Head of People & Culture

Location: Cork with travel across all organisational sites
Contract: Full-time or .8 WTE, Senior Leadership Team
Salary: General Manager (HSE Consolidated Payscales Oct 24) starting € 83,233 

Childhood Matters is a leading not-for-profit organisation delivering integrated, trauma-informed services to children, young people, adults, and families across Cork and the wider Southwest region. Operating at the intersection of social care, mental health, education, early intervention, and community support, we provide a continuum of innovative, clinically informed services that strengthen placement stability, enhance family functioning, improve educational and life outcomes, and reduce reliance on crisis responses.

1. Role Purpose

The Head of People & Culture is responsible for building and leading a modern, strategic HR function that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional staff across a rapidly expanding multi-site community organisation.

This role shapes the organisational culture, leads workforce strategy, strengthens HR governance, and ensures that employees are supported, valued, and performing to the highest standards.

Childhood Matters is at a pivotal point of expansion and development and this role is central to workforce stability, organisational health, and the successful delivery of all services.

2. Key Responsibilities

A. Strategic People Leadership

• Lead the development and implementation of CM’s People & Culture Strategy.
• Strengthen organisational culture aligned to trauma-informed principles, psychological safety, and high performance.
• Provide strategic HR advice to the CEO and senior leadership team.
• Ensure workforce planning aligns with organisational growth and service expansion.

B. Workforce Planning & Talent Acquisition

• Drive recruitment strategies across multiple regions to meet growing workforce demands.
• Build CM’s employer brand in partnership with communications resources.
• Oversee onboarding, induction, and early-stage retention processes to ensure quality and consistency.
• Develop succession planning frameworks for key roles.

C. Learning, Development & Culture

• Lead organisational learning and leadership development through the Learning, Development & Culture Lead.
• Implement capability frameworks, professional development pathways, and core competencies across directorates.
• Ensure reflective practice, supervision structures, and CPD models are robust and embedded.

D. HR Governance & Compliance

• Ensure CM meets all employment law requirements, HR policies, ER protocols, and safeguarding-related staff processes.
• Maintain HR policy frameworks and lead policy review cycles.
• Strengthen HR data, reporting, and analytics to inform decision-making across the organisation.
• Oversee GDPR compliance in workforce-related processes.

E. Employee Relations & Staff Wellbeing

• Lead employee relations in a fair, balanced, and legally compliant manner.
• Build a proactive wellbeing and engagement agenda.
• Develop staff surveys, feedback loops, and culture-building initiatives.
• Support a positive, trauma-informed organisational culture.

F. Performance, Supervision & Accountability

• Oversee organisational performance systems, annual reviews, and development planning.
• Support managers in embedding supervision and accountability frameworks across all teams.
• Monitor HR KPIs including recruitment timelines, attrition, absence, and engagement.

G. Systems, Processes & HR Operations

• Lead modernisation of HR systems, digitalisation, and efficiency improvements.
• Ensure robust HR information systems, accurate reporting, and secure data management.
• Partner with ICT and Organisational Services on system integrations and infrastructure alignment.

H. Leadership & Organisational Influence

• Act as a visible leader within the organisation, modelling CM’s values and trauma-informed principles.
• Build strong relationships with Heads of Service, managers, and teams across all sites.
• Represent HR at SLT, Board subcommittees, and external engagement forums as required.

3. Person Specification

Essential

• Degree in Human Resources, Organisational Development, Business, Psychology, or related field.
• Minimum 5+ years’ senior HR leadership experience in a complex, multi-disciplinary or multi-site organisation.
• Strong knowledge of Irish employment law, HR governance, and workforce strategy.
• Demonstrated experience in recruitment, culture-building, performance systems, and employee relations.
• Proven ability to lead organisational change and influence senior stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and judgement.

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in HR, OD, leadership, or organisational psychology.
• Experience in health, social care, education, or not-for-profit sectors.
• Experience in workforce planning during periods of organisational growth.
• Experience building HR analytics or digital HR systems.
• CIPD Membership

4. Leadership Competencies

• Strategic Leadership
• Workforce Design & Planning
• Culture & Engagement
• HR Governance & Compliance
• People Leadership & Influence
• Communication & Emotional Intelligence
• Change & OD Expertise
• Judgement & Decision-Making

5. Additional Requirements

• Flexible availability to support multiple sites and occasional out-of-hours needs.
• Participation in organisational leadership development and strategic planning processes.