Looking for a role where you can make a real impact? Help us set new standards in the People Operations realm, driving change that matters.
Join us and be part of a team where your insights will directly shape our strategic direction.
Read on!
(this will be a long write up but we like to give you all the details before you spend your time applying)
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We are Laminar Projects!
We are an award winning consultancy that implements technology to improve the delivery of complex construction projects. Improving construction strengthens the very foundation of human civilisation. (Watch our short film about it)
We also have a separate product team, Shape Construction, that takes the deep understanding of the projects we work on to develop construction management software products.
The core of all this is our true secret sauce; people. We only recruit kind and authentic people who are fast learners. We are deeply focused on designing a new type of place that is optimised for the flourishing of the people in the team first and foremost. This approach has allowed us to grow from just 2 people in 2017 to over 220 today and we are still very much at the beginning! Joining us isn’t just some “job”, we challenge you to be your best self in all aspects of life.
Our vision is designed to align how we operate with the fundamental aspects that enable anyone to have a fulfilled life:
- Connects us with meaningful relationships
- Inspires us to develop ourselves to become better humans
- Empowers us to pursue our own learning adventures
4 core values for a good life
We believe a life of human flourishing is all about meaningful relationships with others and challenging yourself to create a positive impact. Our four core values are grow yourself, care about people, execute to greatness and build civilisation. This philosophy goes much deeper and you can see more on our website.
We are achieving this vision through the following two missions:
- To fully digitise the construction of human civilisation
- To create a new type of organisation that enables human flourishing while delivering a huge positive impact on society
Laminar Projects is proud to be recognized as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Construction, Engineering & Property™ for 2024! Join a team where learning, collaboration, and growth are at the core of everything we do, and where solving big challenges is part of the fun.
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The Role
Purpose of the role
This role is for a builder. You will partner closely with senior leaders across the business as a trusted advisor, helping shape and scale a People Operations function that grows. As we move through our next phase of expansion, you’ll tackle complex people’s challenges, design practical solutions, and turn strategy into action.
You’ll own and evolve our People Ops infrastructure, policies, and practices - including global mobility, visas, and immigration - ensuring they are robust, compliant, scalable, and deeply human. This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives in fast-moving environments, brings a strategic lens to problem-solving, and enjoys creating systems that enable people and the business to do their best work.
Team
People Operations is the engine behind our growth. We build the infrastructure that allows our business to scale without losing what makes it special.
As culture shapers and problem-solvers, we challenge the status quo, anticipate what’s coming next, and create people solutions that push the business forward. We operate with urgency, ownership, and a deep belief that great operations unlock great performance.
Reporting directly to the Senior Director, you’ll play a key role in scaling the function - strengthening operational excellence, influencing leaders, and helping define how we grow, evolve, and win together.
Your top 3 objectives
- Enable organisational efficiency through best-in-class People Operations
- Create scalable, repeatable systems that support continued global growth
- Develop yourself and others, building a high-performing, trusted People Ops function
Your top 5 responsibilities
- Lead core People Operations at scale Own and continuously improve complex People Ops processes including employee lifecycle management, global compensation and benefits, policy frameworks, compliance, governance, and UK and international visa and immigration processes. Partner with external providers and internal stakeholders to ensure compliant, efficient, and employee-centric mobility solutions.
- Build and optimise systems Evaluate, implement, and optimise HR systems and tools (HRIS, reporting, workflows) to drive efficiency, automation, and data-driven decision-making.
- Provide insight and direction Develop meaningful people analytics, KPIs, and reports that inform leadership decisions and enable proactive workforce planning.
- Design scalable solutions Create repeatable best practices, templates, and operating models that support a growing, distributed organisation.
- Develop people and capability Own and evolve our development and performance review processes, ensuring clear expectations, meaningful feedback, and strong performance as we scale.
Your Capabilities
You are a seasoned People Operations leader who combines strategic thinking with operational excellence. You are comfortable navigating complexity, influencing senior stakeholders and rolling up your sleeves when needed. You move fluidly between leader, advisor and executor, always grounded in data, empathy and sound judgement.
As a candidate, you should have:
- Deep expertise across core HR disciplines, with a strong grounding in UK employment law, policies, and compliance
- Practical experience owning UK employment compliance frameworks and immigration sponsorship obligations (e.g., Skilled Worker licence management)
- Experience operating in scaling organisations (e.g. 20→300, 20→400+)
- Solid experience in compensation strategy and benchmarking to ensure market competitiveness, internal equity and transparent pay frameworks.
- Proven experience leading and advising on complex employee relations matters, including disciplinary processes, grievances, performance management (PIPs), and terminations, with sound judgment and a strong compliance lens.
Nice to Have (If you don’t have it now you will after joining):
- Experience in consulting, construction, engineering, or similar project-based environments
- Experience supporting global mobility, international hires, or cross-border employment models (EORs, sponsorships, relocations) in fast-growing environments.
- Confident influencing senior stakeholders and presenting complex topics simply.
- Experience acting as a trusted advisor to founders or executive teams.
- Track record of building people functions that scale without losing humanity.
Laminar isn’t the place for you if any of the following is true:
- You want an easy, chilled-out role without much challenge
- You like to be the smartest person in the room
- You don’t like continuously receiving honest candid feedback
- You prefer to do your own thing rather than work with a team
At Laminar we value diverse experiences and perspectives, empowering each member to contribute their unique expertise towards our collective success, so if you don’t think you meet all the criteria but still are excited about this role we encourage you to apply anyways!
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Salary and Benefits
Standard Stuff
- Competitive salary dependent on location and capability
- Paid Annual Leave 25 days + statutory Bank Holidays
- Pension (Match contribution up to 7%)
- Private health insurance
- Discretionary bonus scheme for all team members
The Life-Changing Stuff
- Flexibility: Getting things done is what really matters, not what time of day you do it. That means you don’t have to ask permission for things like picking up your kids or going to the doctor, just keep your team in the loop if you think they will be affected.
- Grow your whole self: Our leaders are more like coaches and one of our main objectives is to give 5 years’ worth of learning and development for every 1 year with us. You have a coach, mentor, well-being therapist and a development-orientated environment: That’s literally what our vision is all about and the primary reason Laminar exists.
- Be surrounded by the best: We only hire and retain the very best people. You might be used to being the smartest in the room but that won’t be the case in Laminar. You will be surrounded by people you can learn from. We are 100% meritocratic so fast progression is the norm. You will be supported to excel in whichever areas you are most interested in! With Laminar, development is unbounded
- Long-term impact: We are focused on solving the biggest issues in construction project delivery in a way that can spread and outlast us
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Application
We get thousands of applications so please write us a letter as part of your application explaining:
- Why do you want to join us?
- If you joined, where do you think you could make the most impact and how?
We aren't a giant faceless corporation; we really care about the people who want to join our team so all applications will be read thoroughly by our key leaders.
In terms of application, we usually start with an intro call to tell you what we are all about in a casual conversation. That helps you to know us a bit better and tell us a bit about yourself.
