the Group.  

Key responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership  

• Role holder is a member of the Audit Executive Committee in order to shape, influence and implement Audit strategy and will attend the Audit Board. 
• Partner with executive leadership, including the Head of Culture, to deliver the Audit People & Culture Strategy, aligned to business objectives and growth ambitions. 
• Take account of member-firm priorities in shaping and delivering the people agenda. 
• Use employee experience insight and workforce analytics to ensure people impacts are understood and reflected in strategic choices. 

People Strategy & Organisational Effectiveness

• Translate business needs into high-impact people initiatives that drive performance, engagement and transformation.
• Own Group-level people outcomes, performance measures and delivery against agreed priorities.
• Take a lead role in organisational change, including restructuring, cultural transformation and leadership alignment.
• Apply global HR frameworks to ensure alignment and consistency in Group-wide priorities.

Risk, Compliance & Governance

• Act as a steward for people-related risk, balancing business priorities with people impact.
• Maintain Group-level oversight of member-firm compliance with local employment laws and regulations, recognising that country-specific interpretation and application sits with the relevant HRBP support structures.
• Ensure Group governance standards, controls and reporting requirements are understood, embedded and complied with across member firms.

Innovation & Analytics

• Use workforce analytics to inform talent planning, organisational design and leadership development.
• Champion AI and advanced analytics in Group-level people strategy for the Capability to enable transformation and organisational effectiveness.
• Bring external perspective through networks, benchmarks and thought leadership to enhance the Audit People Strategy.

Team Leadership & Operational Alignment

• Work with Centres of Excellence and Shared Services to align plans to business needs and people priorities.
• Lead Audit HR Business Partners team, setting clear objectives, expectations and priorities to ensure consistent delivery across member firms.
• Consolidate insight from HRBP activity, CoE expertise and Shared Services operations to provide business leaders with a unified view of people topics.

Key skills, experience:

• Significant senior HR leadership experience in complex, multi-market or matrixed environments.
• Commercial acumen and understanding of the relevant business context, challenges and priorities
• Proven ability to translate business priorities into people plans, workforce strategies and measurable outcomes.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to influence, have impact and build effective relationships with senior leaders
• Proven aptitude in strategic thinking, thought leadership and innovative ideas to support the development of the people strategies, priorities and plans 
• Strong external / market awareness, networks and understanding of the broader industry trends and challenges, and the role HR can play in an organisation’s success
• Strong experience in operating models, organisational design, governance, workforce planning and people risk.
•  Strong expertise in succession planning, leadership development, capability building and senior talent planning.
• Confident using workforce analytics, AI-enabled insight and digital HR tools to improve decisions and outcomes.

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