Head of People & Culture Operations (1-Year FTC – Maternity Cover), The Savoy Hotel

Company Description

The Savoy is one of the world's most iconic hotels. We are the original British luxury hotel, opened in 1889, and have a reputation for outstanding service excellence. We blend our rich history with innovation, and have played host to royalty, world leaders, and legends of the stage and screen. Today, we pride ourselves on creating special memories for our guests by delivering the very best in five-star luxury hospitality.

Our award-winning, colleague-centric culture truly differentiates us in the luxury hospitality marketplace. We offer competitive salaries and benefits, along with outstanding career development opportunities globally within Fairmont.

• Top Ten (Big Organisations) – Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025

• HR in Hospitality Awards 2025:

  • 🏆 Excellence in Employee Experience

  • 🏆 HR Team of the Year

  • 🏆 HR Leader of the Year – awarded to our Director of People & Culture, Sally Webster

• Institute of Hospitality Awards 2025

  • 🏆 Talent Development Team of the Year

Job Description

Job Title: Head of People & Culture Operations (1-Year FTC – Maternity Cover) 

Department: People & Culture 

Inspired and Supported by: Director of People & Culture 

Who We Are Looking For:  
 

Join an award-winning People & Culture team recognised for delivering an exceptional colleague experience at one of London’s most iconic luxury hotels. 

This 1-year fixed-term maternity cover opportunity calls for a confident, action-focused People & Culture leader who can operate at pace, adapt quickly, and deliver a consistently high standard of service to our colleagues and leaders. 

You will bring strong UK employment law knowledge and a proven track record in employee relations, with the judgement to handle sensitive matters fairly, calmly and consistently. Highly organised and outcome-driven, you will prioritise competing demands and partner with senior leaders to achieve practical, people-first solutions. 

Experience in luxury hospitality or a service-led environment is strongly preferred, alongside a natural ability to build credibility and strong relationships across all levels. Above all, you will balance energy and decisiveness with empathy and integrity, supporting a positive colleague experience while driving standards and performance. 

Your Purpose 

To support the Director of People & Culture through leadership of the operational aspects of our People & Culture function. 

Driving a 5-star colleague experience, supporting leaders with people-related matters, ensuring the smooth delivery of core People & Culture services across the hotel, and strengthening colleague engagement to reduce voluntary turnover year on year. 

Key Responsibilities 
 
Team Leadership 

• Manage, coach, and develop P&C Advisor and a P&C Assistant to ensure high-quality, efficient day-to-day People & Culture support and service delivery. 

Leadership Support 

• Act as a trusted advisor to department heads and line managers, providing practical guidance and coaching on a wide range of people matters. 

Employee Relations 

• Lead and advise on employee relations matters, including investigations, disciplinary and grievance procedures, conflict resolution, and mediation. 

• Ensure all employee relations processes align with legal requirements and company values. 

Business Partnering 

• Collaborate with leaders to understand operational challenges and workforce needs. 

• Ensure People & Culture practices support departmental goals and foster a positive working environment. 

Policy & Process 

• Ensure legal compliance, developing new policies where required. 

• Ensure People & Culture policies are applied consistently across the hotel. 

• Deliver training and awareness initiatives where needed. 

• Drive continuous improvement in People & Culture processes to enhance efficiency and user experience. 

Colleague Engagement 

• Drive Colleague Engagement action planning through rep committee and partnering with leaders 

• Champion colleague engagement initiatives. 

• Drive feedback mechanisms, including surveys and forums. 

• Support the implementation of action plans to improve colleague satisfaction and retention. 

Colleague Recognition 

• Lead the colleague recognition committee. 

• Ensure recognition systems operate effectively and are perceived as fair and meaningful by colleagues. 

Absence Management 

• Monitor sickness absence trends. 

• Support return-to-work processes. 

• Liaise with line managers to manage cases sensitively and effectively. 

• Reduce the financial and operational impact of sickness absence. 

Orientation and ER Training 

• Deliver structured and effective first-day orientation. 

• Facilitate colleague relations and people management training to build manager capability and reduce risk. 

Talent Acquisition Support 

• Support recruitment activity, including interviewing and selection. 

• Ensure a professional and consistent candidate experience aligned with brand standards. 

Employer Brand 

• Contribute to employer branding initiatives that accurately reflect our culture and expectations. 

• Support the development of materials and communications that position The Savoy as an employer of choice. 

Projects 

• Lead and contribute to operational and strategic projects that strengthen the colleague experience and improve People & Culture effectiveness. 

Qualifications

What you will need to do in this role?

• Strong employee relations expertise within a luxury, hospitality, or service-led environment. 

• Sound knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice. 

• Commercially aware, with the ability to balance people and business priorities. 

• Confident influencing senior operational leaders. 

• Highly organised, with strong attention to detail. 

• Ability to work at pace with strong work ethic and results orientation. 

• Clear and professional communicator. 

• Empathic with high emotional intelligence 

• Calm, balanced, fair with ability to take different perspectives in complex situations. 

• Service-oriented and committed to maintaining the highest standards. 

Please note that we believe in flexibility and multi-skilling, and you may be asked to do different tasks from time to time to enable us to meet the needs of our guests and colleagues.

Additional Information

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary and additional service charge
• Life insurance and pension
• 31 days of holiday (including public holidays)
• Exclusive discounts:
  • Savoy, Fairmont, Raffles, and Accor hotels (friends & family rates included)
  • 50% off at American & Beaufort Bars, Afternoon Tea, spa, florist, and select Gordon Ramsay restaurants
  • 20% off at other Gordon Ramsay restaurants and Restaurant 1890
• Free stay for two at The Savoy after successful probation
• Colleague restaurant, gym, interfaith prayer room and wellness room
• Laundry services
• Cashback for wellbeing/healthcare expenses; HSF & Perkbox
• Employee assistance program
• Virgin Active and The Gym Group membership discounts
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Season ticket loan for commuting
• Annual optician reimbursements of £100
• Local discounts for F&B and retail