People & Culture Manager - Part-Time (4 days per week) Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent Salary: £50k pro rata Type: Part-Time, Permanent (0.8 FTE)

About Southpaw

We're a diverse group of creators, producers, strategists and client service pros, all united by a passion for brilliant work and a challenger mindset. Now we’re looking for a People and Culture Manager to align our talent strategies with our company values.

We've driven brand growth for challenger brands across the beauty, premium drinks, lifestyle and entertainment sectors - helping them shift behaviours, build communities, spark conversation, and shape culture.

We are also part of the global and award-winning advertising group, Hakuhodo, headquartered in Tokyo.

The Role

We are looking for a People & Culture Manager to join us four days a week, working closely with our MD, Ops Manager, and Financial Controller to ensure Southpaw remains a great place to work and that our people agenda keeps pace with our growth.

This is a broad, hands-on role covering the full people function - from day-to-day HR operations through to longer-term priorities around talent, development and culture. You'll need to be comfortable managing both the detail and the bigger picture, and confident working with a high degree of autonomy in a small, busy agency environment.

What you'll be doing

People & Culture

Work with the MD and senior leadership team to evolve our people strategy as we grow
Support and coach our managers to have better conversations, develop their teams, and handle the difficult stuff with confidence
Lead on employee relations - being a calm, sensible, trusted voice when things get complicated
Keep our HR policies up to date and compliant, and provide the training to the managers and employees to support them
Oversee performance management and help us build a culture of honest, useful feedback

Recruitment & onboarding

Lead on hiring - from briefing to offer, working with the hiring manager and office manager on the logistics
Work on our employer branding to ensure we’re positioned to attract the best talent
Make sure new starters land well and feel part of the team from day one

Learning & development

Spot development gaps and build L&D approaches that work for a creative team
Oversee our IPA CPD Gold accreditation, making sure we're recognising and investing in learning across the agency

The Vibe - Culture & wellbeing

Get stuck into The Vibe, our internal social committee, bringing ideas and energy to how we celebrate, connect, and have fun as a team
Think proactively about awareness moments that matter - Mental Health Awareness Week, World Inclusion Day, IWD etc and make sure we mark them in ways that feel authentic
Champion wellbeing in a way that's practical, visible, and welcomed by the team

Employer Brand - Southpaw Social Club

Work with our social media offering, Southpaw Social Club, to help tell our employer brand story - what it's like to work here, who we are, and why people should want to join us
Feed ideas and content angles into our social channels that showcase our culture and people
Keep website jobs page updated and enticing

DEI & New Business Support

Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion across everything we do - from how we hire to how we listen
Help us build on what we're doing well and be honest about where we can do better
Help pull together people and culture information when it's needed for new business pitches - credentials, team stats, culture narrative, policies etc
We're interested in exploring B Corp certification, and if you've got experience in this space - brilliant. If not, an appetite to learn and lead on it would go a long way

What we're looking for

Solid HR experience, ideally including time in a small or growing business where you've had to be resourceful and make things happen without a big team behind you
A genuine generalist - comfortable moving between ER advice, recruitment, policy, and culture
Creative, media, or agency experience would be a real plus - you'll get the pace and the personalities
A good understanding of UK employment law and how to apply it commercially in a growing agency
Some experience with or curiosity about DEI, employer brand, and employee engagement beyond the usual survey and away day
B Corp knowledge or experience could be a bonus
CIPD qualification or on the journey to being CIPD trained

Why Southpaw?

A team that's talented, collaborative, and takes the work seriously without taking themselves too seriously
Real variety - no two weeks will look the same
The chance to shape culture and be part of the conversation at a growing, global-connected independent
Tunbridge Wells base with flexibility – Ideally this role will be onsite Monday to Thursday but there is some flexibility around this
There could be some flexibility around the work pattern of this role - if you are looking for a 3 day week or shorter days across 5 days please get in touch

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.

Southpaw

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People and Culture Manager