HR Generalist - Interim

Do you want an HR role where you're the right hand to an HR lead who'll trust you with real casework from the first week? If you are immediately available and ready to get stuck in, then this opportunity could be perfectly timed. 

Our client is an established manufacturing site near Workington, part of a global business, with around 200 people on site. This is a newly created role to work alongside the HR lead to share the load across a busy, long-serving and very hands-on workforce.

It's a six-month interim opportunity through Foxgroves Recruitment. The client fully expects the role to extend to 9 months and become permanent although at this stage is not guaranteed. 

The workforce is loyal and long-serving, and many team leaders have come up from the shop floor rather than through formal management training. It can be full on, with the interpersonal ups and downs you'd expect in a close-knit factory. The approach here is practical and people-first, resolving things round the table wherever possible, and engagement has improved noticeably over the last few years.

The Role

You'll work alongside the site HR lead, taking real ownership of the day-to-day HR work and keeping the function running smoothly. You'll be the first port of call for team leaders who need HR support.

• Supporting team leaders through disciplinaries, grievances, investigations and absence reviews


• Coaching team leaders through difficult conversations and building their confidence


• Making sure policy and procedure are followed properly and consistently


• Monitoring day-to-day absence and chasing managers on return-to-work meetings and reviews


• Keeping regular welfare contact with colleagues on long-term absence, with care and sensitivity


• Keeping absence records accurate and up to date


• Taking on repeat delivery of established training, including anti-harassment and anti-bullying sessions for small groups


• Supporting engagement surveys and helping to make sense of the data


• Helping the HR lead stay organised, including diary management and holiday cover


• Light recruitment support for factory roles


• Day-to-day HR administration and record keeping

What You'll Bring

You'll be methodical, organised and comfortable working to policy and procedure. You'll also have the empathy and resilience to support a busy manufacturing workforce, with all the warmth and straight talking that comes with it.

• HR experience in a generalist or advisory role, ideally including absence management and employee relations


• Experience in manufacturing or another operational, shift-based environment would be a real advantage


• Confidence to support and coach team leaders, and to hold a line on process when it matters


• Genuine empathy, especially when supporting colleagues through long-term illness


• Strong organisation, with the ability to keep a busy HR lead on track as well as yourself


• Comfortable presenting and running small-group training sessions


• Availability to start as soon as possible


• Able to work on site near Workington four days a week

Why You'll Love Working Here

• £17.95–£23.08 per hour depending on experience, paid weekly via Foxgroves Recruitment


• A six-month min contract, with every expectation of the role extending to 9 months and then becoming permanent 


• A four-day working week (condensed hours)


• Flexible start and finish patterns available between the hours of 6:30am–5:30pm to suit


• Working alongside an HR lead who'll give you real responsibility and full ownership

This role is moving quickly, so please get in touch as soon as possible.

Foxgroves Recruitment acts as an employment business for this temporary assignment on behalf of our client, following fair and inclusive recruitment practices in line with the Equality Act 2010. All appointments are subject to pre-employment screening, including right to work checks, reference checks, and qualification verification. Reasonable adjustments are available for individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.