People and Culture Manager

About us

The Runnymede Trust is the UK’s leading race equality think tank. We generate research to challenge racial inequality in Britain.

For more than 50 years, we have worked tirelessly to build a Britain in which we all belong. Proudly independent, we speak truth to power on race and racism without fear or favour. We are not swayed by political agenda, profit or popular opinion. We are authentic, led by an ethnically diverse team, and we draw from our lived experience and that of our wide and inclusive community and partnership networks.

The Role

We are seeking a talented and motivated People & Culture Manager to lead and develop Runnymede’s people function and help ensure colleagues have a positive, consistent and inclusive experience throughout their time at the organisation.

Reporting to the Director of Operations & Finance, you will provide practical HR advice and support to managers and staff, oversee key people processes and ensure our policies, systems and ways of working support Runnymede’s values, culture and operational needs.

This is a varied role covering people operations, recruitment, employee relations, performance, wellbeing and organisational culture. You will oversee the employee lifecycle from recruitment to exit, maintain and develop our people policies and employee handbook, coordinate payroll administration, and support initiatives that strengthen engagement, communication and collaboration across the organisation.

Who we’re looking for

You’ll be the right person for this role if you have strong experience across HR and people management, with the ability to provide practical and confident advice to managers and staff across a range of people matters.

You will bring sound knowledge of employment law and HR best practice, alongside strong organisational and communication skills. You’ll be comfortable managing employee relations matters, developing effective people processes and supporting managers to build their confidence and capability.

You’ll also have a genuine interest in creating positive workplace cultures, with a commitment to inclusion, wellbeing and staff engagement. You’ll thrive in a collaborative environment and be able to balance day-to-day people operations with longer-term organisational development.

How to apply

To apply please click the apply button below.

This will take you to our online recruitment platform, BeApplied, which is a platform that aims to facilitate an unbiased and inclusive hiring process.

On BeApplied you will be asked to upload your CV and answer some skill-based application questions instead of a traditional covering letter.

Runnymede Trust is committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their background. We acknowledge that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in research and policy making and we’re committed to doing what we can to correct this. We are particularly keen to receive applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic people; people with disabilities; people who identify as being LGTBQIA; people who have a mental health condition; and people who identify as working class now or in the past.

We are also aware that many highly capable prospective candidates nonetheless rule themselves out of work in think tanks because they underestimate their own ability to do the role. With this in mind, we strongly encourage applications from anyone who is prepared to learn and grow on the job and would like to stress that past experience of working in think tanks is not required.

Interview Schedule

Candidates will hear back about their application status on 30th of September, and interviews for shortlisted candidates will be conducted on w/c 5th of October.