Head of People (12-month contract)

Contract type: 12-month fixed-term from beginning of January 2027
Location: Required in our Hoxton office at least two days per week
About Entrepreneurs First
Entrepreneurs First invests in exceptional individuals to build startups from scratch.
[Why] We exist to amplify ambition, alter career trajectories, and shape the future.
[How] We find exceptional talent, to form exceptional teams, to build exceptional companies.
[What] We’ve backed thousands of founders at the earliest stage, creating >$11B in value. Examples include GenZ fintech Cleo AI, encrypted blockchain protocol Aztec, and diamond marketplace Nivoda.
EF has pioneered global Talent Investing since 2014 and is backed by some of the world's leading founders and investors including Patrick and John Collison (Stripe); Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), and Demis Hassabis (Google Deepmind).
For more information visit www.joinef.com
The Role  
As the leading talent investor, EF is a people-focused business. Our 110-strong team of employees and network partners is dedicated to maximising the success of our founders, our community, and the startup ecosystems we operate in. Spread across London, Paris, Bangalore, and San Francisco, we work as global and local teams to build out our platform and help the next generation of entrepreneurs found category-defining companies with us.
Reporting to our COO, this 12-month fixed-term role will lead the People Operations team and strategy at Entrepreneurs First. You’ll be a trusted partner to our global and local leadership teams, helping deliver people projects and initiatives as we scale and strive to become a Tier 1 firm. We’re a lean team, so you’ll need to be comfortable rolling up your sleeves, getting into the detail and understanding the full scope of the team’s work.
This role is based in London, and our team splits its time between our Hoxton office and home. Because People is a function built on trust, we expect you to work from the office at least twice a week, where you'll help champion our values and build relationships with the team.
What You'll Do  
1. Manage employee relations

• Be the go-to person for employee relations across EF, helping managers navigate everything from performance and conduct issues to grievances and more complex people situations.
• Give managers clear, practical advice and help them handle people issues confidently and consistently.
• Work with external employment counsel where needed and own cases through to resolution.
• Keep a close eye on employee relations across the business and flag any recurring issues or risks to leadership.

2. Lead EF’s performance processes

• Own EF’s existing performance process end-to-end, making sure each cycle runs smoothly and on time.
• Support managers through the process, helping them give effective feedback, manage underperformance and have meaningful development conversations.
• Make sure managers and employees understand what’s expected of them at each stage of the process.
• Use performance data and feedback to identify any issues or trends that need attention.

3. Oversee our cash incentives strategy

• Own EF’s existing cash incentive processes, ensuring they are benchmarked against the market and aligned with our compensation policy.
• Run the bi-annual bonus process end-to-end, making sure calculations, approvals, communications and payroll inputs are accurate and delivered on time.
• Be the point person for employee and manager questions about cash incentives.

4. Champion employee engagement

• Keep a close eye on employee engagement across EF, making sure we have a good understanding of how our people are feeling and where there are opportunities to improve.
• Lead our employee feedback processes, including regular engagement and pulse surveys, turning feedback into clear actions for leadership and managers.
• Own the Global Summit end-to-end — one of the biggest moments in the EF calendar and a key opportunity to bring our global team together.
• Work closely with leadership and teams across EF to make sure the Summit and wider engagement initiatives are well-run, high quality and have a clear impact on the employee experience.

5. Partner with leadership on workforce planning

• Work with leadership and Finance on workforce planning, progression and succession. Helping teams understand their headcount needs and keeping our plans up to date.
• Keep on top of hiring plans, headcount changes and organisational movements across our four locations.
• Own EF’s immigration processes, working with external counsel to support employees with visas and permanent residency.
• Stay ahead of upcoming visa requirements and make sure cases are progressed in good time.

6. Manage the People Ops Analyst

• Manage and support the People Ops Associate who manages the day to day employee lifecycle. Giving them clear priorities and helping them work effectively across the People Ops workload.
• Make sure our core People processes continue to run smoothly across all four locations.
• Encourage opportunities to simplify or automate processes where it makes sense, without losing focus on getting the day-to-day right.

Who this role is not for 

1. You don’t like getting into the details - We’re a lean People team, so everyone needs to be willing to get stuck in. You’ll have plenty of strategic work, but you’ll also need to jump into the weeds, solve problems yourself and understand how things actually work.
2. You prefer to work behind the scenes - The People function is highly visible at EF. You’ll work closely with employees, managers and leadership across the business, and will often be the person representing the People team. You need to be comfortable being visible, building relationships and having difficult conversations when needed.
3. You prefer alignment over debate - We work with smart people who have strong and often different opinions. You’ll need to be comfortable challenging and being challenged, working through disagreements and finding pragmatic solutions with stakeholders who may see things differently to you.
4. You need everything to be clearly defined - EF moves quickly and priorities can change. You’ll need to be comfortable using your judgement, figuring things out and making progress when there isn’t an obvious playbook.

Who you are

• People experience: At least 8+ years’ experience in People/HR, with a strong track record across the full employee lifecycle and employee relations.
• International experience: Experience working with employees across at least two of our jurisdictions (UK, France, India and the US) with an understanding of the different employment environments and requirements.
• People-focussed: Genuinely interested in people and motivated by building strong relationships and understanding how people work, so you can support them effectively.
• Strategic & tactical: Comfortable switching between the bigger picture and the detail, with the ability to think long-term while still getting things done day-to-day.
• Commercially minded: Able to balance what’s right for our people with what’s right for the business, making pragmatic decisions that consider cost, risk and business priorities.
• High attention to detail: Meticulous in managing people processes, records and data, with a strong focus on accuracy and follow-through.
• Strong communicator: Clear, confident verbal and written communicator who can build trust and work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• High ownership: Thrives in a high-trust, low-touch environment, takes responsibility for getting things done and brings solutions, not just problems.
• Team player: Enjoys working collaboratively in a small team, while being comfortable taking independent ownership of a broad remit.

What We Offer

• Ownership: The chance to shape and grow this role based on your ideas.
• Meritocracy: People at EF progress based on ambition and success rather than length of tenure.
• Vibrant Workspace: A buzzing East London office filled with ambitious minds working on frontier technologies to solve world-changing problems.
• Competitive Benefits:
  • Attractive salary with performance-based incentives.
  • Generous vacation allowance, including a two-week global office closure over the Christmas holidays.
  • A Learning & Development allowance to purchase any product or service that will contribute to your personal or professional development

The interview process
We’re aiming for the hire to be in the role by the beginning of January:

1. Initial call with Sarah Brooks, Head of People (30 mins)
2. Task round, which you’ll be set to complete in your own time by a deadline
3. Debrief on the task and second stage interview with Sarah Brooks, Head of People and Tom Shinner, COO (45 mins)
4. Final interview at our Hoxton office to meet cross-functional stakeholders. (90 mins)