Expert HR Recruitment – Your Partner in Finding Top Talent

Our mission at HR Heads is to deliver human resources recruitment as a professional service through our experienced team of HR recruitment specialists.

Our Story

Founded in 2009 by Jen Gaster, the business delivers recruitment that puts relationships first. 

With offices in Winchester, Southampton and London, we are part of the Heads Resourcing Group with sister brands Procurement Heads and Executive Heads.

About HR Heads

What are some of the key milestones for HR Heads?

Probably the key milestones are going through the years that we’ve worked, taking it from me establishing it as a one man band to becoming a business with offices in Winchester and now Southampton and London.

In terms of key milestones, that’s going to be repeat business with clients, getting to certain fee levels within the organisation and building the team and fundamentally having now a huge breadth of offering in terms of the products and suite of services that we can bring to the market.

What are the benefits of using an HR recruitment agency?

I think you’ve got a range of recruitment businesses that you can work with and you’ll have those that are generalists and then you’ll have those which are specialists.

So at HR Heads, we firmly sit in that niche, specialist providers and we do operate at a certain level and that’s a qualified and experienced HR professional in the broadest sense of the discipline that we would specialise in recruiting.

So the benefits to those that choose to partner with us are fundamentally having the expertise to have a network that is passive, not just active.

And what I mean by that is an active audience will respond to an advert.

They are actively job seeking.

But most of the talent we actually place into a business is that which isn’t actively looking.

They’re too busy, they’re in a current role and fundamentally it takes us to know them, to know what kind of opportunity would be really attractive for them to fundamentally engage with us and allow us to show them that there are those opportunities out there that they might want to consider within the business.

How is the HR Heads team made up?

We are quite a small team, but we’re very niche in the way that we operate.

So we fundamentally have myself and Rosie Jenkins and we specialise in doing that senior level recruitment predominantly on a permanent basis and predominantly across the UK, although both of us have operated with organisations who have sites in Europe and internationally and the US.

So this year alone we’ve done three roles, for example, based in the US.

We are then supported by an associate level and those individuals support us with our candidate management side of things.

They ensure our communications are consistent and key and that we remain up to date with that passive network to be able to continually offer the best talent to the market.

What industries does HR Heads recruit into?

The whole of the Heads Resourcing Group follows a five practice model fundamentally.

So we will recruit inch wide mile deep within those practices.

And predominantly they are the Consumer sector.

So anything you and I buy as consumers, we have the Industrial sector, so think manufacturing, engineering, build, construction, that kind of sector and industry specialism.

We then have Financial & Professional Services, incorporating the financial sector, but also legal and management consultancies and we have Pharmaceutical & Life Science, so everything in that R and D space that you might consider and then not least at all the Public Sector and all of its breadth there across education and universities, through to local government, central government and housing.

What does the future of HR look like and what trends are you seeing?

The future of HR is always unknown.
There’s no crystal ball, but what I will say is people remain at the heart of organisations and over the last three years, we’ve seen the way we have to engage with those people change considerably, and that is not going away.
So one of the biggest challenges that HR professionals are talking about consistently is how to maintain engagement with a remote or hybrid workforce.

How do you build that sense of culture?

How do you drive the engagement?

And how do you get people participating and having that real sense of belonging?
I think that’s a challenge that won’t go away anytime soon.

In terms of the trends we’ll see within HR, it comes from that.

So the roles we’re going to see being in more demand will be things like Learning & Development, as people look to really invest in their people and human resource, and how do we get more out of less?

How do we enable and facilitate people being the best they can be wherever they’re working?

So L and D is not going away, equally, I think we’re going to see reward, and reward per se is broadening.
So we talk about reward and people think of compensation and benefits, but we’re equally seeing reward now, encompassing, wellbeing, engagement, ED&I, some of these will be separate, some of them will be grouped within reward as a bigger picture.

So actually getting people really valued, harnessing your value proposition to make sure you’re an employer of choice.
These are the things which I think for the next 12, 18, 24 months, the HR department has to be exceptional at.

How can people looking to hire HR professionals, or HR candidates, get in contact with HR Heads?

Well, the one thing I would say is, please don’t be afraid to pick up the phone.
We are not just about hiring someone for your job, we’re about giving advice without obligation.

So for me, that trusted advisor role, that ability to just discuss, is something I’m always open to.

There are a number of ways of getting hold of us.

Our switchboard is 01962 432001, it comes straight through to myself or Rosie.

Equally, you can send us an email on our speaktous@hrheads.co.uk email address.

You can find me on LinkedIn and drop me a message there and I’ll be as responsive as I possibly can to coming back to you and just engaging in whatever the question might be, without any obligation whatsoever.

Our Team

The team has a combined experience of more than 30 years in HR recruitment, enabling deep and longstanding relationships with leading HR teams across the UK.

Our quality-driven approach sees us share expertise to solve complex hiring challenges, so people choose to work with us again and again.

You can read more about our team by visiting the Meet the Team section of our website.

Our Services

We consult HR and other business leaders on their recruitment strategy for today and the longer term.

This approach enables us to deliver successful permanent and interim HR recruitment campaigns for leading organisations across the United Kingdom and Europe.

As an experienced team of HR recruiters, we have expertise in the employment market and a deep understanding of the skills and experience, cultural fit, and qualifications required for individual HR roles.

We use this knowledge to level up your ability to hire great people, help you find the work you’ll love and offer valuable advice and feedback ensuring the process is fair, efficient and effective.

You can learn more about our services by clicking here.

If you are a candidate looking for your next opportunity, you can view all of the live HR jobs we are currently recruiting here.

If you are looking to recruit an HR professional, you can call the team directly on 01962 432001 or complete the following form and one of the team will be in touch for a no-obligation conversation about how HR Heads can support your talent needs.

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Our Values

Rewarding Relationships

For us, it’s personal.

HR is all about your people, so recruitment into this function is always personal. 

Relationships are pivotal to our existence and we place great value on their development. We are here to do more than connect people to jobs, we are your trusted advisors.

We encourage collaboration through our unique referral scheme ‘The Heads Up’ and are driven by a desire to build deep long-standing partnerships.

Our goal is to act as an ambassador for the teams and individuals we support.

Exceeding Expectations

More than just an HR recruitment company, we engage with leaders to deliver the unexpected when it comes to sourcing talent.

Going beyond ‘filling the role’, we advise, challenge, champion and are innovative in the value-add solutions we provide.

Doing the Right Thing

Doing the right thing is not difficult.

Knowing what the right thing is, that’s where we come in.

Everyone has a responsibility for the choices they make. We pledge to lead the way by championing Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and Sustainability and we are proud to partner with Macmillan Cancer Support.


Our Clients

We have successfully recruited senior HR professionals on a permanent and interim basis for a vast array of leading organisations across the Consumer, Financial & Professional Services, Industrial, Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences and Public Sectors.

Case Study

A US-based business was launching its international headquarters in Hampshire and required an internationally facing HR Business Partner to provide support to that newly created client population and enable the growth of the business across the EMEA region.

With no physical office during the initial stages and a conceptual role with a true ‘blank page’ remit, this represented the first hire for the new international HQ with the brief to recruit and build the leadership team across the EMEA region.

There were tight timeframes with a client who had limited availability to conduct the process.

Despite the company’s strong brand and US presence, they were little known in the UK or EMEA regions other than within niche medical circles.

HR Heads were retained to conduct the search and utilised stringent project plans with timescales that were established and met.

A bespoke candidate briefing pack was created to enhance brand awareness and our team of HR recruiters undertook a strategic deep dive talent mapping across medical devices/pharma industries to attract high-calibre individuals.

We explored both our passive and active networks quickly attracting several ideal candidates and placing them successfully, further strengthening our partnership with this great brand.


Testimonials

We are proud of our reputation.

Here are just a few of the testimonials we have received from clients and candidates we have supported.

“I would always turn to HR Heads when looking to recruit for talented, commercially focused HR professionals. Why? Well, they go that step further to challenge your thinking and truly get ‘under the skin’ of what you are seeking to find.” – Group HR Director

“HR Heads recently recruited our Head of HR; all the candidates nailed our requirements and exceeded our expectations. Their advice was surgically precise and ensured that none of our time was wasted.” – CEO

“HR Heads are one of the most professional recruiters I have worked with.  They kept me in the loop the whole way through the process and gave me plenty of information to go on. I would highly recommend working with them.” – HR Business Partner

You can read more of our testimonials by clicking here.


Careers

To achieve our ambitious growth plans, we are looking to hire Trainee Recruiters and experienced Recruitment Consultants for the team.

If you are looking for a rewarding career or are considering your next move in recruitment, we would love to hear from you.

To find out more about what a career at HR Heads might look like for you, visit our hiring page or email us for an informal discussion via speaktous@hrheads.co.uk


Contact Us

To get in contact with HR Heads, you can call us now on 01962 432001, email the team via speaktous@hrheads.co.uk or fill out the form below.