HR Manager/Business Partner

Elvet Recruitment are seeking a HR Manager to join one of the North East’s largest privately owned construction businesses, trading for more than than 50 years with an enviable reputation for delivering high quality projects.

A family-owned business with a workforce of more than 500 people, the company operates across the North East, Yorkshire, the Scottish Borders and beyond, delivering a diverse portfolio of projects and specialist services that help reshape the built environment.

People are central to the companies continued success. The business has a strong focus on developing its workforce, investing in apprenticeships, training and career development, while maintaining a culture built around its values of respect, commitment and involvement.

With continued growth, diversification and investment across the Group, the company is now looking to appoint an experienced HR Manager to lead and further develop its people function.

If you are an experienced HR professional looking for a broad, influential role where you can genuinely shape the people agenda of a growing business, this could be an excellent opportunity.

The Role

As HR Manager, you will lead the HR function and play an influential role within the wider management team, providing commercially focused, practical and proactive HR support across the Group.

This is a broad and hands-on role, supporting a diverse workforce operating across construction sites, as well as corporate and support functions.

You will be responsible for developing and implementing an effective HR strategy that supports continued growth, while ensuring the business has the people, capability, culture and processes required to deliver its operational and commercial objectives.

Leading a team of HR professionals, you will oversee the full HR remit and act as a trusted advisor to managers, directors and senior leadership. You will provide advice, support and constructive challenge on employee relations, performance, workforce planning, recruitment, development and organisational change.

A key part of the role will be strengthening the HR function as the business continues to grow — moving from a predominantly operational service towards a more proactive, commercially focused and data-led HR business partner.

You will also play an important role in maintaining and developing the companies strong reputation for employee development, apprenticeships, training and career progression.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement an HR strategy aligned with business objectives, values and continued growth.

• Lead, coach and develop the HR team, ensuring the function is effective, responsive and commercially focused.

• Provide trusted HR advice, guidance and constructive challenge to managers, directors and senior leadership.

• Manage complex employee relations matters including performance, absence, conduct, capability, grievances and disciplinary processes.

• Support workforce planning, recruitment and retention strategies across both operational and professional roles.

• Develop and improve recruitment and onboarding processes to ensure the comany continues to attract high-quality talent.

• Support the continued development of the companies apprenticeship, training and career-development programmes.

• Oversee effective performance-management processes and support a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

• Provide HR input into organisational change, restructuring and business-development initiatives.

• Ensure payroll processes are accurate, timely and effectively managed, working closely with Finance and relevant external providers.

• Oversee compensation, benefits and employee-related processes.

• Ensure HR policies, procedures and documentation remain compliant with UK employment legislation and aligned with best practice.

• Monitor key people metrics including turnover, absence, recruitment, retention, training and workforce trends.

• Identify opportunities to improve HR systems, processes and digitalisation.

• Support the continued development of employee engagement and communication initiatives.

• Contribute to the companies wider commitment to people, sustainability, social value and responsible employment practices.

• Lead and contribute to HR projects and initiatives that support the continued development of the company.

About You

You will be an experienced HR professional with a strong generalist background and the confidence to operate at both strategic and operational levels.

You will be comfortable working in a fast-paced, operational environment where priorities can change quickly and where HR needs to be visible, accessible and commercially focused.

Ideally, you will have:

• A degree or relevant professional qualification in HR, Business or a related discipline. CIPD qualification or equivalent professional experience.

• Significant UK generalist HR experience, ideally including responsibility for leading an HR function or team.

• Strong employee relations experience and confidence dealing with complex and sensitive people matters.

• Experience working within construction, civil engineering, manufacturing, engineering, logistics, infrastructure or another operationally focused environment would be advantageous.

• Experience supporting a workforce that includes both site-based/operational employees and office-based professional teams.

• Strong knowledge of UK employment legislation and HR best practice.

• Good understanding of payroll and employee benefits, with the ability to oversee effective processes and work closely with Finance.

• Experience using HR data and management information to identify trends and support business decisions.

• Strong recruitment, workforce planning and talent-development experience.

• An understanding of apprenticeship, training and development programmes would be advantageous.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the credibility to work effectively with employees, managers and senior leadership.

• The confidence to challenge constructively when required while maintaining strong working relationships.

• Strong organisational skills and the ability to balance strategic priorities with the demands of a busy operational business.

Remuneration

On offer is a salary of up to £60,000 (dependant on experience) plus attractive benefits package

For this position Elvet Recruitment Limited will be acting as an employment agency for permanent and temporary recruitment on behalf of our client.

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Please call Stephen Phillips at Elvet Recruitment to discuss this opportunity in more detail