Hours: 37.5 per week, Monday to FridayLocation: Hybrid working 3 days a week in Virgin Atlantic HQ, Fleming Way, Crawley, West SussexContract: PermanentClosing date: 10th June 2026
As we continue transforming our business for the future, we’re looking for an exceptional People Director to join our People Leadership Team as VP People.
This is one of the most significant People leadership roles in our business – operating at the heart of strategic decision-making while shaping the experience of thousands of colleagues across a complex, operational and highly visible environment.
In a nutshell
Reporting to the Chief People Officer, the VP People is responsible for delivering Virgin Atlantic’s People Strategy through a high-impact People Partnering model, while leading our approach to Employee Relations, Industrial Relations and employee voice.
You’ll work across every part of the business – partnering senior leaders to drive performance, leadership capability, organisational effectiveness and operational delivery, while ensuring we continue to build a culture where our people can thrive.
You’ll also play a key role in shaping the future capability of the People function itself, acting as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and a senior deputy to the CPO.
This role combines strategic thinking with operational leadership at scale. One day you could be shaping workforce priorities for the future, the next leading through complex operational, organisational or industrial challenges.
Day to Day
- Lead a commercially focused People Partnering model embedded across the business, ensuring leaders are equipped to deliver performance, engagement and change
- Lead strategic workforce planning and future workforce capability, helping the business evolve for the future of work, including opportunities created through technology and AI
- Oversee Employee Relations and Industrial Relations across Virgin Atlantic, ensuring effective governance, constructive union relationships and balanced people decisions
- Lead employee voice and engagement approaches, including forums and representative groups
- Partner with LT and senior leaders to align people priorities with operational and commercial goals
- Drive leadership capability, succession planning and talent outcomes across the organisation
- Develop and inspire high-performing People teams, building future capability across the function
- Act as a senior deputy to the CPO, contributing to enterprise-wide leadership and organisational decision-making
- Continue evolving the People function to ensure it remains modern, commercially impactful and fit for the future
About you
We’re looking for a senior People leader who combines commercial thinking, operational credibility and strong people instincts.
You’ll bring:
- Significant senior HR leadership experience in complex, operational and fast-paced environments
- Experience leading large-scale People Partnering teams and translating strategy into business delivery
- Strong commercial judgement and the ability to balance people outcomes with operational performance
- Proven experience influencing executive and senior stakeholders in complex organisations
- Strong leadership capability, with experience developing high-performing teams and future leaders
- Deep expertise across Employee Relations and some Industrial Relations experience including union engagement and ideally collective bargaining
- Experience leading organisational change, transformation and workforce planning activity
- The credibility, resilience and judgement to operate effectively in high-profile and fast-moving environments
- Experience in aviation, hospitality, travel, retail or similarly customer-focused industries
- Chartered FCIPD (or equivalent experience), with the capability to operate at enterprise leadership level
#J-18808-Ljbffr…