WaterAid UK People Hub Lead

WaterAid UK People Hub Lead

Contract type: Permanent, full-time

Location: This role can be based in any country where WaterAid has a Country Programme across our three Regional Hubs in West Africa, East & Southern Africa and South Asia, subject to the candidate meeting the relevant right-to-work requirements in that country.

Salary: Salaries and benefits for different countries will vary in line with the location of the successful candidate and depending on experience.

Change starts with water. Change starts with you.

Every day, millions of people live without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid exists to change that – for everyone, everywhere. Join us, and your energy will help unlock people’s potential and create a fairer future.

About WaterAid

We’re a global federation driven by one vision: a world where everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Powered by our values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation, we work alongside communities, partners and supporters to make change happen.

About the team

The WaterAid UK People Team supports WaterAid UK [UK office, UK country programmes and regional offices]. Plus Canada and Japan for services not provided by the Global People Team. This role sits as part of the Senior Management Team for WaterAid UK and reports directly to the WaterAid UK People Director.

The People Team enables WaterAid to deliver its mission by ensuring the organisation has the leadership, culture, capability and workforce needed to achieve its strategic objectives. Working in partnership with leaders across WaterAid, the team provides strategic advice, organisational development expertise and people solutions that support organisational effectiveness, employee engagement, inclusion and performance.

About the role

The People Hub Lead will embed the People Hub as a key part of the People Function operating model, bringing together and building on the three regional hubs already in place. They will lead and develop the People Hub team, establishing a consistent strategic business partnering approach across the hubs. The role will shape how People expertise, insight and advice are delivered, ensuring Country Programmes are supported and empowered to address their people priorities effectively

In this role, you will:

- Act as a Strategic People Partner and trusted advisor to the WaterAid UK Regional Directors.
- Embed and continually evolve the People Hub approach by identifying and seeking out opportunities. Design and implement the processes, ways of working and interfaces required.
- Annually contract with senior stakeholders the priorities and expected delivery from the People Hub. Agree quality standards and outcomes to track and quantify the value added. Evaluate how and where to focus to deliver maximum value.
- Adapt and flex the service provision from the People Hub as WaterAid country programmes evolve and hold Countries accountable for the local people service and operational delivery.
- Lead strategic people planning to deliver insight and analysis for Regional Directors and People Leads, informing annual people plans, priorities and metrics.
- Partner with the Global People Team and influence the design and delivery of people activities which meet local needs. Contribute to defining the ways of working and processes needed to ensure the local informs the global.
- Develop and continuously improve reporting versus people KPIs, tracking the effectiveness of the People Hub approach and services provided.
- Lead and coach the People Hub team. Build capability and mindset as a service and advice centre which provides specialism and expertise and enables Country Programmes rather than creating reliance.
- Provide organisational design and development expertise where required to grow organisational effectiveness.
- Support large-scale change management programmes, bringing change expertise and an OD mindset as required.
- Develop reports which communicate people insights and engage senior leadership and People teams. Provide analytics which inform people priorities and drive effective interventions.
- Support senior and complex ER and safeguarding cases, leading investigations where required.
- Be an active and influential member of the WaterAid UK People Senior Management Team.

Requirements

To be successful, you will need:

Functional expertise:

- Proven track record in leading a people service centre or advice unit.
- Deep expertise and knowledge of leading a strategic people planning process, identifying organisational needs and translating these into solutions for a client base.
- 5-10 years’ experience of Human Resource functional management and leadership covering senior business partnering and elements of expertise (reward, talent management, learning, etc).
- Knowledge of and proven expertise in organisational design and development approaches.
- Proven experience of successfully managing change in different contexts whilst maintaining high staff engagement.

Personal & leadership behaviours:

- Highly organised, able to provide high levels of support to the team and stakeholders whilst balancing short-term delivery and longer-term planning
- Analytical style, very comfortable working with data. Evidence-based decision-making and the ability to draw insights to inform action.
- Working style that reflects WaterAid’s values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work collaboratively across geographical and cultural boundaries.
- Excellent coaching, mentoring and facilitation skills and an approach that builds capacity rather than dependency.
- Clear, persuasive and influential. Able to provide effective support and challenge to senior stakeholders
- Ability to speak more than one language (e.g. French, Portuguese or a local language and dialects spoken in Africa or Asia).

View the full job description here

Closing date: Applications close at 12:00 PM UK time on Monday 30th November 2026 . First-round interviews are expected to take place during the week commencing 7th December 2026.

How to apply: Click Apply to complete the pre-screening questions and upload your CV and a cover letter.

Can I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in my application? At WaterAid, we strongly advise against using AI technology at any stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure a fair and transparent process that provides every applicant with an equal opportunity to succeed. We value hearing about your unique experiences and perspectives in your application, and, if shortlisted, during the interview as well.

Pre‑employment screening: To apply for this role, you must be able to demonstrate your eligibility to work in the respective country. All pre-employment checks will be carried out according to local law and WaterAid’s Safer Recruitment policy.

Benefits

As a global organisation, WaterAid is committed to creating an environment where you can thrive and be yourself at your very best. Alongside our inspiring mission and meaningful work, we offer a range of benefits tailored to each country’s context and policies. These will be shared during the process

Our Global Commitment

Our People Promise

We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero- tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Together, we’ll change the world through water.

Join us and be part of the change!