Head of Workplace Experience

Role overview

As the Head of Workplace Experience, you will own the direction of the company’s workplace approach, making sure offices, services, and employee experiences actively support business priorities, company culture, and the employee value proposition. This position offers the chance to influence talent attraction and retention by building a workplace that improves performance, engagement, and connection.

You will set both strategic and day-to-day direction for workplace experience and facilities across the UK, ensuring all UK and international sites remain safe, compliant, efficient, and aligned with the brand and operational needs. The role also includes leading a team of about 15 people across 4 UK locations.

The ideal background is within a modern, agile working environment such as technology or a start-up/scale-up business.

This is a London-based role requiring 3 to 4 days onsite each week. The closing date is Tuesday 23rd June at 5:00 pm.

Key responsibilities

• Shape and maintain the organisation-wide workplace experience strategy so it supports business goals, culture, and EVP.
• Design workplaces that enable hybrid working, collaboration, and productive output.
• Use data and market trends to keep improving the workplace strategy over time.
• Provide clear strategic direction for workplace experience across the business.
• Recruit, develop, and guide a strong multi-disciplinary team with a culture built on service quality and accountability.
• Work closely with leadership to make workplace experience part of the wider business strategy.
• Strengthen team capability and succession planning.
• Coordinate with international workplace colleagues to maintain a consistent experience across locations.
• Run the full workplace operating model and ensure dependable delivery of services such as reception, hospitality, facilities, and employee support.
• Manage third-party suppliers and contractors.
• Keep environments safe, compliant, inclusive, and consistent with the brand.
• Improve space usage and overall workplace experience using insights from data.
• Own health, safety, risk, and compliance across UK and overseas offices.
• Maintain strong governance controls, oversee risk registers and audit responses, and ensure compliance with legislation and internal policies.
• Guide the property portfolio strategy, including transformation, refurbishments, and space planning where required.
• Define the vision and design direction for workplace environments.
• Oversee projects to ensure delivery on schedule, within budget, and to the required quality standards.
• Set and manage the vendor strategy for workplace services, including supplier relationships, contracts, and performance.
• Balance cost control with service quality and commercial efficiency.
• Manage workplace budgets, forecasts, and investment plans.
• Design how workplace experience supports employee engagement, community, and culture.
• Oversee events and activations that help make the workplace a destination and strengthen connection.
• Lead workplace sustainability efforts and embed responsible practices into operations.
• Ensure the workplace supports wellbeing, accessibility, and inclusion while aligning with broader ESG objectives.

Requirements

• Significant expertise in workplace experience, facilities, and property management, with a proven ability to connect workplace strategy to organisational performance and EVP.
• Strong knowledge of health and safety, governance, and risk management in regulated and international settings.
• Good understanding of workplace design, space planning, and refurbishment delivery with strategic partners.
• Solid commercial judgement and hands-on experience managing budgets, contracts, and supplier strategies at scale.
• Professional qualifications such as NEBOSH, IOSH, or IWFM membership are highly desirable, and project management experience such as PRINCE2 is also valued.
• Collaborative leadership style with the ability to guide and develop teams.
• Ability to build executive relationships and align stakeholders around shared business goals.
• Strong operational, commercial, and organisational capability with the ability to balance experience, cost, and risk.
• Clear and persuasive communication skills for leading teams and stakeholders through change.
• Adaptable, future-focused mindset with a habit of using data to drive improvement.
• Strong commitment to governance, compliance, and operational excellence.

Benefits

• Opportunity to contribute to projects that help shape the future of banking and improve customers’ financial lives.
• Work in a collaborative, empowered, and innovative environment that values experimentation, ownership, and doing the right thing.
• Room to grow through learning, new challenges, and ownership from day one.
• Living Wage employer with a focus on flexible working, fairness, openness, safety, compassion, and inclusion.
• Company-enhanced salary sacrifice pension scheme with 7% employer contribution.
• Private Medical Insurance through Vitality, including mental health support and cancer care, plus partner discounts with Waitrose, Mr & Mrs Smith, and Peloton.
• 25 days of holiday plus the ability to use public holiday entitlement at the time that suits you best.
• One additional day off for your birthday.
• Life insurance cover worth 4 times your salary.
• 16 hours of paid volunteering time each year.
• Option to buy or sell annual leave, including the ability to purchase or sell up to five extra days.
• Generous family-friendly policies.
• Refer-a-friend incentive scheme.
• Perkbox membership with retail discounts, wellness tools for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks.
• Access to Cycle to Work, salary-sacrificed gym partnerships, and EV leasing initiatives.

Equality and privacy

The employer is an equal opportunity organisation and considers applicants without discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Personal information shared during the application process is used with consent and handled in line with the employer’s privacy notice and recruitment-related data processing practices.