Head of, People Partner - Design

Purpose of the role:

Join one of the most dynamic teams in Formula One as a key driver of people performance. As the Head of, People Engineering Partner, you’ll be embedded in our high-performing Design & Electronics Teams, working side-by-side with leading technical minds to engineer a championship-winning culture. You'll shape and deliver a progressive people engineering strategy that fuels innovation, sharpens competitive edge, and drives results on track. 

You’ll be a trusted strategic partner to senior leaders—crafting people-first solutions, challenging the norm, and translating high performance into team success. This isn’t traditional HR support; it’s hands-on, sleeves-up collaboration and people engineering that connects people initiatives directly to car performance. 

Reporting to the Director of F1 People Engineering with direct report of a Senior Specialist, People Partner, you’ll navigate complex challenges, coach leaders, and influence culture across the Design and Electronics groups. You’ll also work closely with key People Engineers that support wider Technical, Production and Technology areas and our Finance, Talent, Engagement, and People Experience teams to pull on experience and expertise for activities. 

We work in a hybrid model, but real impact means being on-site, fully immersed in the team’s rhythm. If you’re commercially sharp, action-oriented, and driven to build a winning environment - this is where your people impact hits the podium. 

Principal Accountabilities 

• Partner closely with Design and Electronics senior leaders to embed strategic People Engineering, shaping and driving our People & Culture agenda from within. 

• Act as a senior expert in navigating people-related challenges—pinpointing critical priorities and delivering practical, high-impact solutions. 

• Stay agile in a fast-paced environment, adapting strategies to meet evolving business needs while aligning with the broader F1 People Engineering vision. 

• Influence with confidence—earning stakeholder trust to champion new ways of working, lead key projects, and embed cultural transformation. 

• Be the face of People Engineering for the Design and Electronics functions — owning strategic delivery and serving as the go-to partner for leaders, taking leadership and guidance from the Director of F1 People Engineering and CPO where needed. 

• Ensure excellent support below the Director level and guiding your Senior Specialists and any  resources needed to maintain seamless delivery. 

Strategic People Partnering 

• Lead high-impact projects/actions that directly elevate team performance and productivity. 

• Build strong, trust-led partnerships with senior leaders, offering embedded, close-proximity support. 

• Champion a culture where creativity and experimentation are expected, not optional. 

• Think ahead—anticipate future workforce needs and proactively shape agile people solutions. 

• Become a deep expert in the Design & Electronics team model to offer insight-driven, credible recommendations that shape decision-making. 

• Stay focused on strategic value—delegate or redirect lower-level matters through the wider people team roles. 

• Use data and analytics to drive smarter, evidence-led people initiatives in line with the function strategy. 

Operational Excellence 

• Oversee employee relations, ensuring managers are equipped and confident, with expert escalation support and compliant practices. 

• Partner with Finance and F1 People Engineering Director to align on budget planning, tracking and cost cap compliance and own this for your functions. 

• Ensure optimal resourcing across the teams, aligned to business plans and operational demands. 

• Lead salary and bonus cycles, partnering closely with People Experience. 

• Proactively gauge employee engagement in functional areas and work with the broader People Team to provide solutions as required using specialist resources where needed.

• Use people data to guide decisions and deliver against the function’s requirements. 

Org Design & Change Leadership 

• Partner with senior leaders to evolve structures that are agile, efficient and future-fit. 

• Lead organisational redesigns and role transformations using best practice and insight. 

• Apply thoughtful change management to ensure minimal disruption and maximum impact. 

• Optimise performance by tackling communication flows, interdependencies and capability. 

Workforce Planning & Talent Strategy 

• Align people plans to the functions ambitions—anticipating capability needs before they arise. 

• Co-create workforce and attraction strategies with the Talent Team to fuel a future-ready pipeline. 

• Lead and own the functions succession and talent planning and actions with a sharp focus on retention, promotion and risk reduction, ensuring it is budgeted accordingly. 

Culture & Employee Experience 

• Champion employee relations through meaningful engagement and strong communication—especially during change. 

• Foster a safe, inclusive, values-led culture that supports wellbeing and aligns to the fundamentals of our performance culture. 

• Drive D&I initiatives that resonate at every level of the function. 

• Work on cross functional collaboration and cultural needs to improve relationships from track to factory.

Influence & Stakeholder Engagement 

• Build trusted relationships across all levels—combining high service standards with strategic partnership. 

• Influence and land high-impact people initiatives through seamless collaboration with the Design & Electronics stakeholders. 

Communication & Development   

• Deliver powerful, compelling messaging across multiple channels by working with your Leadership and People Engagement team on campaigns that engage and inspire. 

• Champion continuous learning and upskilling, ensuring development and growth of the functions you support by way of effective learning and development activities, with particular focus on leadership capability and delivery, considering how much can be on the job learning and coaching and less about long winded courses.   

• Create tailored development and performance programmes that reflect the precision and rapid development cycles inherent to F1. 

• Support in the growth and development of our Senior Specialists People Partners, People Advisors and Admin Assistants by mentoring, coaching, giving guidance and opportunities to support activities in your areas or on key shared projects across the F1 Team.