People & Culture Manager

An extraordinary place to work. An opportunity to make a real difference.

There are People roles. And then there are People roles in places like Castle Howard.

Set within one of the most spectacular historic estates in the country, Castle Howard is so much more than a beautiful stately home. It's a thriving, diverse and ambitious family-run business, where centuries of history meet the demands of a modern commercial organisation.

From welcoming thousands of visitors and delivering memorable events and experiences, to hospitality, retail, farming, property and holiday accommodation, the breadth of activity across the estate is remarkable. And at the heart of it all are the people who make it happen.

We're working in partnership with Castle Howard to find an exceptional People & Culture Manager to lead its People function and help shape the employee experience across this unique organisation.

The opportunity

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced HR professional who loves variety, enjoys being close to the business and wants the freedom to make a genuine impact.

You'll take ownership of the day-to-day People agenda, working closely with the leadership team and managers across the estate to provide commercially minded, practical and proactive HR support.

Your remit will be broad, encompassing employee relations, recruitment, learning and development, employee engagement and HR policies and processes.

You'll play an important role in attracting and retaining great people, supporting the seasonal recruitment demands of a busy visitor attraction and helping managers get the very best from their teams.

You'll also have the opportunity to introduce fresh thinking, identify improvements and help create an environment where people feel supported, valued and able to do their best work.

With access to additional senior strategic People expertise, you'll have the support to develop your own contribution while ensuring the operational People function runs brilliantly.

Who we're looking for

We're not looking for someone who simply follows a process or waits to be told what to do.

We're looking for someone bright, energetic, commercially aware and full of initiative. Someone who sees what needs doing and gets on with it.

You'll be a confident HR generalist with strong employee relations experience, sound judgement and the ability to balance the needs of employees with the commercial realities of running a diverse business.

You'll also be:

• Pragmatic and solutions-focused – able to cut through complexity and provide sensible, practical advice.
• Proactive and full of ideas – always looking for ways to make things better.
• Comfortable working at pace – able to juggle multiple priorities in a busy, varied environment.
• An excellent communicator – equally at ease chatting with an operational colleague, a specialist curator or a member of the senior leadership team.
• Hands-on and approachable – happy to roll up your sleeves and get involved.
• Commercially astute – someone who understands that great People practices and business success go hand in hand.

You'll ideally bring experience from a multifaceted, people-intensive environment, perhaps hospitality, leisure, tourism, retail or another commercially driven organisation. However, we're open-minded about sector background. Your attitude, judgement, capability and ability to connect with people will matter just as much.

An appreciation of heritage, arts, culture or the visitor experience would be a real bonus!

Why Castle Howard?

Quite simply, there aren't many places where you can build a People career in surroundings like these.

You'll be joining a business with an extraordinary history, a strong sense of identity and an exciting future. One where tradition and innovation sit side by side, and where no two days are likely to look the same.

You'll have the opportunity to work with a fascinating mix of people, support a genuinely diverse operation and make a visible difference to the way the business attracts, develops and looks after its teams.

And you'll get to do it all in one of Yorkshire's most beautiful and inspiring working environments.

The details

Salary: £45,000–£55,000 depending on experience

• Location: Castle Howard, North Yorkshire
• Flexibility: Applications from candidates seeking a four-day working week will also be welcomed

If you're an ambitious, commercially minded People professional looking for something a little different, we'd love to hear from you.

This is a rare opportunity to bring your experience, personality and ideas to a truly special organisation.

Castle Howard is partnering exclusively with Folk Recruitment on this appointment.