About the role
Permanent
£80,000 - £100,000 + Pension + PMI + ShareSave + 6.6 weeks holiday + Hybrid Working (2 days per week in the office)
Southampton, Store Support Office
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 People Operations Lead and you’ll be a big part of this.
Role Purpose: To lead and continuously elevate the People Operations function—delivering seamless, high-impact, and future-ready HR services that power our people and business success. You will drive operational excellence, digital innovation, and transformation, ensuring every process, system, and colleague interaction is efficient, compliant, and brilliantly executed. With a sharp focus on agility, scalability, and colleague experience, you’ll turn HR operations into a high-performing engine that enables our people to thrive.
Key responsibilities
Key Accountabilities / Responsibilities:
- Provide strategic and operational leadership to the People Operations team, covering Colleague Data, MI, Payroll, Contract Management, HR Systems, and Compliance.
- Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery across the three Kingfisher legal entities within a shared service model.
- Implement the People Strategy with a focus on foundational HR practices, digital transformation, and continuous improvement.
- Lead the development and execution of the HR systems roadmap, collaborating with IT and business stakeholder to deliver scalable, efficient solutions.
- Act as the escalation point for complex HR and payroll issues, managing risk and ensuring compliance with legal, regulatory and audit requirements.
- Oversee resource planning, capability development, and succession planning within the team, using data and insights to inform decisions.
- Drive process improvement, automation, and simplification to ensure services are efficient, effective, and exceed SLAs.
- Support organisational change initiatives—including TUPE, restructures, and project-based activity—ensuring a positive colleague experience.
- Build strong partnerships with HR, Finance, Audit, IT, and external providers to ensure aligned and integrated service delivery.
- Champion engagement, inclusion, and continuous learning across the team.
- Collaborate across banners and Group to share best practice and build a community of practice.
- Lead the design and delivery of colleague self-service and automation initiatives, ensuring intuitive, accessible, and empowering digital experiences across the employee lifecycle.
- Monitor and respond to emerging trends in HR technology, compliance, and service delivery, ensuring the function remains future-ready and aligned with evolving business needs.
- Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for People Operations, using insights to drive continuous improvement and demonstrate value to the business.
- Ensure data integrity and governance across all HR systems, enabling accurate reporting, analytics, and decision- making.
- Act as a key contributor to the wider People leadership team, shaping cross-functional initiatives and supporting the development of a cohesive, high-impact People strategy
Required skills & experience
Required Skills & Experience
- Proven leadership of large, multi-disciplinary teams.
- Strong coaching skills and a track record of building high-performing teams.
- Ability to identify and develop talent.
- Deep expertise in HR compliance, payroll, and process optimisation.
- Strong customer orientation with a data-driven and continuous improvement mindset.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
- Experience in change management and agile, project-based delivery.
- Strong planning, organisational, and listening skills
- Ability to navigate complex organisational structures, balancing local needs with group-wide consistency and scalability.
- Comfort working in a fast-paced, agile environment, with the ability to pivot quickly and manage competing priorities
- Experience leading digital transformation initiatives within HR or shared services, with a focus on automation, self-service, and user experience.
- Proven ability to use data and analytics to drive decision-making, improve service delivery, and demonstrate RO
What's in it for me?
As part of a great team, you’ll be valued for who you are. We’re committed to making B&Q more diverse and representative of the communities we serve, where everyone can feel they belong and have equal opportunities. You will have access to a range of networks that represent our colleagues and allies and help us to continue to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our business.
We also recognise that wellness means different things to different people, and we want to help colleagues be at their best and feel well by offering a range of benefits to help you. As well as a competitive salary, our benefits package includes an award-winning pension scheme, bonus, ShareSave options, 6.6 weeks holiday, payroll giving, an Employee Assistance Programme, shopping discounts, colleague wellbeing benefits and lots more!
So we can support you during the application or interview process, please contact recruitment@b-and-q.co.uk for any recruitment adjustments.
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 150 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.