Hi, I'm Kerry! 👋🏼

I started in Cloudsmith in January 2024 as the first dedicated HR Manager and knew right away I had joined a very special party! Having worked in HR for 18+ years across technology, BPO and education, I had a solid idea of what 'good' looks like in a company culture, and Cloudsmith has it in abundance. I feel genuinely excited for anyone joining us - we have an awesome mix of ambitious goals and the amazing talent of colleagues to achieve them - if you're thinking of applying, just do it! 

What Does the Role of an HR Manager Look Like in Cloudsmith?

As for most HR practitioners, there are many hats to be worn daily, and in Cloudsmith they are always beautifully branded (see Lauren, Chief of Staff, for all things swag!). 

Some of my responsibilities include: 

🪛 Core HR. Compliance with policies, procedures, employee contracts and employment legislation, including equality and diversity, all sit in my remit and given we work across multiple jurisdictions (NI, GB, Ireland and the USA) this can be quite involved with the subtle (and not-so-subtle!) differences of law in each region. 

🤝 Recruitment and Onboarding. Did we mention we're hiring? And when I say hiring, I mean really hiring! Supporting departmental managers in securing their next superstar is central to my role, and this entails managing the ATS, coordinating external recruitment agencies, aligning with finance on headcount planning and processing offers through to induction and onboarding. 

💫 Business Partner. I link up on a weekly basis with senior managers across the business to discuss team plans, career progression, challenges and changes within their areas. It's a great space to build relationships and be a sounding board or offer advice and guidance for all employee related matters. Alongside requisite discussions of dogs/kids/food* etc of course (*delete as appropriate). 

💙 Employee Support. Cloudsmith is build on a bedrock of down-to-earth, personable and relatable human beings. Awesome ones. So to add to this crew, I am an extra ear, an extra place to turn for individual employees if they are struggling, at work or at home, and need a steer on how we as a company can help. I will never not have a cup of tea next to me and am always more than happy to share time with anyone needing to talk. 

🙌 A Grateful Member of the Operations Team. You know you're lucky when you land with a bunch of colleagues that you would gladly call friends. It doesn't always happen, that's ok, but when it does, it's marvellous! Our Operations Team is made up of such energetic, kind, funny and supportive individuals, I am one of the lucky ones. We often have group projects on the go so collaboration with this team to ensure the smooth running of the ops wheel is important. 

How Did You Find Cloudsmith?

I worked with two of our Finance folk (Clare and Michael) in my previous company and they let me know to contact them if I was ever planning to leave. Cloudsmith had got to the stage where a central HR bod was becoming more and more urgent so when that time came, I went through a number of conversations with key stakeholders across the business, and got the job! I knew from Clare and Michael that it was a good place to land, they were not wrong. 

Fun fact - on my way to my second interview with Alan, I managed to have a car accident and wrote off my husband's BMW (no one hurt!). Luckily, I was wearing waterproof mascara and had left home pretty early to get to the interview, so I still managed to make the meeting just a few minutes late. It was quite a day.  

And When I'm Not HR-ing?

I'm originally from Farnborough in Hampshire, though have lived in Northern Ireland for 20 years now (apparently according to my in-laws, you have to live here for 40 years before you're no longer considered a 'blow-in' 😜). I live just outside Hillsborough with my husband Owen, two kids (aged 7 and 5 at the time of writing) and a geriatric black labrador, Darcy. I work an 80% week whereby I don't work Monday and Tuesday afternoons, and I spend those with the kids negotiating homework/snacks/chores etc. 

I love good food, good music, good comedy, good audiobooks and lots and lots of tea.

To seal the deal... 

Maybe take a mo to watch our our Life at Cloudsmith video below to get a vibe of us and hear from a few of the team about the reality and what we're about... 

If you think this sounds like the kind of place you want to take the next step in your career, I am already excited for you! Just connect with us, apply to join, and we look forward to meeting you. 

If you still have questions, add me on LinkedIn and drop me a message.

Kerry

The collective Noun of Cloudsmith people: Cloudsmithers! (Class of 2024)