Head of People (Temporary 9 month contract)

This is a fixed-term role, running from early September 2026 until the second week of May 2027. The role exists solely to provide cover during the current post-holder's maternity leave, with a deliberate overlap at each end to allow a thorough handover in and out.

Applied Blockchain | Applied Edge

Applied Blockchain | Applied Edge helps regulated enterprises navigate AI and digital assets. We build and advise on AI systems, digital asset applications and privacy-preserving infrastructure.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced People leader to cover our HR and recruitment function during a period of maternity leave. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will own the people strategy, lead the function, and manage and oversee in-house recruitment.

You will line-manage two team members — one who run day-to-day HR and one who handles recruitment — so this is primarily a leadership and oversight role, directing how the function operates rather than delivering every task yourself. That said, the role stays close to the detail: you'll shape how onboarding, performance, wellbeing and 1-1s are run, and step in hands-on where needed, such as HR interviews at peak hiring periods. It suits someone comfortable both leading and, when required, rolling up their sleeves.

What you’ll be doing

• People & HR. Own and oversee the employee lifecycle and people experience across the company, including:
• The performance review cycle.
• Turnover risk assessment and retention.
• Employee relations — grievances, disciplinaries and conflict resolution.
• Compensation and benefits administration, and supporting the salary review cycle.
• HR policies, the employee handbook and general employment-law compliance across the markets we hire in.
• Training, development and coaching.
• Team wellbeing resources and support.
• People metrics and reporting to leadership.
• Oversight of regular 1-1s across the team.
• Employee surveys and acting on the findings.
• Onboarding and offboarding.
• Employment contracts, references and work-eligibility checks.
• Absence, leave and family-leave management.
• Exit interviews.
• Maintaining HR records.
• Recruitment. Manage and oversee in-house recruitment end to end:
• Coordinate with hiring managers on roles and requirements.
• Own candidate experience and offer management.
• Liaise with external recruiters and manage agency relationships.
• Manage the applicant tracking system and candidate pipeline.
• Track recruitment metrics (e.g. time-to-hire).
• Write and refine job descriptions and role scopes.
• Shape and drive recruitment marketing and employer-brand strategy.
• Hands-on CV review, interview scheduling and HR interviews at peak times.
• Team leadership . Line-manage and develop two direct reports — the HR team member and the recruitment team member — and act as the point of escalation for people matters across the business.
• Proven experience leading an HR / People function (Head of People, HR Manager or similar).
• Strong grasp of the full employee lifecycle and HR best practice.
• Comfortable with employment law across multiple jurisdictions — we hire internationally (single-country expertise not required).
• Familiar with how Employer of Record (EoR) hiring works.
• A confident leader who's still happy to be hands-on at busy times.
• Solid recruitment experience across hiring managers, external recruiters and interviews.
• Experience line-managing others — this role has two direct reports.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the discretion to work directly with the CEO.
• A self-starter who gets up to speed fast and works autonomously.
• Comfortable adopting new tools, including AI-based ones.
• Right to work in the UK (no visa sponsorship).
• The role involves handling situations under stress, and requires ability to deal with stressful situations.
• Available for the full term, early September 2026 to mid-May 2027.

Nice to have

• Experience managing international / distributed teams and working with Employers of Record.
• Experience owning recruitment marketing / employer branding.
• Experience in a fast-moving tech, software or startup/scale-up environment.
• Experience or interest in the blockchain and/or AI sectors.