Eloise Dema
London
Summary
People-focused HR Business Partner with experience across fast-paced, high-growth startups and at present a large retail environment. Demonstrates strong expertise in complex employee relations, organisational change and HR transformation, with a proven track record of leveraging data-driven insights to enhance engagement, retention and operational effectiveness. Known for an empathetic and commerically focused approach and the ability to navigate complex people challenges while delivering against business priorities.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
Work history
People Business Partner
Superdrug
2024.02 - 2026.06
- Led and oversaw complex Head Office ER cases end-to-end, partnering with senior and Exec-level stakeholders to deliver commercially sound, risk-aware and fair outcomes.
- Redesigned the exit survey process, transitioning from a basic, non-reportable format to a structured, data-driven model by introducing an Excel-based tracking system linked to an attrition dashboard, enabling meaningful trend analysis and informed retention strategies.
- Earned “gold-standard” stakeholder feedback and awarded Superdrug’s Executive ‘Hero of the Year’ for outstanding performance.
- Established and implemented the organisation’s first further study Finance scheme, recognising and supporting apprentices through structured progression and pay alignment, significantly strengthening retention of qualified talent and building long-term capability within the function.
- Anticipated and proactively mitigated an increase in recorded absence levels following the implementation of a new HR system by designing and delivering an absence management training programme, equipping line managers to confidently monitor, manage and reduce absence across teams.
HR Business Partner
Getir
London
2023.03 - 2023.11
- Managed large-scale redundancy and TUPE processes for 200+ employees, providing strategic guidance to leaders while maintaining employee engagement, clear communication and a strong focus on employee experience.
- Partnered with senior leaders across global and local functions to streamline HR and operational processes following a business merger, aligning ways of working and embedding scalable, consistent practices across newly integrated teams.
- Supported the integration of warehouse and operational teams post-merger, implementing targeted retention initiatives that stabilised employee turnover and improved workforce continuity during a period of change.
- Designed and delivered targeted management training to support leaders in navigating complex people matters, strengthening capability in handling sensitive situations with empathy and consistency.
- Led the end-to-end HRIS and payroll migration during a period of organisational change, ensuring data accuracy across large employee populations and minimising business disruption during transition.
People Partner
Gorillas (Acquired by Getir)
London
2021.12 - 2023.03
- Provided hands-on, on-site HR partnering and coaching to managers across operations, enabling real-time decision-making on ER and operational challenges in a high-growth, fast-paced environment.
- Designed and delivered an Employee Relations training programme for 40+ managers within a fast-scaling startup environment, embedding consistent ER practices during a period of rapid organisational growth and achieving 100% positive feedback.
- Partnered with legal teams on complex grievances and ACAS cases, identifying trends in mental health-related cases to inform proactive interventions and mitigate risk.
- Introduced mental health awareness training and enhanced offboarding processes to address workforce trends, supporting employee experience and retention during critical growth phase.
- Led a full HRIS audit during a period of hypergrowth, cleansing 100+ inactive records and optimising system accuracy, increasing hiring capacity by 10% to support rapid scaling.
Expansion Manager – People Operations
Gorillas
London
2021.02 - 2021.12
- Directed high-volume end-to-end recruitment campaigns during hypergrowth, hiring 600+ employees to support rapid expansion and consistently achieving quality and time-to-hire targets.
- Led a team of 5 to deliver rapid market expansion, successfully launching 35 dark stores within a 6-month period in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment, ensuring operational readiness and consistency at scale.
- Designed and implemented training and progression frameworks that established clear development pathways, increasing internal promotions and enhancing leadership pipelines across new sites.
- Developed absence tracking and reporting tools that provided data-driven insights, enabling strategies that reduced absenteeism and generated cost efficiencies across the operational workforce.
Community Lead
WeWork
London
2018.09 - 2021.08
Education
BA - French and Spanish Languages
Manchester Metropolitan University
ManchesterSkills
- HR Systems (Workable, BambooHR, Oracle, Pulse)
- Data Analysis (Excel, Google Sheets)
- Project Tools (Asana, Trello)
- CRM & Support Tools (Salesforce, Zendesk)
- Collaboration Tools (Slack, Teams)
- UK employment law
Websites
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
People Business Partner
Superdrug
2024.02 - 2026.06
HR Business Partner
Getir
2023.03 - 2023.11
People Partner
Gorillas (Acquired by Getir)
2021.12 - 2023.03
Expansion Manager – People Operations
Gorillas
2021.02 - 2021.12
Community Lead
WeWork
2018.09 - 2021.08
BA - French and Spanish Languages
Manchester Metropolitan University