About the role
If you require any additional support or reasonable adjustments to help you complete your application or throughout the recruitment process, please let us know. If you would like to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, please contact us at: recruitment@b-and-q.co.uk. If you meet the minimum criteria for the role, we'll consider your application in line with our Disability Confident commitments.
Permanent
From £95k + Bonus + Pension + PMI + ShareSave + 6.6 weeks holiday + Hybrid Working (1 day per week in the office)
This is a field based role covering the UK & ROI with a requirement of 1 day per week at our Store Support Office in Eastleigh.
We believe anyone can improve their home to make life better. From our Southampton Store Support office (SSO) we equip our stores, our people, and our whole business with everything it takes to help our millions of customers create a home they’ll love. Join us as Head of HR and you’ll be a big part of this.
Key responsibilities
As Head of HR (Retail), you will shape and lead the people strategy for your business area, ensuring we have the leadership, organisation, capability and culture needed to deliver our business ambitions and purpose.
You will be a trusted strategic partner to the Retail leadership team, bringing a strong commercial and people perspective to the most important business decisions. You will translate business strategy into a clear, future-focused people plan and lead its delivery through Regional People Partners, working closely with Centres of Expertise, who provide the frameworks, policies and specialist expertise, you will ensure these are adapted and applied in a way that delivers maximum value for your business area. You are accountable for translating strategy into action and ensuring the delivery of sustainable people and business and customer outcomes.
Shape the Retail People Strategy
- Lead the People agenda for Retail, ensuring people priorities are aligned to business strategy and commercial objectives.
- Translate business priorities into a clear People Plan covering organisation, capability, productivity, culture, customer and colleague experience.
- Use data and insight to anticipate workforce opportunities, risks and future capability needs.
Partner and Challenge Retail Leadership
- Act as a trusted adviser, coach and constructive challenger to senior Retail leaders.
- Strengthen leadership effectiveness and accountability for performance, talent, culture and colleague experience.
- Bring clear, evidence-based recommendations to complex business and people decisions.
Lead the Retail People Partnering Team
- Lead and develop a high-performing Regional People Partner team.
- Set clear priorities and focus the team on the areas of greatest business impact, opportunity and risk.
- Build strong commercial, coaching, consulting and data capability across the team.
Build Capability and Lead Change
- Lead strategic workforce planning, organisation design, talent and succession across Retail.
- Build strong and diverse pipelines for critical and leadership roles.
- Shape the people aspects of significant business change and ensure change is successfully embedded
Deliver People Performance
- Own delivery and impact of the Retail People Plan, using clear measures to track progress and business value.
- Use people and business data to improve engagement, retention, attendance, capability, performance and productivity.
- Partner across the wider People function to provide Retail with a simple, joined-up and commercially focused People service.
What Success Looks Like
- A clear and measurable Retail People Plan that supports business performance.
- Stronger leadership capability and accountability.
- A high-performing Regional People Partner team.
- Strong talent and succession pipelines for critical roles.
- Improved colleague engagement, inclusion, retention and productivity.
- Business change that is effectively implemented and sustained.
- Clear evidence that People activity is delivering commercial and colleague and customer value.
Required skills & experience
- Senior HR leadership or strategic business partnering experience in a large, fast-paced, commercially complex organisation.
- Proven success translating business strategy into people plans and measurable outcomes.
- Experience leading and developing People Partners or HR professionals across a complex business.
- Strong commercial judgement linking people decisions to business performance.
- Deep expertise in leadership, talent, succession, organisation design, workforce planning and cultural change.
- Experience leading major business transformation and embedding lasting change.
- Ability to interpret complex people and business data and make clear recommendations.
- Strong influencing, coaching and relationship-building skills, with senior-level credibility.
- Confidence to challenge constructively and navigate competing priorities, ambiguity and complexity.
- Strong knowledge of employee relations, engagement, inclusion, performance and reward.
- Ability to balance strategic thinking, leadership coaching and delivery oversight.
- Professional HR expertise, ideally with CIPD Level 7 or equivalent.
What's in it for me?
At B&Q, we're building more than great homes – we're building great careers.
When you join us, you'll be part of a supportive, inclusive business where your ideas matter, your development is invested in, and your wellbeing is genuinely important.
Here's what you can expect:
🏡 Flexible & Hybrid Working - Work in a way that helps you perform at your best, balancing business needs with personal commitments.
📈 Career Growth & Development - Access learning, development and career opportunities across one of the UK's leading retail organisations.
💰 Competitive Reward Package - A competitive salary, pension and a range of financial benefits.
🛒 Colleague Discounts - Enjoy discounts across B&Q and the wider Kingfisher Group.
❤️ Health & Wellbeing Support - Access wellbeing resources, health support and employee assistance programmes designed to help you thrive.
🌴 Time Away From Work - Generous holiday entitlement and family-friendly policies that support life both inside and outside work.
🤝 A Place Where You Belong - We're committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and empowered to be themselves.
🌍 Make a Difference - The work you do will have a direct impact on our customers, colleagues and business.
Eligibility To Work
Please note that B&Q does not currently offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the time of application and throughout their employment.
Accessibility & Disability Confident
At B&Q, we're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment experience for everyone.
If you require any additional support or reasonable adjustments to help you complete your application or throughout the recruitment process, please let us know.
If you would like to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, please contact us at recruitment@b-and-q.co.uk. If you meet the minimum criteria for the role, we'll consider your application in line with our Disability Confident commitments.
We want to ensure that all employees, future employees and applicants to all Kingfisher companies are treated equally regardless of age, gender, marital or civil partnership status, colour, ethnic or national origin, culture, religious belief, philosophical belief, political opinion, disability, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.
If you require any additional support or adjustments to help you make an application, please contact us at recruitment@b-and-q.co.uk.
Training &
development
Learn & Develop at B&Q
When you join B&Q, we want you to be all you can be. From the minute you walk through our doors to the exciting moment you make that next career move, we're here to help you make the most of every opportunity. Thanks to our friendly learning system, LEO, we make sure you always have the support you need to take on every challenge and fit your learning around your life. Here, we know that the best way to grow is together.
Flexible learning with LEO
LEO is your every day, on the go learning and development partner. Helping you build the knowledge you need now and in the future. With LEO, you can access training and content, anywhere, anytime and on any device. You can even influence the type of training on offer by rating and recommending content, and letting us know what we can do to improve. Award-winning and featuring over 500 different learning activities - like short videos, articles, workshops and webinars - think of LEO as your 24/7 training pal, designed to help you make the most of your B&Q career journey.
Developing in role
Learning never stops at B&Q. Whether you've been in your role for one day or five years, there's always something to be curious about. It's why we're always creating learning opportunities and experiences that'll give you the chance to develop your skills. Like our First Line Manager programme: a course that helps our newest line managers build their confidence and management skills. Or our Leadership Development programme that challenges our more experienced leaders to reflect on and adapt their approach for our ever-evolving ways of working.
Building expertise and know-how
We believe anyone can learn the technical skills to do their job with excellence. It's all about attitude and behaviour here. So, if you're passionate about customer service and design, we'll teach you how to create beautiful kitchens. If you're someone who loves being outdoors, we'll help you learn about our garden ranges. And, if you're someone who just loves what we do but doesn't know where to start, we'll help you find the perfect role for you to grow into.
Accelerated Development Talent Programmes
Whatever goal you're working to at B&Q, we want to help you get there. We do this by designing a number of programmes which help you to practice your skills and learn new ones, gain valuable experiences, learn from others and jump on opportunities that are right for you. From leaders taking their first steps into management to those simply looking for a new challenge, we're there to make sure you achieve your ambitions.
Induction
At B&Q, we want every new colleague to understand our values, our customers, and how we work together to achieve our purpose. That’s why we’ve designed an induction programme that’ll give you real insight into our business, our culture and help you feel included from day one. For your first few weeks on the job you’ll work with your team and line manager, mixing online learning with practical tasks, to grow your knowledge a little every day.
Explore our
store support office
Facilities
In B&Q house, you’ll enjoy an onsite gym, a subsidised Costa, a canteen and restaurant, prayer room, plus open plan and cosy work spaces, an outdoor picnic area, and bike sheds for those who cycle in.
Sustainability
B&Q House has a biomass boiler, solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system. Our building also makes use of upcycled and recycled furniture and fittings, and features natural ventilation, heat retention and CO2 management, all via our very own weather station on the roof.
Ready to apply?
Step 1:
Apply via bandqcareers.com
Step 2:
We'll contact you for a phone interview
Step 3:
We’ll carry out a face to face or online interview (and we may request a 2nd interview if the role you're applying for is more complex).
Step 4:
We’ll contact you with feedback, and maybe even a job offer.
Check out our FAQs for more information about interviewing at B&Q.