People and Culture Manager

Company Description

Constructive Thinking is a people and technology led architectural practice specialising in the design and delivery of low energy, low carbon buildings designed around the people who use them and the communities they support. Established in Liverpool in 2002, we are a RIBA Chartered Practice with studios in Liverpool, London and Madrid, working across the UK and internationally.

We work across housing, hospitality, education, workspace and healthcare, combining sustainable design thinking with technical rigour and digital capability. Every project begins with a clear understanding of the building, its occupants and its context within the wider community. We use data and modelling to test options, make informed decisions early and deliver buildings that perform in use, not just on paper.

Alongside our project work, we are developing research and innovation that explores how data, technology and design can be applied at both building and portfolio scale to support better decision making and improved outcomes.

Sustainability underpins our work. We consider embodied carbon, lifecycle performance and material impact as standard, creating long term value for clients, end users and communities through reducing fuel poverty, and creating meaningful social impact through the built environment.

Our Values

People – we invest in our team through training, support and shared experience and in the clients and communities we serve by continued engagement throughout the architectural journey.

Purpose – all of our buildings are designed with the end user in mind to ensure they offer the best in both form and function, with a focus on sustainability and cradle to cradle lifecycle. 3.

Place – we are committed to supporting communities by building better environments through collaboration, engagement and enhanced social value.

People and Culture within our Company

Our culture has developed organically over many years from a small family-run Practice into the 40+ people strong company it is today. People are at the heart of our Practice. As a growing company, we have experienced the pressures that come with increased demand and complexity. In response to this, we are actively developing clearer workflows, simpler systems and data-led approaches to support how we work, creating a more sustainable pace for our staff and delivering solutions for our clients that rise above the rest.

As we continue to grow, we are becoming more intentional about how we support our people, develop talent and sustain creativity and high standards across the business. We want to be a place where people can build strong careers and contribute to meaningful work.

Why Join Us?

We are a studio built around people, purpose and place.

That means creating an environment where people are trusted, supported and encouraged to grow. We invest in our team through training, shared experience and exposure to a wide range of project types, giving people the opportunity to be curious and develop their skills while contributing to meaningful work.

It also means working on projects with a clear sense of purpose. From individual buildings to large scale retrofit programmes, our work is focused on improving how buildings perform and how they are experienced in use.

Our environment is collaborative and open. We work closely across disciplines and with our clients to test ideas, challenge assumptions and deliver work we are proud of.

As we continue to evolve, there are opportunities to be involved in research and innovation, including data driven design, digital workflows and new approaches to understanding buildings and portfolios. This work sits alongside our live projects and helps shape how we design and deliver.

Role Overview

This role sits at the centre of how the Practice evolves. You will shape and deliver a people approach that supports both the day-to-day experience of working here and the longer-term development of the Practice.

This includes:

• Strengthening a culture that is already positive, but not yet fully defined

• Supporting people to do their best work without becoming overwhelmed by it

• Creating clear, consistent structures for development, progression and performance

• Ensuring that systems and processes support the business without becoming heavy or restrictive

You will work closely with the senior team, acting as both a strategic partner and a practical enabler.

Why This Role Matters

This role will help shape how it feels to work here over the next phase of our growth.

It will influence:

• How people develop their careers

• How teams collaborate and perform

• How the practice sustains its culture as Constructive Thinking Studios and SITIO evolves across the next decade and beyond

Job Description

Job Title: People & Culture Manager

Location: Liverpool (with the opportunity for occasional travel to London and Madrid offices)

Full Time: 37.5 hours per week (Mon-Fri), 26 days holiday plus statutory days

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 pa, dependant on experience

Application Deadline: 12noon, Thursday 28th May

Interviews: June

Location: Liverpool

CV’s to: recruitment@constructivethinking.co.uk

What You Will Focus On

Implementing a forward-thinking People Strategy

You will lead the implementation of a People Strategy to support the next phase of the Practice’s growth. The strategy will be a practical, evolving framework that shapes how the business attracts, develops and supports its people.

You will:

• Translate the practice’s ambitions around growth, innovation and social impact into a clear and actionable people approach

• Align people priorities with business needs across Liverpool, London and Spain, ensuring consistency while allowing for local nuance

• Deliver the strategy to support both high performance and a sustainable pace of work, recognising the pressures of a growing practice

• Connect learning, development and career progression to the long-term success of the business and its people

• Ensure that systems, structures and processes enable good work, rather than slow it down

A key part of this role is ensuring that the People Strategy is visible in day-to-day decisions and experiences, not just defined at a strategic level.

Making our culture visible, intentional and sustainable

We have a strong, values-led way of working. It is not yet formally defined or consistently articulated.

You will:

• Work with the team to identify and define what good looks like

• Translate this into clear behaviours, expectations and ways of working

• Ensure this is reflected in how we hire, develop and support people

A key part of the role is helping the Practice maintain a people-first culture that still delivers high standards and accountability.

Supporting energy, wellbeing and sustainable performance

Like many Practices, we have experienced periods where the pace and weight of work has impacted how people feel.

You will:

• Introduce and support approaches that help people manage workload sustainably

• Strengthen wellbeing initiatives in a way that feels genuine and useful

• Support leaders to create environments where people feel motivated, not depleted

This is not about reducing ambition. It is about making high performance sustainable.

Building clear pathways for development and progression

We are committed to being a place where people can build strong, fulfilling careers in architecture and the wider built environment.

You will:

• Develop structured approaches to learning, development and progression

• Support professional development aligned with bodies such as ARB, RIBA and CIAT

• Strengthen line management, appraisal, feedback and career conversations

• Help create clarity around what progression looks like at different stages

This includes supporting our internal research and innovation work through SITIO, ensuring all staff can engage meaningfully in learning and development.

Embedding systems and processes that support staff and the business

As we grow, we are continuing to develop our policies, systems and ways of working.

You will:

• Review and refine HR processes to ensure they are clear, consistent and proportionate

• Support the implementation and effective use of HR systems

• Ensure compliance with UK employment law and best practice

• Keep processes practical and usable, avoiding unnecessary complexity

Leading core people operations

You will oversee the full employee lifecycle, working with the Quality Manager where appropriate, including:

• Recruitment and onboarding

• Employee relations and case management

• Performance management and reviews

• Training and development needs

• Wellbeing and health & safety support

You will act as a trusted point of contact for managers and staff, offering guidance that is both empathetic and pragmatic.

Supporting our ambition to achieve B Corp status

You will play a key role in aligning our people practices with B Corp standards, which it is our ambition to be, ensuring that this reflects how we genuinely operate as a business.

What We Are Looking For - Person Spec

Essential

Supportive and collaborative working style, able to combine structure with flexibility

Good working knowledge of Health and Safety issues within the business field

A practical understanding of UK employment law

Confidence in handling employee relations with fairness and clarity

Excellent communication skills – a confident communicator with the ability to build trust across all levels

Sound knowledge within the areas of staff development, career progression and wellbeing

Minimum 3 years’ experience within a HR Advisor / People Management role

Level 5 CIPD Qualification (or level 3 and prepared to work towards)

Desirable

A recognised coaching qualification

Experience of working in an Architectural Practice

How to Apply

Please submit your CV, and a short cover letter explaining why you would like to take up this role, to recruitment@constructivethinking.co.uk

Closing date: Thursday 28th May, 12 noon

Interviews will take place in June, dates tbc