VP Talent and Organisational Capability

About VIRTUS

VIRTUS Data Centres is the UK’s fastest-growing data centre provider. We own, design, build, and operate some of the most energy-efficient, flexible, and secure data centres in Europe.

In 2023, we announced our expansion into continental Europe, starting with Berlin and Milan, with plans to grow further across the region.

At VIRTUS, we aim to be a positive force in the fourth industrial revolution—delivering innovative solutions while staying firmly rooted in our core values: Clarity & Quality, Accountability, Customer Commitment, Purposeful Innovation, and Capability & Growth.

Role Purpose

The VP Talent & Organisational Capability is responsible for building the organisational capability required to support the company’s growth, operational resilience and European expansion.

This role connects the full talent cycle in a more intentional and integrated way, ensuring the company has the skills, leadership depth, workforce plans, succession strength, career pathways and organisational structures needed to scale safely and effectively.

Working closely with the SVP People & Organisation, Executive Leadership Team, country leaders, People Partners and specialist People leads, the role will ensure that talent acquisition, talent development, leadership development, workforce planning, organisational design, succession, skills frameworks and change management operate as a connected capability system.

The role is fundamental to ensuring the organisation can grow without losing clarity, accountability, quality, culture, safety or operational discipline.

Key Responsibilities

Organisational Capability Strategy

• Develop and lead the organisational capability agenda in line with the company’s growth strategy.

• Translate business plans, site activation requirements and European expansion into clear talent, workforce and capability priorities.

• Identify the critical roles, skills, leadership requirements and organisational risks needed to support future growth.

• Build an integrated capability roadmap across talent, development, succession, workforce planning, organisational design and change.

• Provide the SVP People & Organisation and ELT with clear insight on organisational readiness, future capability needs and capability-related risk.

Talent Development

• Own the company’s approach to talent development, internal mobility and career growth.

• Design practical development pathways for key colleague groups, including technical, operational, engineering, construction, corporate and leadership populations.

• Ensure learning and development activity is aligned to business priorities, values, safety, customer delivery and operational excellence.

• Create clearer career pathways, role expectations and progression routes.

• Support a culture of continuous learning, feedback and high standards.

Leadership Development

• Build the leadership capability required for a growing, multi-site and multi-country organisation.

• Design leadership development frameworks and programmes for managers, senior leaders and future leaders.

• Strengthen leadership capability in clarity, accountability, coaching, communication, collaboration, decision-making, change and psychological safety.

• Equip managers to lead performance, development, probation, feedback, wellbeing, inclusion and colleague engagement effectively.

• Build leadership succession plans for future growth.

Workforce Planning

• Lead the strategic workforce planning framework across the business.

• Identify future workforce demand by role, skill, geography, function and timing.

• Partner with Finance, Operations, Design & Build, Commercial, country leaders and People Partners to create realistic workforce plans.

• Highlight workforce risks, including scarce skills, succession gaps, capacity constraints and build-versus-buy decisions.

• Ensure workforce plans are connected to talent acquisition, development, career pathways and succession.

Organisational Design and Change

• Partner with the SVP People & Organisation, ELT, senior leaders and People Partners on organisational design, operating model development and role clarity.

• Support scalable structures for multi-site, multi-country operations.

• Advise on spans, layers, accountabilities, interfaces and decision rights.

• Build the organisation’s change management capability.

• Support leaders to plan, communicate and implement change clearly and effectively.

• Ensure change is well sequenced, well governed and connected to business priorities.

Succession Planning and Skills Frameworks

• Design and lead succession planning for executive, senior leadership, technical, operational and other business-critical roles.

• Create practical talent review processes that identify readiness, potential, development needs and retention risks.

• Build skills and capability frameworks that define what the organisation needs now and in the future.

• Embed skills frameworks into hiring, onboarding, development, performance, succession and workforce planning.

• Use capability data to inform organisational risk and strategic workforce decisions.

Talent Acquisition Integration

• Provide strategic oversight of Talent Acquisition as part of the broader organisational capability agenda.

• Lead through and support the Group TA Lead, who retains day-to-day leadership of the TA function, hiring delivery and TA team performance.

• Ensure TA is effectively connected to and involved in workforce planning, succession planning, skills frameworks and future capability needs.

• Use talent market insight to inform capability planning, critical role pipelines and organisational risk.

• Support the continued alignment of TA priorities with business growth across the UK and Europe.

Leadership Expectations

The VP Talent & Organisational Capability will be expected to:

• Think strategically while staying close to operational reality.

• Build scalable systems/processes that connect talent, development, workforce planning, succession and organisational design.

• Bring structure, clarity and pace to complex organisational challenges.

• Work confidently with senior leaders and challenge constructively where needed.

• Use data, insight and judgement to identify future capability risks.

• Connect People activity directly to business performance, safety and growth.

• Partner effectively with People Partners, Talent Acquisition, Reward and People Operations.

• Lead and develop the Talent and Organisational Capability team.

• Role model the company’s values and contribute to a safe, inclusive and accountable culture.

Key Relationships

• SVP People & Organisation

• CEO and Executive Leadership Team

• Country Leaders

• Operations, Engineering, Construction and Commercial Leaders

• Finance

• People Partners

• Group TA Lead

• Reward

• People Operations

• External search, training and market intelligence partners

Experience and Capability

The successful candidate will bring:

• Senior experience across talent, organisational capability, leadership development, workforce planning or organisational development.

• Experience in a scaling, complex, technical, infrastructure, engineering, construction, energy, technology or operational environment.

• Strong understanding of strategic workforce planning, future skills and organisational readiness.

• Proven ability to connect talent acquisition, development, succession, skills and organisational design into an integrated capability agenda.

• Experience designing leadership development, succession and talent review processes.

• Strong organisational design and change management capability.

• Commercial judgement and the ability to connect People priorities to business outcomes.

• Confidence operating with senior executives and influencing across functions.

• Practical understanding of UK and European talent market considerations.

• Ability to build from scratch, improve existing approaches and create scalable systems.

Role Summary

The VP Talent & Organisational Capability is accountable for ensuring the company has the talent, skills, leadership, structure and change capability required to deliver its strategy.

This is a strategic build role for a scaling data centre business. It brings greater focus, integration and leadership to the full talent cycle, ensuring the organisation can grow with confidence across the UK and Europe.

The role does not replace specialist leadership within Talent Acquisition, Reward, People Operations or People Partnering. Instead, it connects these areas into a coherent organisational capability agenda that supports business performance, colleague growth and long-term resilience.

In line with VIRTUS’ Vetting Policy, the successful applicant must be willing to undergo a BS7858 screening process.

VIRTUS is an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to fight for equality, we work to ensure a fair and consistent interview process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.

We reserve the right to close this post for applications should sufficient applications be received.

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully

VIRTUS Data Centres does not accept unsolicited support from search firms for employment openings. CVs/resumes submitted by search firms to any VIRTUS employee without an active, written search agreement for a specified role will become the property of VIRTUS. No fees will be paid for candidates hired from agency submissions made without such an agreement. Existing agency partnerships must adhere to position-specific terms outlined in their agreements. Please refrain from calling or emailing regarding this matter.