Global People Director, Maternity Cover

Global People Director, Maternity Cover
London, UK
Part-time, three days per week, starting December 2026

Hello! We are AMA. We deliver customised, data-driven, dynamic ads for the most recognisable brands on the world's largest audio platforms. Founded in 2015, we have delivered over 10 billion dynamic creative impressions and 2,000+ campaigns for 300+ brands in the US, Europe, and Australia, with teams based in London and New York. AMA Studio publishes millions of perfectly tailored ads in minutes and matches a listener’s interests and environment.

We’re based in New York and London, and while our team is steadily growing, it’s the reach and impact of our work that’s expanding fast. As we continue to scale, our vibrant culture remains at the heart of AMA. We’re proud to have been named Campaign UK’s #1 Best Place to Work in 2025 and recognised in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 in the Small Organisations category.

About the role

We are hiring a Global People Director to provide maternity cover for our people function across London and New York.

This role will provide senior guidance and continuity across AMA’s most important people priorities. Our People Manager leads the day-to-day relationships with leaders and managers across the business. A key part of your role will be coaching and supporting her, providing a clear escalation point and stepping in where matters require Director-level judgement, experience or confidentiality.

The role is deliberately focused on the areas that create the greatest value or manage the most significant risk for the business. You will provide advice to senior leaders, oversee complex people matters, support organisational and workforce decisions and ensure the People team has clear priorities.

The role is three days per week, including at least one day each week in our London office. Some travel to New York may be required.

What you’ll do

• Act as a senior People adviser to the CEO, COO and leadership team.

• Own employment compliance across our UK and New York operations.

• Work in partnership with Leadership and the team to clear recommendations on organisational structure, workforce planning, performance, culture and people risk.

• Coach and support the People Manager in leading day-to-day manager and stakeholder relationships.

• Lead and support the two-person People team, setting clear and realistic priorities.

• Act as the escalation point for complex employee relations, performance and leadership matters.

• Support significant organisational changes, including communication, consultation and risk management where required.

• Maintain oversight of performance, engagement and retention priorities across the business.

• Oversee senior and business-critical hiring, including role definition, direct search and the management of external recruitment partners.

• Manage material People budget decisions across recruitment, benefits, training and development.

• Provide relevant workforce updates and people-risk insight to the board and leadership team.

• Work closely with external employment counsel where specialist advice is required, ensuring advice is translated into clear and practical action.

Who you are

• An experienced People Director, Head of People or senior People leader with a broad generalist background.

• Comfortable advising executives and senior leaders within a fast-moving business.

• Able to provide clear recommendations and challenge senior stakeholders constructively.

• Experienced in coaching and developing People team members, allowing them to retain ownership while providing appropriate support.

• Confident handling complex employee relations, organisational change and sensitive senior matters.

• Commercially minded, with an understanding of how people decisions affect cost, capacity, performance and risk.

• Experienced in workforce planning, performance management, recruitment and budget oversight.

• Confident working directly with UK, New York State and New York City employment law in practice.

• Highly organised and able to focus on the most important priorities within a three-day working week.

• Calm, pragmatic and discreet when handling confidential information.

• Comfortable working at least one day per week from our London office and travelling to New York when required.