Group Head of Talent

Are you a strategic talent leader ready to shape the future capability of a complex, international organisation? This is a rare opportunity to define and deliver a group-wide talent agenda at a pivotal moment for Arriva - building leadership strength, accelerating high-potential talent, and ensuring we have the skills and capability needed to deliver our long-term strategy.

Arriva is a leading European passenger transport partner, operating in 11 countries across the UK and Europe. With around 35,000 colleagues delivering more than 1.5 billion passenger journeys each year, we connect people and communities safely, reliably and sustainably. With strong roots dating back to 1938 and an ambitious growth and sustainability agenda, Arriva is focused on building a strong and sustainable future.

We are looking for a Group Head of Talent to join our Group Talent & Reward team on a full-time permanent basis. This is a unique opportunity to shape and lead Arriva Group’s talent strategy across Europe, ensuring we build the leadership capability, succession strength and talent pipelines needed to support our long-term growth.

The role will be responsible for defining and delivering a cohesive, forward-looking talent agenda across the organisation, including senior leadership development, succession planning, high-potential acceleration programmes and early careers. You will also lead the ongoing development and embedding of the Arriva Leadership Mindset, ensuring it is consistently applied across the employee lifecycle.

Working closely with the Executive Team, HR Directors and senior leaders across the business, the role holder will ensure talent initiatives are aligned to organisational priorities, impactful in delivery and supported by data and insight. This role offers a significant opportunity to influence at the highest levels and play a critical part in shaping the future capability and leadership of Arriva Group.

This role will be on a hybrid working basis, a minimum of 3 days per week in either our London (Lacon) or Sunderland (Doxford Park) office, with the remainder focused on where you can best deliver for your colleagues while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership Development & Talent Strategy

• Shape and deliver Arriva’s leadership development strategy, ensuring it builds the capabilities required for future growth.
• Partner with senior leaders to identify capability gaps and design targeted development interventions.
• Introduce modern, evidence-based approaches to leadership development.

Succession Planning & Talent Pipeline

• Lead the succession planning approach for critical roles across Europe.
• Build a transparent and data-led process for identifying and developing high-potential talent.
• Provide insight and recommendations to support workforce planning and mitigate succession risk.

High-Potential & Acceleration Programmes

• Design and deliver programmes that accelerate high-potential colleagues into leadership roles.
• Ensure programmes are inclusive, impactful and aligned to business strategy.
• Track progression and outcomes to ensure long-term value.

Competency Framework (Leadership Mindset)

• Lead the ongoing development and embedding of the Arriva Leadership Mindset.
• Ensure consistent application across recruitment, performance and development practices.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to align capabilities with future organisational needs.

Early Careers Leadership

• Provide strategic oversight of early careers programmes, including graduates and apprenticeships.
• Ensure pathways align to long-term talent and capability requirements.
• Support the development of a diverse and sustainable pipeline of future talent.

Stakeholder Engagement & Insight

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders on talent, leadership and organisational capability.
• Collaborate with HR teams to embed talent initiatives across all markets.
• Use data and insight to measure impact and inform decision-making.

What we’d like from you

We welcome applications from individuals who are passionate about developing talent and shaping organisational capability at scale. You will be someone who enjoys working strategically, influencing at senior levels and creating impactful talent solutions that support long-term business success.

Candidates will preferably:

• Have significant experience in talent management, leadership development or organisational development within a complex, multi-market environment.
• Have a strong track record of designing and delivering leadership and succession strategies.
• Possess excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build credibility at Executive level.
• Be experienced in using data and insight to drive decision-making and measure impact.
• Have experience leading or overseeing early careers or talent pipeline programmes.
• Demonstrate strong strategic thinking alongside the ability to translate strategy into practical delivery.

It would also be beneficial if candidates:

• Have experience working across multiple European markets or international organisations.
• Have knowledge of competency frameworks and leadership mindset models.
• Have a strong understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion principles within talent strategies.

Finally, we’re looking for candidates who align with Arriva’s values and are passionate about developing people, strengthening leadership capability and building a sustainable talent pipeline for the future.

The closing date for applications is midnight on Wednesday 10 June 2026. Arriva Group reserves the right to close this vacancy early.