HR Manager

  • Jackie Wilsher Staff Service & Queensway Personnel
  • Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
  • Sep 19, 2026
Full time HR / Recruitment

Job Description

We are recruiting for a HR Manager (Maternity Cover) to global company who have their UK Head Office based here in Leighton Buzzard. This is a 12-month FTC role, however, could progress into future opportunities within the business.

Location: Leighton Buzzard, working 3-days in the office, with the flexibility to work 2-days remotely.

Contract Type: FTC maternity cover, 12-months. Could lead to future opportunities within the business.

Working Hours: Full time. Start time would be 08:30am, working 37.5 hours a week.

Salary: As per advert, however, could be discussed.

Overview:

  • The Human Resources Manager would act as the strategic HR business partner to leaders and employees across the UK, South East Asia & Europe. To provide focused HR guidance, support & partnership in line with company policies. The role is responsible for delivering/improving the people agenda across the region, including employee relations, talent acquisition, performance management, compensation & benefits, learning/development, employee engagement, organisational change, workforce planning & HR operations. The HR Manager ensures HR practices are legally compliant, consistent with the company & Corporate HR policies.

Duties:

  • Partners with senior leaders & line managers to support the business strategy, workforce planning & organisational capability.
  • Provides expert HR advice/guidance to managers on employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, absence, capability, performance, probation & other complex employee matters.
  • Partners with senior leaders on organisational design, restructuring, redundancy & change management activities.
  • Leads UK recruitment activity, partnering closely with hiring managers and recruitment agencies to manage vacancies from approval/sourcing through to offer and onboarding.
  • Manages the end-of-end employee lifecycle for the UK, including offers, employment contracts, new hire documentation, onboarding, contractual changes & leaver processes.
  • Manages UK payroll administration in close partnership with Payroll, ensuring employee changes and payroll inputs are accurate & processed to deadlines.
  • Leads/coordinates the annual performance & development cycle, including goal setting, development plans, mid-year & year-end reviews, & merit/bonus processes.
  • Supports talent/succession planning, identifying development needs, critical roles & opportunities.
  • Leads learning/development initiatives across the region, including apprenticeships, professional development & management capability programmes.
  • Manages the UK employee benefits offering, including the implementation and launch of new benefits, annual renewals, vendor relationships, employee communications & administration.
  • Supports compensation/reward activities, including salary benchmarking, job descriptions, job evaluation to ensure reward practices remain competitive, fair & aligned with business requirements.
  • Manages the HRIS for the region, ensuring employee data integrity, system functionality and effective HR processes.
  • Owns HR reporting/analysis, including monthly headcount, turnover, absence, recruitment, employee relations & other key people metrics.
  • Manages employee listening/engagement activities, including employee surveys, roundtables, communications & action planning.
  • Leads/coordinates employee engagement initiatives & Company events for the UK site.
  • Owns the review, development, implementation & ongoing maintenance of UK HR policies, procedures & Employee Handbook.
  • Ensures HR processes and practices across the assigned region comply with applicable local employment legislation/regulatory requirements.
  • Leads/supports HR projects & cross-functional initiatives.
  • Identifies opportunities to continuously improve HR processes, systems and services.

Requirements:

  • CIPD Level 5 qualification or above, or equivalent HR/professional experience.
  • Significant generalist HR experience, ideally within a manufacturing environment.
  • Strong working knowledge of UK employment law, with experience supporting employees across multiple countries, is highly desirable.
  • Demonstrable experience managing complex employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence & performance management.
  • Experience supporting organisational change, restructuring & redundancy processes.
  • Strong experience across recruitment, compensation/benefits, performance management, talent development & employee engagement.
  • Ability to build credible relationships & influence managers/senior leaders at all levels of the organisation.
  • Commercial minded, with the ability to translate business requirements into practical HR solutions.
  • Strong analytical skills with experience interpreting HR data, trends/metrics to support business decisions.
  • Excellent written/verbal communication, presentation, organisation & project management skills.
  • Strong knowledge of HRIS platforms & Microsoft Office; experience using Dayforce is preferred.
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities, work independently & exercise sound judgement when handling confidential and sensitive matters.