People Manager, HR​/Recruitment

Experience - Ideally minimum 3 years' experience as Senior HR Advisor or above. Time spent within a hospitality business is preferred but not essential

Chaiyo Restaurants is seeking a People Manager to join their team. The successful candidate will be friendly, personable and passionate about all things food and drink. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced People Manager looking for a new role in an award-winning, critically acclaimed group.

We are a growing London restaurant group sharing the food and spirit of Thailand. Founded by chef Luke Farrell in partnership with JKS Restaurants, our restaurants each bring a different side of Thai dining to the city: the bold Southern Thai cooking of Plaza Khao Gaeng and the late-night energy of Bangkok’s Chinatown at Speedboat Bar. With YAI, our new restaurant, planned to open in early 2027, this is an exciting time to join the team.

The People Manager is responsible for overseeing people operations across Chaiyo sites. The role provides comprehensive HR support and strategic guidance to site managers and delivers impactful people initiatives. It bridges business strategy and people operations, so it needs both operational understanding and the ability to deliver empathetic, efficient HR services in line with company values. The role is pivotal in driving engagement, development and excellence across the Chaiyo sites.

Duties include:

• Be the first point of contact for all HR and L&D matters across the sites
• Directly support and coach the management team to continually improve the effectiveness of the People function
• Take a hands-on and visible approach to people matters across the sites
• Oversee and deliver monthly people metrics and dashboard data to the Head of Operations
• Advise and coach the sites on ER matters, interpreting and advising on employment law and escalating where required
• Communicate and promote benefits to operational teams
• Manage birthday and long service recognition, and track benefit uptake across sites
• Drive HR initiatives such as employee engagement, reward and recognition, wellbeing, ED&I and other relevant projects
• Take responsibility for 100% compliance with statutory HR requirements
• Support the maintenance of the Company’s skilled worker licence, including supporting managers when they identify the need to sponsor a worker
• Maintain awareness of, and ensure compliance with, relevant health and safety legislation
• Ensure all employees attend and receive site induction and onboarding
• Ensure all employees receive a probation review, followed by regular check-ins and appraisals
• Drive attendance at Learning & Development sessions
• Drive completion of career pathways across the sites
• Build and deliver training sessions relevant to the needs of the sites

The successful People Manager will have:

• At least three years’ HR experience, including time at Senior HR Advisor level or above, with a track record of managing ER cases independently (hospitality experience preferred but not essential)
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to connect with all levels of the business and motivate colleagues through creative and innovative employee experiences
• Confidence as an engaging communicator, comfortable leading training sessions for all levels of the business
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks, self-manage a workload and keep an eye for detail
• Excellent personal presentation and a warm, welcoming personality

At Chaiyo, we believe in a culture that truly backs our people. Hospitality is a people industry, and we're committed to rewarding the hard work and loyalty that makes us who we are.

We encourage you to bring your whole self to work and celebrate the skills and…