CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER (CPO)
Location: Reading, UK
Reporting to: CEO
Are you passionate about shaping organisational culture and driving global transformation? At ESP Global Services, we delight every customer, every time, by having the best people delivering the best service anywhere in the world. With 32 years of excellence and a community spanning 26 countries, our foundation rests on values like approachability, respect, collaboration, passion, and honesty.
As the Chief People Officer, you’ll be at the heart of ESP’s evolution. This is a high-profile, strategic leadership opportunity designed for an innovative HR leader eager to unleash the full potential of our global community.
What You’ll Do:
- Lead as a member of the Leadership Team, crafting a people strategy aligned with ESP’s vision for growth, operational efficiency, and service excellence.
- Build and empower a world-class People function—trusted advisors who operate consistently across every market.
- Drive Reward Strategy: Design and implement attractive, performance-based rewards, benefits, and recognition schemes that propel us forward.
- Shape Organisational Design: Establish governance frameworks and guide structural change aligned with transformation goals.
- Lead Change Management & Transformation: Champion and oversee organisational change, ensuring seamless delivery of strategic initiatives.
- Talent & Succession Planning: Architect recruitment, development, and succession frameworks that deliver diversity, inclusion, and long-term readiness.
- Learning & Development: Develop learning solutions that build core capabilities and future-ready skills across the business.
- HR Policies & Compliance: Deliver coherent, compliant HR policies and practices across all ESP markets.
- Employee Engagement: Lead annual engagement measurement, then design and deploy actions that reinforce belonging, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- People Systems & Analytics: Ensure business decisions are powered by high-quality, real-time people insights and KPIs.
- Payroll Oversight: Lead the ongoing management of external payroll providers ensuring full compliance with agreed timescales and excellent provision of services.
- International Expansion Support: Work with the COO to lead employment due diligence, local T&Cs, and payroll integration for new markets.
- Trusted Advisor to CEO & Leadership Team: Act as the go-to expert for strategic people matters at the highest level.
What You’ll Bring:
- At least 10 years’ HR leadership experience, with deep expertise across organisational design, transformation, and people strategy.
- Full MCIPD accreditation.
- Proven success in international HR environments, preferably in fast-evolving, global service organisations.
- Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and influencing skills—able to inspire and guide across cultures.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen—you understand how people decisions drive business outcomes.
- Demonstrated capability in leading teams, building partnerships, and instilling high professional standards.
Why ESP Global Services? At ESP, our people are our strength. We’re an inclusive, globally-minded community defined by collaboration and a shared drive for excellence. We’ve been recognized as International Tech Company of the Year (2025), International Trade Business of the Year (2025), and Best Global Aviation IT Support Company (2024)—underlining our commitment to innovation and service quality.
Joining ESP means building long-term partnerships—with our clients and with your colleagues around the world. It’s a place to lead with heart, transform with impact, and belong to something extraordinary.
Linked-in
Google