HR Lead

As the HR Lead you’ll have what you need to kick‑butt

• A team that genuinely appreciates good HR (we know how rare that is)

• The opportunity to co‑design and implement culture‑building systems with the team

• A culture that values warmth, honesty, and collective care

• A London office where you’ll collaborate with teammates in person

• Colleagues who will celebrate your wins and listen when you need support

• A bookkeeper to help with the numbers

• The ability to grow a small HR team as we scale

• A movement full of volunteers across multiple campaigns who will benefit from your brilliance

Why you might want this job

• You’ll help transform our food system by shaping the culture of the people running world-changing campaigns

• You’ll be a steward of belonging, safety, and alignment

• Your work will be varied, meaningful, and deeply appreciated

• You’ll get to design systems that make people feel held, supported, and inspired

• You love a well‑structured process and a beautifully labelled folder

• You enjoy the challenge of building something that didn’t exist before

• You find joy in the small things — a tidy database, a clear contract, a volunteer who feels seen

• You want to grow your HR leadership skills in a place that actually cares about people

• You’re excited by environments that feel more like a movement startup than a traditional charity

Success in this role looks like

• A recruitment pipeline that feels smooth, fair, and values‑aligned

• Onboarding that makes people feel welcomed, prepared, and connected

• Offboarding that is dignified, warm, and well‑held

• Clear, accessible HR policies that reflect our culture

• Contracts and benefits that are well‑managed and up‑to‑date

• Volunteer‑facing teams feeling supported with HR‑adjacent processes

• Conflicts addressed early, kindly, and with care

• A team culture where people feel safe, respected, and able to do their best work

• HR systems that scale as we grow — without becoming cold or bureaucratic

• Documentation that is organised, readable, and actually used

• You feeling on top of things (most days)

How one might do poorly in this role

• Avoid difficult conversations

• Over‑complicate processes or create policies no one understands

• Fail to ask for help when overwhelmed

• Ignore the emotional realities of people doing high‑stakes work

• Be inconsistent or disorganised

• Err toward grumpiness, rigidity, or frustration

• Feel nervous or uncomfortable being in proximity to nonviolent civil disobedience, which is part of our ecosystem

• Forget that volunteers are also humans who need care

• Leave frictions unaddressed until they become problems

• Jump between HR systems without committing to one

• Treat HR like paperwork instead of culture‑building and relationship‑building

• Expect the pace or structure of a traditional NGO

Why you might not want this role

• You find fast‑paced environments stressful

• You prefer rigid structure over creative problem‑solving

• You want a traditional corporate or NGO HR role

• You need more money than we can pay

• You don’t want to work in London regularly

• You dislike giving or receiving feedback

• You want everything to be perfect before you act

We need you.

Across Animal Rising, Plant‑Based Universities, Plant‑Based Schools, and Communities Against Factory Farming, we’re building a movement with the ambition to transform our food system. We’ve generated global headlines, mobilised thousands of volunteers, and built a network of interconnected projects. Now we need HR systems that match our ambition.

As we scale, the HR function will build around you. You’ll help us maintain a grassroots vibe while creating the structure needed to keep our people safe, supported, and thriving — all within a movement that behaves far more like a fast‑growing startup than a traditional NGO.