Head of People & Culture

Who are Bird & Blend Tea co? 

Bird & Blend Tea Co. is an eco-conscious, people-focused, award-winning & B Corp-certified Tea Mixology company on a mission to spread happiness & reimagine tea!

Bird & Blend was set up & is run by Krisi & Mike, who met whilst studying Politics (of all things!) at university. Building Bird & Blend from scratch while staying true to their ethos & values has been Krisi & Mike’s passion for over 10 years.

From the early days of packing tea in their bedroom & attending markets, to now, with an awesome team, multiple retail stores & a thriving international online store, Bird & Blend is leading the way in tea innovation in the UK.

Bird & Blend has grown out of a core belief in doing business in a better way. This is ultimately our why - it’s why we are in business & what we believe in. Of course, we want to welcome as many people as possible into our Magical World of Tea but fundamentally it’s what we care about other than great tea that makes us magical.

The Business Context & Purpose

Our underlying purpose is to be known and loved as a great place to work, that empowers our people to;

• Deliver awesome experiences that make our customers smile
• Build a community of ambassadors to tell the story and spread the word
• Develop trailblazing products & experiences in our magical world of tea

Our people are at the very heart of our business and creating a magical & rewarding place to work that celebrates individuality & nurtures talent is central to our core mission. We believe that growing our business gives us the opportunity to have a greater impact on more people & communities, and our Head of People & Culture plays a crucial role in realising that ambition. We are looking for a charismatic, energetic, people person, passionate about building a thriving team and bursting with enthusiasm to create a world-leading culture.

Our business has been built & led by the passion of our founders to create a workplace that's brimming with creativity, individuality and talent. Now, we're at a size where we're ready for an experienced Head of People & Culture to take things to the next level and provide the layers of support needed for our expanding workforce.

We currently have around 170 employees over our warehouse, 18 retail locations (7 more coming this year), and central support functions. In the next 2 years we intend to expand the retail network to include a total of 30 stores. 

Why We Need You

• Bring your vision, experience & enthusiasm to touchpoints across the business, to evolve & bolster our employee experience and value proposition
• Evolve the Bird & Blend employee value proposition (EVP) to help us meet one of our core objectives of being known and loved as a great place to work. 
• Ensure compliant, consistent policies, processes and systems to help us face challenges as we grow. 
• Continually develop and support the culture of the company to support our core purpose.
• Grow our people and hire the right talent to achieve our company objectives.
• Lead our small People & Culture team directly and work with leaders across the business.

Core Responsibilities 

• Translate Bird & Blend's goals and objectives into a people strategy that has our core values and mission at its heart. Own the delivery of this strategy alongside managing day to day people operations. 
• Work with the Senior Leadership Team to design and evolve our EVP.
• Work with our existing network of communities (such as our People Support, ED&I committee, and our ComuniTEA’s) across the business. 
• Understand & evolve the core values, behaviours & ways of working that make our business special, and ensure these are fully integrated & maximised across all we do

Culture

• Be a champion of the internal culture of Bird & Blend, looking for opportunities to nurture and develop this in all ways that we can.

Recruitment 

• Lead and support on an attraction and recruitment strategy across all roles. 
• Generate content for and maintain our attractions and recruitment platforms such as Linkedin and our careers page. 
• Providing strategic oversight and guidance to hiring managers throughout all phases of the recruitment process as needed, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and fostering a culture of excellence in talent acquisition

Induction

• Lead on creating an induction process that ensures new team members get the best possible experience landing into the business.

Performance & Talent Management 

• Lead on performance and talent management to support employee and business growth.
• Audit the performance review cycle, present recommendations and implement agreed changes.

Payroll, Remuneration & Benefits

• As the Head of People & Culture, oversee collaboration with the Finance department to guarantee the accurate and efficient collation of data for monthly payroll submission, which is presently outsourced. This entails strategic leadership to ensure precision and streamline processes within the P&C operations.
• Develop Rem and Ben approaches across the business.

Volunteering Engagement

• Overseeing volunteering initiatives within the organisation, fostering engagement and social responsibility among employees. This includes identifying volunteer opportunities, liaising with external organisations, and managing the organisation of volunteer events and the tracking volunteer hours and impact. Additionally, provide support and guidance to employees participating in volunteering activities, ensuring alignment with corporate values and objectives.

Learning & Development 

• Work with Senior Leadership to identify training needs across the business and ensure solutions are targeted and tailored to solve individual, team or company wide challenges. 
• Coach, guide and upskill managers across the business to build confidence in having open, authentic conversations.
• Own our company L&D platform and strategy.

Employment Relations

• Bring a strong knowledge of employment law and best in class people practises to ensure consistency in approach to employment relations across the business, including retail, office and operations. 

Data & Reporting 

• Own our people data, systems and reporting.
• Drive the maintenance of data integrity and ensure timely updates to our HR Information System (HRIS), BambooHR. This involves strategic oversight to uphold accuracy and reliability in our people data management processes, facilitating informed decision-making and compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Measure progress of the people strategy through regular, clear reporting, based on people analytics and insight to drive recommendations and decision-making, and to drive organisational efficiency and performance.

Budgets & Planning

• Set and manage against your budget, ensuring sign-off processes and outlining return on investment on key areas of spend (such as recruitment, HR Tech Stack etc).
• Where required support department heads on workforce and headcount planning.
• Represent the interests of our teams at senior strategy level.

Health & Safety

• SLT owner for H&S across the business. Responsible for coordinating this with departmental owners and Ops Managers alongside business wide reporting.

Skills, experience & attributes:

Experience of leading a people team in a fast growing / scaling business business. Experience within a retail, hospitality environment is preferred but not essential. 

Strategic thinker -  with the ability to translate business objectives into People & Culture priorities and action plans.

Attraction & Recruitment - experience of managing recruitment campaigns across all levels and departments which take a candidate centric approach. 

Employment Relations & Best Practice Expertise: Able to support the business and employees with compliant, effective and timely advice as well as identify trends and patterns to proactively resolve. 

Communication: As a senior leader in the business you will need an open, clear and effective communication and presentation style. Be able to demonstrate success in implementing scalable employee content and collateral (such as slides, information sharing pages, videos etc). 

Adaptability & resilience: You will need to turn your hand to a range of tasks, some fascinating, some less so. We want someone who is adaptable, not afraid to get their hands dirty, and will remain calm when problems arise.

Data & Insight Driven: You will be highly data-driven, with a willingness to both experiment and iterate.

Efficiency: The to-do list will never be complete. You will be able to prioritise effectively and feel comfortable knowing when something is “good enough”. 

Management & leadership experience:  You will have a track record of coaching leaders across all levels of the organisation. 

Approachable & relationship driven: You will be able to develop & nurture relationships with team members across departments and levels.

We’re looking for someone who loves that ‘People & Culture’ can mean anything within a business and wants to roll their sleeves up and embrace that!

CIPD Level 7 or equivalent experience preferred. 

Hybrid working pattern - 3 days / week in the office/ stores. 

Whilst this is advertised as a full time position, we are open to discussions with applicants who are interested in 4 day working.

Salary range £70,000 - £80,000

Are there any perks?

Of course there are, for all the hard work you will get:

• Rapid career progression: Take advantage of ample opportunities for career advancement and growth within a fast-paced and entrepreneurial environment.
• Friendly and supportive team culture: Enjoy working alongside a team of like-minded individuals who value collaboration, camaraderie, and fun in the workplace.
• Membership of company pension scheme (if applicable): Secure your financial future with enrollment in a company-sponsored pension scheme, ensuring peace of mind and financial stability in retirement.
• Holiday accrual that grows with loyalty: Enjoy 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays ) as a token of appreciation for your dedication and loyalty to the organisation, providing you with ample opportunities for rest and relaxation. This entitlement increases with service.
• Life Insurance & Income Protection: providing financial security and peace of mind for you and your families.
• Private Medical Insurance:Offering peace of mind and timely access to medical care.
• Life Happens Leave: Sometimes life can throw unexpected challenges our way, we offer paid leave specifically dedicated to these situations to provide employees with the time and space needed.
• Complimentary drinks and snacks: Stay refreshed and energised throughout the day with a variety of free drinks and snacks provided in the office.
• Monthly tea allowance and generous staff discount: Indulge in your favourite teas while benefiting from a discount on company products, fostering a culture of enjoyment and appreciation.
• Employee Assistance Programme: Access confidential and professional mental health support services to prioritise your well-being and address any personal or work-related challenges.
• Bike to Work and Electric Vehicle Schemes: Take advantage of a sustainable transportation option, contribute to environmental conservation, and benefit from tax-efficient savings.
• Paid volunteer days: Make a positive impact in our community by participating in volunteer activities during dedicated paid volunteer days, fostering a culture of corporate social responsibility and giving back.
• Dog-friendly office: Bring your furry friend to work and enjoy a pet-friendly environment that promotes work-life balance and companionship.
• We also have enhanced family friendly policies, offer flexible working and are always open to discussing your individual circumstances!

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all, applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the application or interview process please let us know.