Dan Bigland is Pax2pay’s Head of People – Dan has almost 15 years of experience within the Tech and Payment space, having driven talent acquisition, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, and leadership development at organisations such as Google, Amazon, and King.
Dan has a passion for fostering inclusive and high-performing work environments and has consistently demonstrated his ability to drive organisational success through strategic human resource management and innovative people practices.
His comprehensive understanding of the tech landscape, combined with his empathetic approach to leadership, has enabled him to build and nurture teams that not only excel in their roles but also embody the core values and mission of their organisations.
Dan is dedicated to creating a workplace where every employee feels valued, empowered, and inspired to contribute their best. His strategic vision and commitment to continuous improvement are driving forces behind our efforts to cultivate a culture of collaboration, innovation, and growth at Pax2pay.
Hi Dan, tell us about yourself!
I trained a long time ago as a Product Engineer, working on everything from locking systems to the Wembley Stadium. After a couple of years in the industry, I made the switch, as many do, to Talent Acquisition (TA). I’ve been lucky enough to work at some big names such as Google, King and Amazon, developing and growing their international engineering teams. I’ve also spent time running TA as a service business’, being on the leadership team of Talentful, and being the Founder of my own venture, Resourceful.
In total I’ve spent 14 years in Talent Acquisition and Strategic HR, planning, developing and growing businesses. I’ve always worked with and in technology and it’s so awesome to be part of Pax2Pay’s journey.
Can you describe your role and main responsibilities as the Head of People at Pax2pay?
As the Head of People at Pax2Pay, my primary responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of human resources, from recruitment and onboarding through people projects, employee engagement, and development. I work closely with our leadership team to align HR strategies with our business goals and help plan our international growth projects, ensuring we have the right people in the right place to drive our success. Additionally, I try to focus on building a positive company culture, whilst driving effective management and performance frameworks and implementing policies that support an effective work environment.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day for me involves a mix of strategic planning, hands-on HR and recruitment activities. I’m constantly in touch with the team, keeping a finger on the pulse of how everyone is doing – in my experience, ensuring people feel heard and supported is so key to a productive and happy work environment. I’m always available for chats about how we can make people more successful, happy and fulfilled in their role.
In a typical day, I also support the global leadership team, with the majority of my strategic planning and recruitment involving them to some extent. Pax2Pay is expanding across Europe, which is incredibly exciting but also requires a lot of research and planning – I’ve had to get really good at context-switching.
How do you ensure a positive and productive work environment for our employees?
We’re a really flexible, distributed business. We have 10 spoken languages across our three European hubs with people working remotely across 6 European countries – Communication and transparency is key.
As a leadership team, we really try to give our staff the tools, responsibility and autonomy to do their job well and in the way that works best for them. This means that staff manage their time and their workload, and our leaders support them in that. We try to enable open and transparent communication, this includes asking difficult questions about how as a management team we support our staff, then acting on the feedback.
We do our best to recognise and appreciate great work so that our staff feel valued. It’s awesome to be able to shout about our wins and celebrate achievements! Equally, when things go wrong (which is unavoidable in any business) we always ensure we reflect on what happened, take learning from it, and figure out a way forward together.
We’re really lucky because as a fast-growing, dynamic business, we can give our staff growth opportunities and always try to promote internally, as well as support development.
Can you share a recent initiative you’ve led and its impact on the company?
I’m fortunate to work on some incredibly diverse and impactful projects at Pax2pay. However, there are two that I’m particularly excited about at the moment:
- We’ve grown substantially over the last couple of years. As such, we’re developing and improving our people management frameworks which will simplify how we organise and manage the business, setting us up for growth
- As part of this growth, we’re planning to scale into new regions so we can better support our European-wide customer base. The planning and process management behind creating additional European hubs is incredibly exciting!
Both of these projects are really at the core of Pax2Pay’s future growth – I feel so lucky to be part of it.
What skills do you find most critical in your role, and how have you developed them?
Problem-solving and empathy are so crucial to my role. Being able to put myself in someone else’s shoes, and together figure out a way to move forward that works for everyone is so impactful.
Being able to foster an environment of trust is also a big part of this. People need to feel like they can come to me, and equally, I need to be able to trust and empower people to be successful. I’m a big believer that people work better together, I definitely couldn’t get any of the things I need to do over the line without being able to trust and rely on the people around me.
What skills do you look for in prospective employees?
There are of course specific functional skills that are essential for some roles, whether that be the ability to code for an Engineer or the understanding of customer acquisition and conversion for a Marketeer. This varies greatly from role to role and getting it right is a case of leveraging insight from the hiring managers and doing research within the market.
However, hiring for behaviours is much more company-specific, and typically isn’t something that can be taught. For us at Pax2pay, we look for driven, flexible, autonomous, and smart people in every seat.
How did you become involved in the People function?
Talent Acquisition and People Management is a space that has always fascinated me. After my inital stint in engineering, I decided to transition into recruitment. Recruitment gave me insight into good (and bad) interview practices and company culture. It taught me a lot about how people think, and what makes them tick.
From here I was well equipped to move into internal people management roles. As I progressed in my role, I became more and more interested in business strategy, and how businesses grow. I’ve always ensured I’m adding value, and supporting people and the broader business as much as possible.
What do you enjoy most about working in the FinTech industry, and why?
Working in the FinTech industry is exhilarating. I love that it’s so fast-paced and constantly evolving – it really keeps me on my toes.
It’s so rewarding to be a part of a business that’s building cutting-edge technology and driving innovation at every turn. It allows us to experiment, push boundaries, and redefine what’s possible in the financial landscape.
I also find huge satisfaction in collaborating with some of the brightest minds in the field. Together, we’re not just building a business; we’re shaping the future of finance, and that’s something that gets me out of bed each morning!
How do you stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in FinTech?
Industry publications such as Finextra, TechCrunch, Sifted, Business Insider etc. are a great place to start! Even just reading a couple of articles a day helps me keep up to speed with what’s going on.
Networking also can’t be underrated. Learning from people in the space who have first-hand experience of what you may be working on is unbelievably valuable. Luckily in People, I’m regularly speaking to people who are awesome at what they do – and like talking about it 🙂
What do you love most about working in the Travel Space?
Working in the travel space is exciting because it connects me to a global community and gives me the joy of exploration. I love contributing to a sector that enhances people’s travel experiences and makes their journeys smoother and more enjoyable. The intersection of travel and technology presents unique challenges and opportunities, which keeps the work stimulating and fulfilling.
What are your predictions for the FinTech/ Travel space in the next 5 years?
In the next five years, I anticipate significant advancements in the integration of FinTech solutions within the travel industry. We’ll likely see:
- More seamless and secure payment systems
- Personalised travel experiences driven by data analytics
- Increased adoption of blockchain technology for transparency and efficiency.
- Sustainability will also become a major focus, with innovations aimed at reducing the environmental impact of travel.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to get into HR/ Talent Acquisition?
If you want to break into Human Resources (HR) or Talent Acquisition (TA), you could start by thinking about what you study, fields like HR, business administration, or psychology can be a really great way to build foundational knowledge.
However, higher education isn’t the only route, in fact in my experience, lots of people kind of fall into the industry with no formal training, yet carve out incredible careers. If this is you, then try developing core skills, including communication, interpersonal abilities and problem-solving skills. Take all the opportunities open to you.
Networking is crucial, so engage on LinkedIn, and always try to build your personal brand. Your network can never be underrated – these are the people you can turn to for advice, mentoring, and to help fill roles.
Working at a recruitment agency is another really common way of joining the industry, there are a lot of agencies that are really open to hiring motivated junior recruiters.
Keep updated on industry trends, particularly in HR technologies and evolving workplace practices like remote work and diversity initiatives. The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be to handle any situation that comes your way.
Thanks, Dan!
If Pax2pay sounds like the place for you, you can check out our open roles below: