Head of People

<p><strong>About Us:</strong></p><p>ClearRoute is an engineering consultancy bridging Quality Engineering, Cloud Platforms and Developer Experience. We help enterprises reliably bring high-impact digital products to market faster, cheaper, and safer, working with technology leaders facing complex business challenges.</p><p>We take as much pride in our people, culture and work-life balance as we do in making better software. We’re not just making better software. We’re making the making of software better. Collaborative, entrepreneurial and dedicated to problem solving, we bring the step change our customer need to sustain innovation. Our values challenge us to do the best we can for ClearRoute, our customers and most importantly our team. This is an opportunity for you to build the organisation from the ground up, use your voice to drive change and help transform organisations and problem domains.</p><p></p><p><strong>Role:</strong></p><p>This is a six-month fixed-term cover for the Head of People - a senior People & Talent leadership role responsible for aligning ClearRoute's people strategy with its overall business goals. The Head of People partners directly with the COO, CEO and executive team to drive culture, talent, and organisational growth across all five of ClearRoute's operating geographies: Australia, Bulgaria, India, United Kingdom, and United States.</p><p>We need an experienced operator who has led people functions across multiple geographies, understands the nuances of each region, and can build trust quickly at Board and Exec level, and keep the function moving effectively.</p><p></p><p><strong>Key Responsibilities:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Sit on the Executive Leadership Team as the senior voice on people strategy, linking workforce decisions to revenue, margin, and delivery growth across five regions.</p></li><li><p>Lead the Global People and Talent function, delivering continuity of the Company's existing global people strategy and operating model through the transition period.</p></li><li><p>Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO, COO, and executive leadership team on workforce planning, organisational design, leadership capability, succession planning, and remuneration.</p></li><li><p>Partner with Engineering leadership to align skills development, capability building, and workforce planning with client and platform demand.</p></li><li><p>Oversee the end-to-end employee lifecycle - recruitment, onboarding, development, internal mobility, performance, reward, and offboarding - ensuring efficient, compliant, high-quality people operations across all regions.</p></li><li><p>Guide complex employee relations matters, including investigations, performance management, disciplinary action, grievances, and cross-border employment risk.</p></li><li><p>Maintain and evolve HR policies, procedures, and governance frameworks in line with employment legislation across Australia, the UK, the US, India, and Bulgaria.</p></li><li><p>Set direction for talent management and capability initiatives, including leadership development, succession planning, and the biannual global performance review and calibration cycle.</p></li><li><p>Partner with Finance on remuneration, benefits, headcount, and budget, ensuring reward frameworks stay competitive for platform engineering and AI talent markets.</p></li><li><p>Sequence and de-risk in-flight organisational change initiatives, escalating priority calls to the CEO and COO.</p></li><li><p>Use people data and workforce insights to flag risk early and inform decisions at Exec level, including regular reporting to the COO on budget and reward position.</p></li><li><p>Unite the People and Talent teams under one leader, one cadence, and one culture, protecting engagement and morale across five geographies through the transition.</p></li><li><p>Lead and develop the People and Talent team, working closely with Finance, Engineering, Delivery and business leaders to deliver a consistent, service-oriented people function.</p></li></ul><p></p><p><strong>Required Experience:</strong></p><ul><li><p>CIPD Level 5 or equivalent postgraduate qualification</p></li><li><p>Proven track record as a senior People & Talent leader in a global, fast-scaling tech or professional services environment</p></li><li><p>Hands-on multi-geography experience, with employment law/practice knowledge in at least 3 of our regions with the largest employee populations: Australia, United Kingdom, and India.</p></li><li><p>Demonstrable ability to align HR strategy to business strategy as a genuine strategic partner to a CEO/COO/Exec team</p></li><li><p>Track record building and driving high-performing People and Talent teams</p></li><li><p>Strong project management across complex, simultaneous workstreams</p></li><li><p>Resilient, credible, energised by contract work; available for a full 6-month term</p></li></ul><p></p><p><strong>Working at ClearRoute</strong><br><span>We have grown from six founders to 180+ people across five countries in three years, and what sets us apart isn't the pace, it's how we grow.</span></p><ul><li><p><span><strong>Real flexibility, in practice.</strong> We trust you to perform at your best and still have a life outside of work, with genuine hybrid working, a home office budget, an open feedback culture where your voice shapes decisions, and time off when life needs it (birthday included).</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>When ClearRoute wins, you win.</strong> We offer profit share so success is shared, meaningful recognition for great work, and benefits that look after you and your family, including private healthcare, competitive salary benchmarking, and a confidential employee assistance program covering counselling, mental health support, and financial wellbeing.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>A community you'll genuinely want to be part of.</strong> Interest based communities like running and book clubs, Women in Tech group, monthly socials, and cross regional events bring people together across the company. An inclusive, collaborative culture where you don't need to conform to succeed, where people support one another and feel comfortable being themselves.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Where meaningful work meets real growth.</strong> You will tackle complex, real world problems at the forefront of platform engineering, AI, security, and scalable systems. Your growth is supported by learning budgets, Udemy access, a clear career framework, internal mobility, and thought leadership opportunities that take your impact beyond ClearRoute.</span></p></li></ul><p></p><p><em>At ClearRoute, we believe diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes, and inclusion creates the conditions for everyone to thrive. We are proud to have built a family friendly working environment and have many employees who have caring responsibilities alongside work. We welcome applications from people who require flexibility and will be happy to discuss needs on an individual basis.</em></p><p></p><p><em>We are committed to fostering a culture where all team members feel respected, supported, and empowered to do their best work. We celebrate individuality and our differences and understand that some differences may mean that you require changes made to the interview process. We are happy to cater to your needs to make the interview accessible, if this is something you require please let us know by emailing us at </em><a target="_blank" href="mailto:join@clearroute.io"><em>join@clearroute.io</em></a></p>