Director of People & Culture

Location: London Hybrid (3 days p/w in office)
Contract: Permanent Full-Time

Director of People & Culture

Are you an accomplished HR leader with extensive international experience The ITF is looking for a Director of People & Culture to head the department from our London headquarters overseeing people operations and strategic workforce planning across 12 regional offices globally.

About the Role

As Director of People & Culture you will lead the full breadth of the People & Culture portfolio including workforce planning global employee relations and compliance payroll pensions benefits recruitment learning and development policy development and diversity equity & inclusion.

You will set the strategic direction for the P&C team oversee governance and compliance and financial planning across multiple jurisdictions and partner closely with the Senior Leadership Team to ensure the department supports organisational goals.

This role requires a balance of strategic insight operational oversight and the ability to lead effectively in a complex unionised international environment. You will also act as a trusted adviser on employment law organisational change and policy development across our global offices.

Key responsibilities include:

Global Workforce Planning:

Lead workforce modelling resourcing strategies and financial planning for all established roles ensuring accurate reporting and alignment with organisational priorities.

HR Operations & Compliance:

Oversee payroll pensions benefits and employee-related financial processes. Ensure compliance with employment legislation across the UK and all regional hubs maintaining robust HR governance and data integrity.

Employee Relations:

Provide senior oversight on complex global employee relations issues including disciplinary grievance and conflict resolution matters. Liaise with unions staff committees and external legal advisers.

Policy Leadership:

Lead policy development in line with evolving legislation and organisational needs ensuring a strong focus on equity diversity and inclusion. Support negotiations with union representatives.

Recruitment & Talent:

Develop global recruitment strategy champion inclusive and equitable hiring practices and support managers in delivering high-quality onboarding and talent development.

Change Management:

Lead on organisational change initiatives including restructures and major transformation projects.

Culture DEI & Learning:

Champion a diverse and inclusive culture oversee the learning and development strategy and ensure an effective performance and development review cycle.

Leadership of the P&C Team:

Provide strategic direction coaching and leadership to the P&C team fostering collaboration professional growth and high-quality service delivery.

About You

Youre an accomplished HR leader with a strong record of delivering impactful people strategies in complex international environments. You combine deep technical knowledge with the strategic capability to influence shape and lead across a global organisation.

To be successful in this role you will have:

Senior HR leadership experience:
A strong track record in leading P&C functions and delivering strategic HR initiatives internationally.

Expert knowledge of employment legislation:
In-depth understanding of UK employment law and the legal frameworks of ITFs regional hubs with the ability to anticipate future legislative changes.

Strong employee relations and policy expertise:
Experience supporting unionised environments and developing policies that advance fairness compliance and inclusion.

Financial and strategic planning capability:
Experience in workforce costings HR financial planning and compensation and benefits strategy on a global scale.

Change leadership skills:
Proven ability to lead organisational change and support leaders and teams through transformation.

Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills:
Ability to engage confidently with stakeholders at all levels and act with discretion professionalism and integrity.

Professional qualifications:
Degree-level education and CIPD Level 7 (or equivalent experience); chartered status desirable.

Why Join Us

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a global People & Culture function within a values-driven international organisation. You will shape our people strategy strengthen our culture and ensure we continue to be a supportive inclusive and high-performing workplace for staff around the world.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) is a democratic affiliate-led federation recognised as the worlds leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve workers lives connecting more than 700 affiliated trade unions from 150 countries to secure rights equality and justice for workers globally. We are the voice for nearly 18.5 million transport workers across the world.

We have offices in London Abidjan Amman Brussels Geneva Hong Kong Montreal Nairobi New Delhi Panama City Rio de Janeiro Singapore Sydney and Tokyo with members spanning the globe.

Purpose:

The ITF constitution sets out the following aims:

To promote respect for trade union and human rights worldwide

To work for peace based on social justice and economic progress

To help our affiliated unions defend the interests of their members

To provide research and information services to our affiliates

To provide general assistance to transport workers in difficulty

Values

At the ITF our values are at the heart of all that we do. We demonstrate solidarity. We are democratic. We are dynamic. We are determined. We are dedicated to bringing together a diverse group of people to truly strengthen the ITF as the global voice for transport workers. Find out more about our values.

Equal opportunities statement:

At the ITF we are committed to providing an inclusive environment for our team and our affiliates. We see the diversity of our staff as a source of intelligence and our strength. This means that we work creatively to make the most of the unique experiences and perspectives. We are an equal opportunities employer. We welcome all applications regardless of gender marital status sexual orientation pregnancy race migration status colour ethnic origin nationality religion or beliefs disability age political opinions or trade union affiliation or activity.