HR & Recruitment Manager

Position: HR & Recruitment Manager
Location: Old Harlow

A growing organisation within a highly regulated, safety‑critical industry is seeking an experienced HR & Recruitment Manager to lead its people and talent function.

This role offers the opportunity to oversee recruitment strategy, strengthen HR foundations and shape the employee experience during a period of continued operational growth and transformation.

Role Overview The HR & Recruitment Manager will be responsible for driving effective recruitment, building workforce capability and ensuring robust, compliant HR processes across multiple sites. Operating in a fast‑paced environment, they will support managers with all aspects of people leadership, employee relations, operational staffing needs and continuous improvement in line with strict compliance and safety expectations.

This role will suit a confident HR professional with strong operational understanding, welcomes a stand alone opportunity, excellent relationship‑building skills and the ability to influence and coach managers at all levels.

Key Responsibilities Recruitment & Talent Acquisition Leadership
Lead the recruitment strategy across operational, technical, supervisory and head office roles.
Work closely with senior leaders to understand workforce planning needs, operational peaks and future resourcing requirements.
Develop clear and compliant job descriptions aligned with industry standards.
Design attraction strategies to build sustainable talent pipelines for specialist and hard‑to‑fill roles.
Manage screening, competency assessments and structured interview processes suited to safety‑critical roles.
Oversee right‑to‑work checks, contract administration, DBS requirements and other regulatory compliance.
Deliver recruitment analytics to drive improvements in time‑to‑hire, cost control and agency usage.

HR Management & Advisory
Serve as the main HR point of contact for managers across multiple sites.
Provide expert guidance on employee relations, conduct, performance, attendance and investigations.
Lead and support disciplinaries, grievances, capability cases and performance management.
Support managers with rota planning, shift patterns, TUPE (where relevant) and staffing for contract mobilisation.
Oversee probation reviews, appraisals and succession planning.
Advise on wellbeing, engagement, fatigue management and operational workforce initiatives.
Coach managers to ensure consistent, fair and legally compliant people management.

HR Operations, Compliance & Improvement
Maintain accurate HR data, personnel files, training records and certification logs in line with GDPR and audit requirements.
Lead all onboarding and induction activities, ensuring new starters receive essential compliance and safety training.
Keep HR policies up to date with current legislation and operational requirements.
Ensure HR systems and reporting support organisational compliance and contract performance.
Support workforce compliance programmes including licence checks, mandatory training and incident follow‑up documentation.

Stakeholder Engagement & Continuous Improvement
Build effective relationships with site teams, supervisors and senior leadership.
Identify people‑related risks and propose proactive solutions to support retention, attendance and engagement.
Contribute to organisational change projects including restructures, acquisitions and TUPE.
Champion initiatives to strengthen culture, leadership capability and employee engagement.
Support long‑term HR planning aligned with business growth and regulatory changes.

Skills & Experience Essential:

Strong generalist HR background with significant recruitment responsibility.
Solid working knowledge of UK employment law.
Experience supporting managers in a fast‑paced, operational or multi‑site environment.
Excellent interpersonal, coaching and organisational skills.
Professional, confidential and solutions‑focused approach.

Desirable:

Experience in operational, industrial or technical environments.
CIPD Level 5–7 or equivalent experience.
Familiarity with HRIS, ATS platforms and HR reporting.
Direct sourcing expertise.

Personal Attributes

Pragmatic, approachable, confident and commercially minded, with strong resilience and the ability to remain calm in a reactive environment. Demonstrates fairness, integrity and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively across sites.

What’s Offered
Competitive salary and benefits.
Influence over HR and recruitment strategy within a growing organisation.
Exposure to both strategic and operational HR.
Supportive leadership and opportunities for professional development.
Long‑term career potential within a sector focused on environmental impact and sustainability