Fixed-term 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.
Requirements
- 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.
