Head of People

Mission

Zero Gravity’s mission is to propel high-talent, low-opportunity students into top universities and careers, first in the UK, and then worldwide.

We’re a unique business with a life-changing mission in an age of gestures and empty words. Our mission isn’t marketing fluff - it is the core of who we are and what we do.

We leverage the power of technology to drive equality of opportunity at scale. Through our award-winning digital platform, Zero Gravity unlocks education and career opportunities for talented students from low-opportunity backgrounds by propelling them into the UK's best universities and employers.

Employer Excellence

People and culture have always been the core focus of Zero Gravity. We believe that if you build a high-performance team, you can defy the odds and achieve incredible outcomes.

Our team has been built on bullsh*t-free values and a codified framework of high performance - we’ve found people who have achieved great things against the odds or had the potential to do so. Having scaled from 4-23 people in less than two years, Zero Gravity has already been recognised for being a leading employer brand, being named as Top 50 impact-driven startups to work by Hyer, one of Escape the City’s top 100 companies to work for, and a 4.7 Glassdoor rating.

Our values underline everything we do, from our day-to-day ways of working to our hiring decisions. Our company values are:

• Stand up straight: We say what we think and mean what we say. We’re straight talkers who hold ourselves and others to a high standard, owning our mistakes and always striving for improvement.
• Run towards danger: We push ourselves to the limit and refuse to stand still. We embrace imposter syndrome by taking risks, failing fast, and venturing into the unknown. Because playing it safe ≠ progress.
• Change it up: Innovation comes from challenging convention. So we say no to the status quo and constantly seek to disrupt our own thinking. Because the best ideas are often found in the strangest of places.
• Make it happen: We focus on creating incredible results rather than obsessing over process. There’s an inherent drive in our work: a bias toward taking action, moving fast, and delivering what matters.

The thread that runs through Zero Gravity’s people operations is its High-performance framework. We look for all employees to embody our High-Performance traits, and this application should be read with this framework in mind:

• Self Direction: Acting like a leader

1. We don’t wait to be told what to do
2. We meet deadlines set by ourselves and others
3. We maintain a benchmark of quality in our work at all times
4. We get on top of challenges and mobilise others to solve tricky problems

• Self Improvement: Acting like an owner

1. We optimise our work by learning from prior experience
2. We actively develop new skills and apply them to our work
3. We correct mistakes quickly and learn from them
4. We self-evaluate rather than relying on the judgement of others

The role:

Upon the completion of our Series A funding round, Zero Gravity will be scaling from 23 to circa 50 people, and we’re looking for a Head of People to take the foundations of what we’ve built and scale Zero Gravity’s high-performance team and cement us as one of the best companies to work for in the UK.

The startup environment is fast-paced and constantly evolving. Zero Gravity’s Head of People will need to effectively manage change within the organisation, helping employees adapt while minimising disruption and maintaining sky-high employee engagement.

This role provides the opportunity for a mission-aligned person to create innovative practices for Talent Management and Development, create recruitment processes for identifying the best talent, and scale Zero Gravity and its impact across the UK, and then worldwide.

360 People Management:

• This role will require you to identify the technologies, processes and ways of working that will attract, develop and retain the UK’s leading talent - helping Zero Gravity scale its impact.
• These technologies, processes, and ways of working will need to be aligned with the key elements of Zero Gravity’s culture: our mission, our values, and our high-performance framework.

Employee engagement:

• Develop Zero Gravity’s framework for boosting engagement and wellbeing, fostering an environment for high performance and wellbeing.
• Embed Zero Gravity’s cultural values into every aspect of our people operations, fostering a fully mission-aligned team focussed on driving outcomes.
• Develop, conduct and analyse culture surveys and pulse checks, using insights to build Zero Gravity’s ‘Culture Roadmap’ to maximise employee wellbeing and engagement.
• Plan and oversee Zero Gravity’s company socials, ensuring the team can bond and develop outside of the office environment and their day-to-day roles - minimising silos and fostering cross-team creativity.

Talent Attraction and Recruitment:

• Create a scalable and meritocratic recruitment process that embodies Zero Gravity’s mission.
• Build Zero Gravity’s talent pipeline, focussing on identifying mission-aligned, high-performance people who will enhance Zero Gravity’s culture and achieve aspirational outcomes.
• Create a consistent, engaging end-to-end candidate experience that excites people to work at Zero Gravity and sets them up for success from day one.
• Identify and embed the best technology for driving our talent outcomes.

People Development:

• Evolve and develop Zero Gravity’s High-Performance framework - creating a framework for employees to develop and thrive in their roles and achieve their outcomes.
• Evolve Zero Gravity’s People Development strategy and utilisation of L&D budgets - maximising the team’s development learning.

Creating policies and ways of working that facilitate Zero Gravity’s mission:

• Shape and evolve Zero Gravity’s policies to drive our mission and underlying ways of working to facilitate Zero Gravity’s culture.
• Power the work behind our D&I, employer brand and people development strategies
• Be the go-to mind for legal updates and HR responsibilities, ensuring that Zero Gravity constantly meets its requirements as an employer.
• Provide guidance and support to managers and employees on HR-related matters to ensure all employee matters are dealt with in the most effective and fair ways.

Build Zero Gravity’s Employer Brand:

• Work with our Brand Team to develop and grow awareness of Zero Gravity's employer brand, showcasing the company as an employer of choice.
• Manage applications for employer/culture awards - ensuring Zero Gravity’s innovative work is recognised nationally.
• Manage and showcase our company Glassdoor page - evidencing Zero Gravity’s successes and culture to make the organisation.

Who you’ll be working with:

Whilst you’ll be a core part of our Operations team, reporting to our COO, you’ll ultimately be the cornerstone of all teams at Zero Gravity, the conduit between Brand, Operations, Tech, Product, Operations, Sales and Success. Your role will have an impact on every team and every employee and will be instrumental in accelerating Zero Gravity’s growth.

What will you be measured on?

You’ll be measured on the outcomes that drive Zero Gravity’s culture and High-Performance team; this includes areas such as:

• Employee sentiment (eNPs and Glassdoor)
• Quality of Hires and contribution to company performance (outcomes driven by team members)
• Candidate experience (Rating of recruitment experience)
• Employee Onboarding (Time to hire and retention)
• Employer Brand Awareness & Sentiment (Employer awards and articles on Zero Gravity’s culture)

The skills and characteristics we’re looking for:

• Proven experience as a Head of People or similar role in a startup or similar fast-paced environment
• An indisputable passion for Zero Gravity’s mission and understanding of our values
• Deep understanding of HR principles, practices, and talent development
• Demonstrated success in creating a high-performance team and culture
• Experience in managing people change in a scaling business
• Understanding of employer branding strategies and their impact on attracting top talent.