Job Title: Head of People & Culture

Location: Manchester City Centre

Salary: Competitive, plus benefits

Reports to: Global Head of Operational Excellence

About Us

gunnercooke LLP is a Top 50 law firm with recognition across 28 disciplines and over 50 individually ranked lawyers. Having launched in 2010, the firm has grown to over 450 solicitors, including 360+ Partners.

We are the blueprint for professional services, a firm that is passionately, obsessively focused on brilliant service for its clients.

We’ve taken away lots of the constraints that prevent our partners from giving a brilliant client service and we’ve replaced them with a model that attracts the best talent to join us, giving them the freedom to invest fully into their client relationships.

Our purpose is simple; to deliver a positive impact for our clients, provide a better life for our people and to leave the world better than we found it. At the core of gunnercooke is our gcTrust team, who are central to delivering exceptional services to our partners. gcTrust are the heart and soul of the business and this sets us apart from everyone else!

The Role

We are looking for a Head of People & Culture to be responsible for taking on a strategic leadership role driving our people and culture initiatives across the firm. Reporting to the Global Head of Operational Excellence, this role will include people management, employee experience, retention and succession planning, learning & development, and organisational growth. Contributing to the firm’s vison and values, and fostering a positive workplace environment through employee relations, well-being, ED&I, and reward & recognition programs.

This is a brand-new role in the firm and would suit someone who is confident in challenging the norms….at gunnercooke we do things differently!

The successful candidate will have a real passion for learning and inclusivity while embracing change and innovation in a dynamic, fast-growing environment. The ideal candidate will be resilient, commercially driven, and champion our culture and values being Compassionomics, Laser-like Focus, Humour , and being Boundaryless .

Responsibilities

People Management: Lead and oversee the people team and gcTrust function with a strong focus on well-being. Drive people projects and focus groups while managing relationships across the business, serving as the go-to person for employee relations. Lead and manage the firm’s policies and procedures. Develop and implement a people strategy that aligns with the business’s plans for growth.
Culture & Experience: Champion initiatives that embed our values and behaviours, fostering ethical practice and inclusivity while, elevating people to excel, driving engagement, and aligning with our strategic vision.
Learning & Development: Lead and execute a clear L&D strategy tailored to meet diverse needs and support ED&I. The role will include the implementation and delivery of our gcGetIn programme and employee appraisal processes
Talent & Retention: Develop and implement a comprehensive talent and succession planning strategy to nurture and retain high-potential employees. Shape the employee journey from the first interaction with our Talent team through to their experience within the firm and beyond.
Change Management: Support the firm's high growth by guiding organisational change, fostering effective communication, and sustaining a high-performance culture to ensure smooth transitions.

The Person

Skills & Experience

Leadership & Strategy: Experience leading People, Learning & Development, and Employee Experience functions. Proven experience in a senior people role with a focus on talent, learning, and culture within a complex organisation. Experience in proactively creating a collaborative and supportive environment to enable everyone in the business to thrive and be the best version of themselves.
Culture Expertise: Deep understanding of organisational culture, values, and engagement, with strong change management experience in high-growth environments. Proven ability to lead and drive cultural transformation.
People Experience: Strong knowledge of employment law, experience of implementing new policies and regulations to ensure compliance while fostering a people-first approach. Proven track record of developing and implementing successful people strategies.
Background & Approach: Experience in a high-growth or innovative business model with a challenger mindset, open to new ideas and pushing boundaries. Comfortable in fast-paced, evolving environments, with a strong focus on the big picture.

Personal Attributes

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with proven ability to mediate, influence, inspire and drive change from junior employees to stakeholders.
Resilient, confident, and unafraid to challenge constructively.
Highly inclusive, ethical, and people-focused in leadership style.
Aligned with our core values: Compassionomics, Laser-like Focus, Humour , and Boundaryless thinking.
Be able to maintain a positive and cheerful demeanour to building excellent working relationships with a wide variety of colleagues and partners.
Willing to travel to other gunnercooke offices and occasionally work unsocial hours if business need dictates.

For more information about gunnercooke please visit

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Head of People & Culture