The Head of People is responsible for the smooth and profitable operation of a company's human resources department.
Blue Shock Executive Search, established in 2003, is a renowned executive search firm excelling in recruiting top-tier candidates across the restaurant, hospitality, and food service-related sectors. As industry leaders, we specialize in forging connections between exceptional talent and leading employers in Canada and the US.
About Our Client
What began as a small buffalo-style chicken wing restaurant in Garland, Texas, continues to soar to great heights. Today there are more than 2200 restaurants open across the globe. We quickly became a fan favorite when we first opened our doors in 1994. The proprietary recipes, outstanding food, and superior customer service created a demand that could only be satisfied by more locations. And in 1997 we started offering franchises. Today we are one of the fastest-growing concepts in the country, attracting top entrepreneurs and operators with the drive and passion to own their own. 'We're not in the wing business, we're in the flavour business'. It's been our mission to serve the world flavour since we first opened shop in '94, and we're just getting started.
1997 saw the opening of our first franchised restaurant, and by 2002 we had served the world one billion wings. It's the flavour that defines us and has made us one of the fastest-growing brands in the restaurant industry.
We are the destination when you crave fresh never-faked wings, hand-cut seasoned fries, and any of our famous sides.
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer
The Head of People is responsible for the smooth and profitable operation of a company's human resources department. Responsible for Recruitment, Learning & Development, and Employee Relations they supervise and provide consultation alongside their people team and advise on strategic staffing plans, compensation, benefits, training, and development.
The Head of People role sits within the Management Team with us as such it has an integral role to play in the short-, medium-, and long-term success of all aspects of the business. While the “day job” part of the role ensures the business delivers its objectives within the recruitment, training, engagement, and human resource aspects it also must act as the custodian, heartbeat, and conscience of all team-related activity.
The Head of People leads the People Team in all their work across all stages of the employee lifecycle. They will challenge, support, grow, and nurture in equal measure and offer support in such a way that it emphasizes the belief that the team is the most important ingredient in our success.
They act and their team acts as an in-house coach to provide strategic direction, advice, and guidance across all stages of the employee life cycle, supporting all divisions.
DIRECT REPORTS
- People Partner
- Recruitment Managers
- Senior L&D Manager
In addition, employees of the L&D department.
PEOPLE & CULTURE STRATEGY
Create, implement, and constantly develop the people strategy to ensure equal, best-in-class people practices for all departments to adhere to.Lead the people team ensuring regular check-ins & catch-ups to ensure their work is completed efficiently, identifying rooms for improvements and areas of excellence.Set up annual goals for the People TeamResearch, learn, and improve the culture of the companyEnsure the culture, brand values and mission are alive and present by all members of the teamsLead the celebrations and team events / parties, collaborating with the leadership team & District Managers to fulfill the agendaManage the people strategy around Employment law and people trendsOwn the succession plan for restaurants working closely with the District ManagersCreate and lead a culture of hospitality, enthusiasm, and bias for learning us alongside the facilitation of the training team.Ensure the offer EVP (Employee Value Proposition) according to the industry marketCreate and manage the yearly People budgetWork closely with heads of departments to drive new projects and sales streamsAttend strategic planning sessions with the leadership team annually and quarterly.Work closely with each division to advocate Culture & RecognitionRECRUITMENT, ENGAGEMENT & RETENTION
Attract candidates at all levels across the business in line with the company mission and people valuesWork closely with the leadership board to Implement bonuses, reward strategy + employee benefits for all levels.Lead head office recruitment, selection & Onboarding ensuring a well-stocked teamSelect recruitment partners and maintain relationshipsSupport and advise restaurant and HQ teams on HR issues, in partnership with the People team & District ManagersMaintain ATS (Applicant Tracking System) and relationship with suppliersMaintain online training platform and relationship with suppliers, in collaboration with the Recruitment ManagerBuild a process to promote equal opportunitiesCreate onboarding content for operations and the Recruitment Manager to facilitate welcome inductionsCreate and maintain HR & ER policies and procedures, adhering to employment law (advocate fair and equality internal and external procedures.)PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT / MIT PROGRAMS / PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL GROWTH ∙
Create an appraisal process to ensure that teams flourish and growDevelop and implement PDP and appraisal system within the Head office and at the site levelCreate, maintain, and improve all training books for leader development ∙ Train and coach managers in trainingOrganise and lead managers' professional development workshop sessions regarding people practicesSupport District managers with their management teams' development sessionsTRAINING & HR
Lead all training + L&D aspects of our people team, from a HR perspectiveSupport the Senior Training & Development Manager’s Creation of an effective training and development plan that gives our people the chance to develop their careers.Feed into Internal development plan and career path to help us continue to nurture internal talent. Oversee all training platforms and E-learning platforms and ensure we are driving the correct training behaviours at all levels, in extension to the Training & Development ManagerDrive and help our team’s personal development opportunitiesSupporting monthly Business Review Meetings (BRM) with Ops Managers, Managers, and finance to ensure restaurant succession planning is in line with business requirementsSupport ops team on all new opening briefs alongside the Recruitment Manager, working closely with the Operations team & L&DManage internal communication with all members of our teams to ensure they are consistently involved and informed in the growth of the business. (Extended to leadership team.)Work closely with heads of departments to drive new projects and workstreamsAttend strategic planning sessions with the leadership team annually and quarterlyQuarterly audit legal compliance regarding all aspects of the people functionOPERATIONAL SUPPORT
Working closely with the Operations Managers to drive joined up working with People & OperationsLead weekly People and Operations team (POPs) meetings to drive performance and standardsHelp drive and Implement all agreed new projects into restaurants to support new revenue streams & best in class people processDrive our people values, incorporating this into everything we doSupport the Operations Direct by facilitating the District Manager's appraisal process.Work closely with Directors and Head office / operations leadership teams to arrange annual & Quarterly GoalsCurrently people platforms :
Fourth hospitalityHarri (ATS system)YapsterWrkitFlowWagestreamVitalitySummary of Department involvement :
HR guidance to all divisionsContent creation, driving new people practicesPayrollMarketing (Internal people activations, compelling employment brand, and imagery.)Recruitment (Current & NSO)Operations / Site level – Workplace guidance and feeding in around health and safety people practice + day to people adviseIT –LI-DR1
