The Society of St James (SSJ) is a Hampshire‑based charity supporting people experiencing homelessness, many of whom are living with trauma, addiction or mental ill‑health.
For more than 50 years, the organisation has provided accommodation, recovery services and practical, day‑to‑day support to help people get back on their feet.
Following the appointment of a new Chief Executive, SSJ partnered with Peridot Partners to appoint an Executive Director of People & Culture. The role was created to strengthen how the organisation supports its workforce, particularly those delivering frontline homelessness services — and to make sure its people practices and culture were fit for the challenges ahead.
Context.
With a recently appointed Chief Executive in post, SSJ was setting a refreshed organisational strategy with three clear priorities: ending homelessness across Hampshire, strengthening its approach to people and culture, and putting the organisation on a sustainable footing for the long term.
Many staff at SSJ work in demanding frontline roles, supporting people with complex needs. That reality made it essential to think carefully about how staff were supported day-to-day. Everything from well-being and development to the consistency of leadership and management across services was critical to retaining staff, sustaining performance and maintaining the quality of support they provide.
SSJ recognised that these issues needed clear ownership at executive level. The organisation required senior leadership focused on how people were recruited, supported and developed, and on how culture and leadership practice showed up day‑to‑day across services. The Executive Director of People & Culture role was established to provide that leadership, ensuring SSJ had the people capability and organisational foundations needed to deliver its strategy in practice.
Brief.
We were asked to lead a search for a senior People & Culture leader who could operate confidently at executive level while remaining closely connected to the realities of frontline service delivery.
Working with the Chief Executive, we shaped a brief that reflected both where the organisation was heading and how it operated day-to-day. SSJ needed a leader who could set direction on people and culture, while also understanding the pressures faced by staff working directly with people experiencing homelessness. The role required someone comfortable moving between strategy and practice and able to earn trust across services.
The brief centred on building a strong, cohesive organisational culture; putting in place clear and effective performance and development approaches and strengthening leadership capability across the organisation. The Executive Director would also play a key role in advising the executive team and Board on workforce planning, organisational development and the people implications of the emerging strategy.
To reach the right field, the search combined sector‑specific and cross‑sector outreach, resulting in a diverse pool of candidates with different professional backgrounds. Several strong candidates were shortlisted for interview following a structured assessment against the agreed criteria.
Outcome.
SSJ appointed a candidate with substantial experience in senior people leadership and organisational development, combined with a practical understanding of how workforce strategy plays out in demanding operational environments. They brought the judgment and confidence needed to operate effectively within an executive team, while staying closely connected to the realities facing staff across the organisation.
The appointment strengthens SSJ’s capacity to lead change across people and culture, providing clear ownership of workforce strategy, along with leadership development and organisational practice. This, in turn, supports the organisation’s ability to deliver its new strategy and to sustain high‑quality services for people experiencing homelessness across Hampshire.
The search formed part of Peridot Partners’ wider work with SSJ as the organisation continues to develop its leadership and governance arrangements in support of its long‑term mission.
