Head of HR
We are looking for a Head of HR to join the Arachas family. As Head of HR for Arachas your role is to lead and guide a well-established HR team, providing the strategic oversight needed to support our evolving business. Reporting to the Chief Business Officer, you will oversee the full HR function, acting as a senior advisor to the leadership team. Rather than implementing radical change, your focus will be on identifying opportunities to refine our processes and ensuring our people strategy remains aligned with our commercial goals.
Location: Sandyford (with occasional travel between offices)
Reports To: General Counsel & Chief Business Officer
Key Internal Relationships: Arachas Leadership team, HRBPs, Head of L&D, Trading group
Role Accountabilities and Core Responsibilities
Sales and Activity Management:
Proactively promote HR initiatives that support the commercial goals of the company, ensuring that People Strategy is seen as a key driver of business success.
Analyse HR metrics and trends (retention, productivity, and engagement) to provide the Chief Business Officer with actionable data to inform business decisions.
Manage the HR department's output to ensure it keeps pace with the fast-moving corporate environment, identifying and closing gaps in service delivery.
Support with recruitment and succession planning for specialist brokerage roles, ensuring a steady pipeline of talent to support long-term growth.
Customer Relationship Management:
Act as a direct strategic advisor to senior management and the Chief Business Officer, helping them navigate the people side of their business objectives.
Serve as the HR lead for mergers and acquisitions, acting as a bridge for incoming teams to ensure they are successfully integrated into the Arachas structure.
Build strong, trust-based relationships across all departments, providing expert guidance on organisational design and performance management.
Customer Service:
Lead on employee engagement initiatives, ensuring that employees are treated as the company's most important asset and that their feedback drives workplace improvements.
Provide the existing HR team with senior leadership, helping them deliver exceptional service to the wider business.
Promote a positive, high-performing workplace culture that aligns with Arachas values, ensuring staff feel connected to the company’s mission.
Support with the delivery of high-quality HR support for all critical employee lifecycle events, from onboarding to career development.
Team Collaboration
Lead and develop the well-established HR team, acting as a mentor who empowers them to excel.
Work collaboratively with Finance, Compliance, and Operations to ensure HR processes are seamless and support the wider business infrastructure.
Integrate into a fast-paced environment by being a visible, hands-on leader who supports the team during peak activity or complex change initiatives.
Encourage an environment where the HR team proactively identifies gaps and works together to implement practical, direct solutions.
Compliance:
Working alongside the Chief Risk Office to ensure all people-related activities comply with Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) requirements, including the Fitness & Probity regime and Minimum Competency Code (MCC).
Maintain total compliance with Irish employment legislation and company policies, providing expert guidance on complex employee relations matters.
Oversee HR audits and data integrity (GDPR), ensuring that all personnel records and processes meet the highest professional standards.
Requirements:
10 years of proven experience in a Senior HR role.
Strong commercial awareness with the ability to align HR strategy to business goals
Experience supporting high-performing HRBPS on day-to-day HR Operations.
Experience working across multiple locations or business units
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
A hands-on approach with the ability to operate both strategically and operationally
Excellent communication and organisational skills
Person Specification:
Ideal for an experienced HR professional who has operated at a management level and is now seeking to focus on team mentorship and organisational culture.
Naturally inclined to guide and empower an established team, providing the big picture perspective while allowing the team to excel in their roles.
Deeply committed to the employee life cycle, with a focus on creating a positive, high-quality experience for all staff.
Able to integrate seamlessly into a long-standing team environment, building trust through collaboration and emotional intelligence.
Skilled at identifying operational improvements and strategic gaps without disrupting the existing team's stability.
Motivated by the human element of HR rather than corporate ladder-climbing, prioritising the well-being and growth of the workforce.
www.arachas.ie and Arachas Insures Ireland
#ACB
- Business area
- Arachas
- Role
- HR
- Locations
- Sandyford, Dublin
About Ardonagh Europe
The Ardonagh Group is one of the world’s leading independent insurance distribution platforms. We are a collection of best-in-class entrepreneurial and specialist brands with a network of over 250 locations and more than 12,000 employees. Across our portfolio, we offer a highly diversified range of insurance-related products and services. From complex multinationals to individuals purchasing personal insurance policies, our understanding of the audiences we serve, together with our scale and breadth, allows us to work with our insurer partners to deliver a broad range of product and risk solutions that meet customer needs.
Find us on LinkedIn or visit www.ardonagh.com