Emily Marshall

An agile, dynamic and forward‑thinking leader with extensive HR operations, IT and management experience across finance and retail sectors. Builds effective, collaborative relationships with stakeholders at all levels and provides tailored support throughout complex operational projects. Able to transition seamlessly between strategic and operational activity, constructively challenging established practices to align actions with legislation, best practice and commercial goals.

Commercial Change & Transformation

• Led the global change strategy for the implementation of Workday to 7,500+ colleagues across the UK, North America, ANZ, APAC and TMEA, enabling standardised HR processes and contributing to an estimated 20–30% reduction in manual HR administration effort across regions.
• Led the transition of UK payroll from Sage to Workday for 2,500+ employees, improving payroll accuracy and reducing payroll-related queries and rework by approximately 25–35%, while lowering long-term system and vendor costs.
• Designed scalable change toolkits (guides, e-learning and learning modules), accelerating adoption and reducing dependency on central support teams, contributing to faster time-to-value post-implementation.
• Co-managed a store closure programme impacting 1,400 employees, achieving 85% retention and avoiding significant recruitment and onboarding costs.
• Established a formal change forum, improving prioritisation of change activity and optimising HR Ops resource allocation, ensuring investment was focused on the highest value initiatives.

• Created a Global Policy Framework, reducing compliance risk and supporting consistent, commercially aligned decision-making across regions.
• Designed and launched global policies supporting employee engagement while mitigating legal and reputational risk exposure.
• Developed UK policy dashboards improving governance visibility.
• Designed global HR process taxonomy and employee lifecycle maps, removing duplication and supporting future automation and efficiency savings.
• Project Lead for introduction of a new Global Employee Screening Provider, strengthening risk controls while improving service value and commercial oversight.

• Trusted advisor to senior leaders, aligning people and change initiatives to commercial objectives and organisational priorities.
• Designed and delivered training programmes that improved manager and HR capability, reducing escalation rates and dependency on specialist teams.
• Provided pragmatic ER advice, clearly articulating commercial risk, cost exposure and impact of non-compliance to support informed decision-making.

Global Change, Governance & Compliance Lead – Howden Group Jun 24 – Present

MANAGING A TEAM OF 5 TO DELIVER THE HR STRATEGY ‘TO ACHIEVE SIMPLE, CONSISTENT AND AUTOMATED GLOBAL PROCESSES AND POLICIES, WITH VARIATIONS BY EXCEPTION TO MEET STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS.’

• Currently leading a Global Process Review, global alignment of processes and Process Improvements (manual and technological) supporting our Internal control Framework.
• Creation of a governance framework, automating processes to achieve maximum efficiency, adult and compliance; create toolkits to ensure a consistent approach is adopted organisation wide
• Manage a Global Process Review to establish the ‘As is’ for all processes globally and manage workshops with SMEs to agree an aligned ‘To be’ state; communicate with stakeholder groups to establish expectations, explain project stages and manage relationships from concept through to completion
• Manage HR process efficiencies including a HR continuous improvement manager, driving a culture of continuous improvement, e.g. part time employees moving from hours to days, Workday Refreshes twice yearly. 
• Leading a Global Policy Review, understanding current ‘as is’ and create global principles to ensure business minimum standards are met allowing for local and legalisations
• Undertaking a policy review to redesign global policies to address business goals and changing workforce trends to provide fairness, consistency and transparency aligning with the People First values. 
• Leading on the rollout of HR ERRICA framework, our Internal Controls Framework to become SOX compliant and managing attestations globally. 
• Facilitating both external and Internal audits to ensure the time-frames and requests are as agreed as to not overload our teams. Supporting and managing the remediation and recommendations.
• Working alongside Risk, owning the HR Risk Register, managing all breaches within HR, leading investigations for any data, IT and payroll breaches.
• Owning and reviewing Business Continuity for HR

LED ON ALL CHANGE PROJECTS FOR GROUP CHANGE PROJECTS GLOBALLY, MEETING STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES UNDER 4 KEY AREAS – PROCESS, POLICY, GOVERNANCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Provide leadership and management to a team of 7, including 4 change managers, global policy and process advisor, and Audit and governance advisor
• Lead on end-to-end deployment of Workday globally, enabling systems access for over 2500 colleagues; launched in Finland (Pilot), ANZ, APAC and TMEA using a schematic approach, launching modules in line with HR calendar
• Key modules include Core HRM, Absence Compensation, Performance Management, Workday Help, and Learning and Recruitment and Payroll
• Work closely with CEOs, developing change approaches and strategies which accounted for complexities including several integrated and non-integrated entities
• Lead the change for 5000 employees in UK retail team, integrating over 34 entities and North America, to launch Workday and Workday Payroll for 1st January 2024
• Designed a Change toolkit for a plug and play approach, covering a broad range of HR areas; provided drop in clinics for end users, including guides, videos and tailored e-learning programmes
• Lead on projects including the roll out of LinkedIn learning, Workday principles development, design of process taxonomy for all HR processes, Workday rollout, and policy dashboard development
• Review, design and launch policies, including Long Service Awards, comms and engagement plans, sickness policies, and probation reviews

A CHANGE MANAGEMENT ROLE USING A BROAD RANGE OF TOOLS, METHODOLOGIES AND SKILLS TO PLAN, IMPLEMENT AND SUSTAIN CHANGE

• Worked in partnership with unions, managers and leaders across the organisation to implement and embed change processes, which relate to all aspects of technology, people and organisational design
• Effectively managed the end to end change cycle, from inception through to implementation and review; provided communication with stakeholders throughout, adopting an agile and flexible approach
• Through data analysis and employee engagement, assessed the people impact organisational design has on culture, ways of working and process; acted as a trusted advisor to senior management
• Led Group Consultations Meetings with Union National Officer and Joint Consultative Committee for major OD project, preparing presentations, briefing packs, managing counterproposals and FAQs 
• Provided training, coaching and development to business leaders and managers to upskill them in all Employee Relations areas; provided ongoing support with the management of complex cases and concerns
• Managed TUPE projects from scope to end, engaging with stakeholders to ensure a smooth and compliant process
• Appointed as Wellbeing Diversity & Inclusion Champion for Group HR, as one of 12 reps out of 5000 colleagues; used the annual staff survey to influence and develop future plans to act on areas identified across the company
• Created and embedded an inclusive, diverse culture; empowered and encouraged employees opinion on areas including wellbeing, development and culture
• Attended regular D&I group meetings, championing a flexible, forward-thinking approach in line with values; communicated initiatives to employees at all levels
• Selected as 1 of 40 Digital Champions within the organisation; trialled digital and technological proposals, providing feedback and analysis which shaped future design and implementation
• Designed and delivered “getting ready for change” workshops for managers; rolled out to bakery teams in partnership with the Digital Teams to support the transition to automated bakery production
• Set up and managed SharePoint system and dashboard, wrote 100+ project management tools action logs, templates and documents, to create standardisation and consistency; introduced alerts for policy review dates

PARTNERED WITH HEAD OF STORES AND SENIOR TALENT PARTNERS TO SUPPORT WITH ALL HR ACTIVITY ACROSS 31 STORES

• Provided HR and ER policy, systems support and case management advice across all areas (investigations, disciplinary, grievance, redundancy, absence, performance, recruitment and selection)
• Responsible for escalated management procedures including appeals; adopted an early intervention approach to resolve issues internally, liaising with Legal Team and external agencies where appropriate
• Led on the end-to-end process relating to Beauty Transformation/Concessions within store launches; sourced and engaged Beauty Consultants, ensuring adherence to industry standards and training requirements

Previous Roles:

Store Manager TK Maxx, London Feb 2007- April 2014

• CIPD Level 5 Apprenticeship; Associate Member
• APMG Change Practitioner (Foundation Completed; Currently Studying)
• MSc Marketing – Leicester University
• BA Hons Marketing & Business Studies – Middlesex University