Head of People and Culture

We’re hiring a new role - Head of People & Culture

Leading a team of two

Reporting to the Managing Director with a dotted line to the board, and will be required to attend Board meetings.

Full time, 40 hours over 5 days

We’re looking for a brilliant people person.

And we mean that quite literally.

The Headland is an independent, family-owned luxury hotel in one of the most spectacular spots in Cornwall. We have history, character, ambition, strong opinions, exceptional people and a view that can stop a conversation halfway through a sentence.

Now we’re looking for an exceptional

Head of People & Culture to help shape what comes next.

This is not a role for someone who wants to sit quietly in an office writing policies that nobody reads.

It’s not about being the HR police.

And we definitely don’t believe employee engagement can be solved with a bowl of fruit and an annual survey.

This is a senior, influential role with a seat at the table and a genuine opportunity to shape the culture and capability of our 250 full and part time person strong business.

You’ll work directly with our Managing Director, Board and Senior Management Team to build an ambitious people strategy that helps our people thrive and our business perform.

You’ll Lead On The Things That Really Matter

attracting and keeping brilliant people

developing exceptional leaders

creating meaningful career pathways

building succession and talent pipelines

strengthening our culture

improving engagement and the employee experience

using people data intelligently

coaching and challenging our leaders

making The Headland one of the very best places in hospitality to build a career

You’ll also lead and develop our small-but-mighty People team.

We’re looking for someone commercially sharp, emotionally intelligent and refreshingly human.

Someone who can move comfortably from a strategic conversation with the Board to coaching a Head of Department, then deal calmly and sensibly with whatever unexpected thing hospitality has decided to throw at us before lunchtime.

You’ll know that culture isn’t a poster on a wall.

It’s how people behave when the hotel is full, the pressure is on and nobody senior is watching.

Luxury hotel experience would be wonderful. But we’re equally interested in people who understand exceptional service businesses, complex operations and what it takes to build a workplace where people genuinely want to do their best work.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the next chapter of an independent luxury hotel with proud Cornish roots, a long family history and plenty of ambition for the future.

There will be big strategic conversations.

There will also be days when something completely unexpected happens before 9am.

That’s hospitality.

Interested? We’d love to hear from you.

Perks & Benefits

We believe in rewarding our team with exceptional perks. When you join us, you’ll enjoy:

• Complimentary breakfast, lunch, or dinner provided for all shifts over 6 hours
• On site parking
• Gym access & weekly swim session
• Complimentary stay after 1 year's service
• 40% off spa products
• 25% off spa treatments
• Complimentary meals in each of our restaurants, once a year
• Special rate for Pride of Britain Hotels
• Discounted surf lessons

As Well As Regular Awards And Recognition

• Monthly recognition awards
• Annual festive awards event
• Long service awards dinner

As a proud EarthCheck partner, we don't just talk about sustainability we live it, embedding world-class environmental management and eco-friendly practices into everything we do.

Join a team where sustainability is in our DNA and we are actively shaping the future of responsible hospitality every single day.