Sue Whitaker

Expertise

Summary

Hi I'm Sue!

I have worked in HR for over 20 years, specialising in learning and development, training and as a qualified mental health first aider. 

I use the knowledge and tools, I learned from the corporate world, along with my experience and passion working with nature and animals.  This provides a unique opportunity for individuals and businesses to reflect, learn and grow, leading to lasting and transformative change. 

Whether you’re an individual needing support or a business aiming to improve the skills of their people, my coaching, training, and consultancy services are designed to help you find the right path and achieve your goals. 

I am passionate about offering practical support, expert advice, and tailored solutions to guide people down the right path and to empower them to grow and succeed!

Experience

• Blackstar Alchemy

  Founder & Director

  1 - 5 Employees 2025 - Current

  

• Central Parking System

  HR Co-ordinator

  101 - 500 Employees 2004 - 2007

  Initially, I worked in a dual role covering reception as well as providing HR Administration support in general contracts, changes to terms and conditions of employment. The role developed into sole HR support and my remit extended to supporting the HR Manager with employee relations cases up to employment tribunal level and recruitment from front line to managerial level. Providing support to other functions such as Learning and Development and TUPE when acquiring Council contracts.

• Annodata

  HR Officer

  101 - 500 Employees 2007 - 2008

  I worked as part of a two person team for a small family-run business, supporting over 1,200 employees over 3 sites in all HR matters including employee relations, recruitment, induction, contracts, training, remuneration and payroll.

• Inchcape Retail

  HR Business Partner

  101 - 500 Employees 2008 - 2015

  I was employed by the Company initially as a telephone based HR Advisor giving general employee relations advice to the 120 Retail Centres nationwide across the UK.

   

  This role developed into a field based role in November 2009 and I became responsible for the geographical area in the South East which included 36 Retail Centres. My remit covered all levels of employee relations including disciplinaries, grievances, short and long term absence, redundancies from front line up to senior management.

   

  From 2012, I was asked to take on additional responsibilities for support functions within the business such as our Fleet Services which involved one office with over 200 employees and later our internal Contact Centre function which involved multi-site responsibility of 5 sites and 250 employees.

   

  My remit also extended to representing the HR team on our Policies and Procedures Steering Group for the UK, being responsible for proposing revisions, amendments and keeping our Policies up to date and compliant with UK Employment Law.

   

  Having been with the business for over 4 years in an Advisor role, I continued to excel at that level and was given the opportunity to take a developmental opportunity as HR Business Partner initially for 3 months within the Toyota/Lexus Division as a secondment and then achieved a permanent HR Business Partner position in February 2014 for the Cooper MINI Division, being responsible for 15 Retail Centres and over 255 employees across the UK nationwide.

   

  Key responsibilities included, designing and implementing a people strategy for the Division which focuses on 4 key areas of remuneration, learning and development, reward and recognition, recruitment and employee engagement.

• Adecco Group

  Engagement Manager

  2016 - 2018

  The role involved acting as a partner for two Senior Vice Presidents within our Professional Staffing division with responsibility for multiple IT and Engineering Brands.
  
  Responsibility includes the translation and delivery of Group HR strategy to align with the Business operational strategy and the business needs and to drive effective performance.

   

  This is through the use of a variety of HR metrics, providing intelligence back to the wider HR function, identifying and disseminating best practice. Collaborating with functions within HR to identify, scope, design and deliver strategic projects and initiatives focusing on leadership development, talent management, retention and employee engagement.

   

  Later in my tenure I took up the role of Engagement Manager, which involved supporting all of the brands within the Adecco Group across UK&I on their Engagement strategies in alignment with the Adecco Group's mission, values and strategic priorities.

   

  The main focus is to support the UK&I business with their employee engagement survey process to include Great Place to Work, survey participation and other associated activities including data analysis, presentation and action planning. In addition, to provide solutions and initiatives to help increase the engagement and retention of the colleagues within the group.

   

  
  Development strategies that align colleagues to Adecco Group’s mission, values and strategic goals. The role supported processes such as: performance management, learning, employee engagement, career development and succession planning. The role allowed for advancing and increasing employee engagement by inspiring colleagues to support and empower each other. It was important to establish and lead best practices to provide a colleague-orientated, high performance culture that emphasizes quality, productivity and teamwork through the administration and strategy of the Great Place to Work Survey and any other engagement assessments.

• Gate Group

  Training, Talent & Engagement Manager

  101 - 500 Employees 2018 - 2022

  The role involved collaboratively implementing the effective development and delivery of diverse engagement and talent programmes across UK& I business. This included; communication, training and development programmes, on-boarding and succession planning to support organisational and individual capability. Also involved in leading various global and UK&I projects and engaging individuals and teams to deliver results.

• Bell Integration

  Talent & Engagement Manager

  101 - 500 Employees 2022 - 2024

  Talent Development by designing and implementing a global academy space for all learning activities along with consistent processes and procedures as to how employees and managers book and approve training. The focus for training was limited to IT Certification such as Prince2 and ITLM, I worked with existing training providers to streamline the process.

   

  In addition, I supported developmental training which included Leadership & Management training in three tiers from introduction to advanced levels. I also worked with internal stakeholders to put together guidance for Work Experience, Coaching and Mentoring, Career progression and development as well as supporting an update on the Technical Career Framework and pathing.

   

  I worked with new and existing training providers to introduce Technical and non-Technical Apprenticeships into Bell, to support not only upskilling of existing employees but also to bring in new talent into the IT industry. In the first year, the utilization of the levy was at 56%, which included a Leadership Academy and an internal cohort. I worked with STEM Women and the Tech Talent Charter to promote bringing Women into Technology. I put together a Graduate program and advice on how to support industrial placements, working with Portsmouth UTC with a view to corporately sponsoring a student going through their T Levels.

   

  Employee Engagement I supported the HR Director and Executive team to drive the people strategy forward in the areas, being a part of the Mental Health First Aider and DEI taskforce. Driving the corporate relationship with the new charity partner, Family Action to enable employees to support through Give As You Earn (GAYE), sponsorship matches, for fundraising events.

   

  In addition to this, working on a number of continuous improvement projects for existing areas such as employee onboarding and induction, flexible and hybrid working, reward and recognition and corporate benefits and initiatives.

• Career Break

  N/A

  1 - 5 Employees 2024 - 2024

  After several years in a full-time role, I decided to take a career break to recharge and consider my next steps. This break allowed me to reflect on my skills and passions, ultimately leading me to pursue a career as an independent consultant.

Education History

• Visual & Performing Arts

  University of Hertfordshire

  1997 - 2000

Qualifications

Clubs and Associations

Interests and Hobbies

Email Sue Whitaker