Associate Director, People Strategy & Execution

Associate Director, People Strategy & Execution

About us:

We built ClearBank on the belief that banking infrastructure would no longer slow down progress. Instead, it would be a catalyst that unlocks the potential to innovate. It would adapt to different needs so a new era in financial services could begin. We’re here to challenge the status quo in banking, are you?

We all know that transforming banking forever is not an easy mission, but we’re more than ready to rise to that challenge. We all do it every day; navigating new, unexpected and sometimes even daunting challenges. But we believe in ourselves and trust we can do it. Want to innovate? Go for it. Push for a better way? You Can. If you think you have it in you, this is Where You Can.

Role Purpose

Reporting to the Group Chief People Officer and sitting on the People Leadership Team, the Associate Director, People Strategy & Execution plays a central role in shaping how the function operates and delivers.

They turn ClearBank’s People strategy into a focused plan and drive delivery through the People Leadership Team and programme owners. They connect priorities, programmes, budgets and governance - creating clarity, strengthening accountability and ensuring decisions lead to action and measurable outcomes. The role gives a clear view of progress, risks and investment choices, while coordinating high-quality reporting for Group ExCo, Board and TopCo.

This is a high-impact, hands-on role with broad exposure across ClearBank. When priorities stall or complex challenges arise, they step in to unblock progress, bring structure and pace, and lead critical programmes that matter to the business

Key Responsibilities

Own the People strategy and roadmap, partnering with the Group Chief People Officer and People Leadership Team to translate business priorities into clear outcomes, choices and plans.

Drive execution of the People roadmap through People leaders and programme owners, maintaining oversight of progress, outcomes, risks and dependencies; providing constructive challenge; resolving cross-functional blockers; and escalating issues and decisions to keep delivery on track.

Lead executive and Board reporting, producing clear, commercially focused insight and recommendations for Group ExCo, Board, investors and other senior forums.

Lead selected high-priority People initiatives, bringing structure, pace and stakeholder alignment to complex work requiring additional focus or acceleration.

Own People Team operations and governance, running effective forums, agendas, decisions, actions and escalations, and ensuring clear ownership and follow-through.

Own the People budget and Finance partnership, overseeing planning, forecasting, expenditure and investment choices to align resources with priorities and optimise costs.

Build portfolio and programme capability across the People function, putting in place proportionate standards, tools and ways of working that improve delivery, alongside clear management information on outcomes, costs, risks, dependencies, capacity and decisions required.

Improve how the People function operates, using clearer standards, simpler processes, data, digital tools and AI to strengthen consistency, insight and effectiveness.

What success looks like in the role:

The People strategy is clearly articulated, understood and translated into a prioritised roadmap with

ClearBank’s People strategy is translated into action and delivers measurable outcomes.

The Group Chief People Officer has a clear, reliable view of what is being delivered, by when, and where progress is at risk.

The People Leadership Team is aligned around the roadmap, decisions, ownership and delivery expectations.

Capacity constraints and competing demands are visible early, with clear recommendations on priorities, sequencing and trade-offs.

Issues and dependencies are surfaced and resolved quickly, keeping critical work on track.

The People function operates effectively and consistently, with proportionate governance, clear accountability and strong follow-through.

The People function is represented credibly and commercially through high-quality reporting to Group ExCo, Board, investors and other senior forums.

Skills & Experience (must-have)

Significant experience translating functional or business strategy into prioritised roadmaps and measurable outcomes.

Strong programme or portfolio leadership experience , driving delivery through others using proportionate, adaptable approaches.

Experience building effective governance and operating rhythms across senior leadership teams and complex portfolios.

Excellent analytical, written and visual communication skills , turning complex information into concise, high-quality papers, presentations and recommendations for executive and Board audiences.

Strong commercial and financial acumen , including budget ownership, forecasting, resource planning and investment trade-offs.

Credibility and influence with senior leaders , with the judgement to challenge constructively, align stakeholders and embed decisions without formal authority.

A pragmatic, solutions-focused track record of simplifying complexity and improving execution , using proportionate standards, adaptable tools, data and AI to improve insight and delivery without unnecessary bureaucracy.

Nice-to-have

Working within, or in close partnership with, a People or HR function.

Experience in banking, fintech, financial services or another regulated environment.

Supporting Group ExCo, Board, or investor governance forums.

Experience operating across multiple countries, legal entities or a matrix organisational structure.

Familiarity with OKRs or comparable strategy execution methodologies.

Ways of Working & Culture

Build trust together: Own outcomes end to end, follow through on commitments and create transparency around progress, risks and decisions.

Care like we mean it: Consider the impact of strategic and operational decisions on colleagues, clients and the organisation, while providing direct and respectful challenge.

Grow with the challenge: Remain resilient in a fast-moving environment, simplify complexity and use feedback and evidence to continually improve plans and delivery.

Succeed as one: Engage stakeholders early, bring teams together around shared priorities and put organisation-wide outcomes ahead of functional boundaries.

Clear a bold new path: Challenge legacy approaches, convert ideas into practical action and build governance and delivery solutions that can scale.

If this sounds like you, then we encourage you to dust off that CV and apply!

*Please note that we are not currently able to sponsor applicants for immigration purposes.

A little bit more about us!

ClearBank is Where You Can belong:

At ClearBank we think about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) a lot. Not because we think we should. But because we know we should – how else can we build a happy workforce and be successful as a business. We’re committed to making sure our teams reflect society. And we put energy and effort into making this a place where everyone feels at home, where they’re given the trust and encouragement to do their very best work. Here are some of the things we’re most proud of:

42% of our senior management roles are held by women

Our enhanced family leave policies

Launching our partnership with Code First Girls

Increasing awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace through our partnership with the Inclusive Group

Our hiring process and what you can expect:

Application: a member of our talent acquisition team will review your application against the key requirements for the role and let you know within two weeks whether you’re moving forward to the next stage;

Screening: You’ll spend 30-45 minutes speaking to one of our recruiters learning more about the role and ClearBank, and we’ll get i