HR Manager
Salary: Depending on experience
Reporting to: Head of Operations
Location: Bilston or Enfield office. This is an office-based role with occasional travel to other depots.
Key responsibilities
HR foundations and processes
- HR improvement: Review existing arrangements, identify gaps and deliver a practical improvement plan, prioritising the areas that need the most attention.
- Contracts and employee records: Ensure all employees have appropriate, up-to-date contracts and maintain accurate, confidential personnel records.
- Policies and procedures: Develop clear, practical processes and templates that managers can apply consistently across the business.
Recruitment and employee support
- Recruitment and onboarding: Support recruitment and improve the new starter experience, including pre-employment checks, induction, probation reviews and timely completion of documentation.
- Absence management: Establish consistent processes for absence reporting, return-to-work discussions and follow-up, helping managers address concerns fairly and promptly.
- Employee relations: Support disciplinary, grievance, capability and performance matters, ensuring thorough preparation, documentation and follow-through.
- Employee support: Be an approachable, professional point of contact, handling concerns with discretion and sound judgement.
Manager guidance and depot relationships
- Manager guidance: Provide practical advice and coaching so managers can handle everyday people matters confidently and recognise when further support is needed.
- Specialist support: Work with Peninsula on employment advice and complex or sensitive cases, applying its guidance appropriately within the business.
- Consistency across depots: Build strong relationships with depot managers and employees through regular contact and occasional visits, understanding local needs and embedding improvements.
HR administration and reporting
Coordinate employee changes with payroll and maintain useful reporting on absence, turnover, probation reviews and outstanding actions.
About you
Experience and qualifications
You'll bring practical generalist HR experience, including employee relations casework and advising managers. You should understand UK employment practices and know when to seek specialist advice.
You'll have CIPD qualifications alongside relevant practical experience.
Experience of improving HR processes would be valuable. A background in a multi-site business, particularly in distribution, warehousing, transport or a similar operational environment, would be helpful but is not essential.
Personal qualities
- Proactive and energetic: You spot what needs doing, take ownership and keep things moving.
- Reliable and diligent: You follow through, maintain accurate records and ensure important details are not missed.
- Calm and composed: You handle sensitive situations professionally and remain measured under pressure.
- Confident and approachable: You build trust, communicate clearly and challenge constructively when needed.
- Practical and organised: You're comfortable handling day-to-day administration as well as designing improvements, and can prioritise competing demands.
- Ambitious to develop: You want to broaden your experience, take responsibility and see your work make a lasting difference.
Why join us?
This is an opportunity to shape the HR function with ownership and support. You'll work closely with operational leaders, introduce practical, visible improvements and build valuable experience across the full HR remit.
We want someone who will get to know the business, take pride in raising standards and help us build a dependable HR function for the long term.
Fore more information regarding this role, please contact Michelle Ings.
HRGO Recruitment East London office
DDI 01708 251 797
Office SB 01708 220023
CV directly to michelle.ings@hrgo.co.uk
