Katie McMain
Basingstoke
Summary
A results-driven professional with over 14 years of experience in Human Resources and Retail Management, with strong employee relations expertise in fast-paced, high-volume retail environments. Hands-on and commercially focused, with a track record of partnering closely with leaders across multi-site teams, coaching on performance and capability, and leading on complex cases and projects. Key achievements include leading the People Solutions (HR) team for UK & Ireland at Nike, supporting both shop floor and head office teams, and driving a high-performance culture aligned to people policies & goals.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work history
Lead, People Solutions EMEA (Corporate & Retail)
Nike
2024.01 - 2026.04
- Leading the HR team for Nike UK&I, responsible for supporting approx. 2,500 corporate & retail employees across multi-site teams.
- Lead complex employee relations cases end to end across the business, owning outcomes and providing practical guidance to leaders.
- Strong systems user with experience working with HRIS such as Workday & ServiceNow, supporting accurate people data and reporting.
- Partnering with different functions such as Legal and Loss Prevention to ensure compliance and manage risk.
- Ensuring updates to labor laws are communicated and implemented consistently through policy and leader guidance.
- Overseeing key People projects, including creation of a new employee handbook, writing policies, stretch and apprenticeship assignments, and creation of HR, ER & L&D trainings to improve consistency and capability.
- Provide key input on annual cycles including Annual Pay Reviews, Gender Pay Gap and Annual Review Process, using insight to support pragmatic recommendations.
- Strong experience supporting organisational change, including leading store closures, redundancy process and TUPE transfer.
- Chaired the women’s network for Nike UK and supported DE&I & disability networks, contributing to engagement and wellbeing.
Lead, People Solutions UK&I (Retail)
Nike
2023.01 - 2024.01
- As above for Retail employees only, providing high-touch, hands-on support to retail leaders in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
Human Resource Specialist (Retail)
Nike
2021.01 - 2023.01
- General support to the retail teams on HR policies and procedures, providing guidance and resolving employee relations cases including absence, performance, conduct and grievances.
- Project work and day to day administrative duties such as processing employee data & reports, supporting effective onboarding and day-to-day people operations.
Head Coach
Nike
2018.01 - 2021.01
- Dual site Retail manager, responsible for the management & development of leadership and sales teams, coaching performance and driving customer service and day to day operations.
Sales Manager (Retail)
Harvey Nichols
2015.01 - 2018.01
- Supported sales teams in enhancing shopfloor performance across menswear and womenswear departments.
- Collaborated with buying and allocation teams to facilitate informed commercial decisions.
- Assisted in managing profit and loss to maintain profitability of categories.
Divisional Manager (Selfridges London)
Kurt Geiger
2014.01 - 2015.01
- Head of the womenswear & Menswear teams responsible for the management and operations of key accounts that fell under the KG Brand within Selfridges London.
Retail Manager
Kurt Geiger
2013.01 - 2014.01
Department Manager
Harrods
2012.01 - 2013.01
Assistant Department Manager
Harvey Nichols
2010.01 - 2012.01
Skills
- Retail and customer engagement
- Employee relations management
- Performance coaching
- Organizational change management
- Onboarding and training development
- Stakeholder engagement
- HRIS expertise and data reporting
- Commercial awareness and problem-solving
- Recruitment support and workforce planning
Timeline
Lead, People Solutions EMEA (Corporate & Retail)
Nike
2024.01 - 2026.04
Lead, People Solutions UK&I (Retail)
Nike
2023.01 - 2024.01
Human Resource Specialist (Retail)
Nike
2021.01 - 2023.01
Head Coach
Nike
2018.01 - 2021.01
Sales Manager (Retail)
Harvey Nichols
2015.01 - 2018.01
Divisional Manager (Selfridges London)
Kurt Geiger
2014.01 - 2015.01
Retail Manager
Kurt Geiger
2013.01 - 2014.01
Department Manager
Harrods
2012.01 - 2013.01
Assistant Department Manager
Harvey Nichols
2010.01 - 2012.01