People & Culture Manager

Contract:  Permanent, full time 

Salary:  circa £50,000 per annum 

Location: Burford, OX18 4PF on a hybrid basis 

Closing date:  30 January 2026 

1st interviews:  10 – 12 February 2026 

2nd stage:  18 & 19 February 2026 

At Blue Cross, our people are central to everything we do to protect and improve animal welfare. We are recruiting a People and Culture Manager to lead the day-to-day delivery of compassionate, high-quality people support across the charity. This is a brand-new role, created to strengthen how we support managers and teams and to translate our People Strategy into practical, values led people practices. 

Sitting within the People and People Services directorate, the People and Culture Manager plays a key role in enabling confident, fair leadership across the organisation, particularly in emotionally demanding environments. The role also offers a valuable opportunity to build experience and capability towards senior People and Culture leadership. 

More about the role

As People and Culture Manager, you will provide expert, pragmatic advice across the full range of people matters, acting as a trusted business partner to the People & People Services directorate. You will lead on complex and sensitive casework, coach and develop People and Culture colleagues, and work closely with senior leaders to deliver positive people outcomes. 

As this is a new role, you will have the opportunity to help shape how people services are delivered day to day, contributing to the continuous improvement, credibility, and impact of the People and Culture function. 

You will also contribute to organisational development, culture change, wellbeing initiatives, and workforce planning, using insight and data to identify risks and opportunities. The role supports organisation wide change activity, ensuring that people processes are fair, transparent, and compassionate. 

This role is offered on a hybrid basis, based from our Burford office, with a minimum of two days a week working from the office. You will also be required to travel regularly to other Blue Cross sites to build relationships and provide effective, visible support to managers and teams.  

About you

You are a credible and empathetic professional who brings sound judgement, resilience, and a solutions focused approach. You are confident supporting managers through complex and emotionally sensitive situations and are comfortable balancing operational delivery with strategic contribution. 

You build strong, trusting relationships, communicate clearly at all levels, and enjoy coaching others to build their confidence and capability. You are committed to embedding Blue Cross values of compassion, courage, and inclusivity in everything you do. 

Essential Qualifications, Skills, and Experience 

• CIPD Level 5 or above, or equivalent professional experience 
• Substantial experience in a generalist HR or people role 
• Strong employee relations experience with sound knowledge of UK employment law 
• Proven ability to manage complex and sensitive people issues with empathy and professionalism 
• Strong communication, influencing, coaching, and stakeholder management skills 
• Experience working in a values led, care focused, or emotionally demanding environment 
• The ability to demonstrate and apply Blue Cross values of compassion, courage, and inclusivity 

Desirable Qualifications, Skills, and Experience 

• CIPD Level 7 qualification 
• Experience working in animal welfare, healthcare, social care, or frontline operational environments 
• Experience supporting managers and teams working in emotionally demanding roles 

How to apply  

Please click Apply to submit your application. We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. 

Our recruitment process for this role will take place in two stages. The first stage will be a competency-based interview, focused on experience, approach and alignment with our values. 

Candidates who progress to the second stage will be invited to attend a discovery session. This will be an informal and interactive session, designed to explore the role in more depth, share perspectives and give candidates the opportunity to meet colleagues and learn more about Blue Cross and our culture. 

Full details will be shared with candidates in advance. Both stages will be held in person at our Burford offices. 

We are committed to running a fair and inclusive recruitment process and will provide support or reasonable adjustments where needed.