HR Manager – UK & Ireland

Location:

UK-based, with travel up to 20% across UK & Ireland

Reports To:

HR Service Delivery Director, Western Europe

Role Purpose

The HR Manager for the UK & Ireland leads the local HR function, ensuring effective operational service delivery while aligning with global and regional HR frameworks. The role focuses primarily on implementing global HR programs locally, providing hands-on HR operational leadership, and driving employee experience, engagement, and compliance across both countries. While strategic ownership is limited, the HR Manager contributes to local HR strategies that support business needs and acts as a trusted advisor to local leadership. The incumbent is responsible for leading the HR team managing all aspects of local HR delivery, and fully owning employee relations and union processes.

1. HR Leadership & Business Partnership

• Lead the HR operations for the UK & Ireland, ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery.
• Implement global and regional HR strategies, adapting initiatives to local needs where appropriate.
• Act as a trusted advisor to local leadership teams on people-related matters such as workforce planning, organizational design, and local succession pipeline insights.
• Drive initiatives that foster an inclusive, engaging, and high-performance culture.
• Lead and develop the UK & Ireland HR team, providing coaching, guidance, and performance support.

2. Talent Management & Development

• Support talent acquisition activities and ensure effective onboarding across both countries.
• Lead local performance management cycles, ensuring fairness and consistency.
• Implement learning and development initiatives to build capability and support employee growth.
• Partner with regional and global HR to ensure talent processes are executed effectively at site level.

3. Employee Relations & Compliance

• Lead all employee and labour relations matters across the UK & Ireland, including disciplinary, grievance, and complex case management.
• Serve as the primary lead for union and employee representative consultation processes, including negotiations and statutory consultations.
• Ensure full compliance with UK and Irish employment legislation, advising leadership on legal requirements and risks.
• Collaborate with Legal and other stakeholders on sensitive and high-risk employee matters.

4. Compensation & Benefits

• Support the implementation of global and regional compensation and benefits programs locally.
• Provide insights on local market practices to global COE teams where relevant.
• Monitor pay practices and ensure compliance with legal requirements (e.g., national minimum wage, statutory payments).

5. HR Operations & Service Delivery

• Lead day-to-day HR operations and ensure efficient execution of HR processes and transactions.
• Monitor HR metrics, identifying trends and driving continuous improvement.
• Support implementation of HR systems, tools, and processes.
• Monitor HR-related spend for the UK & Ireland to ensure alignment with budget expectations.
• Ensure consistent HR documentation, reporting, and audit readiness.

Qualifications & Experience

• Proven experience in an HR leadership role within a multinational environment.
• Strong operational HR background with experience managing HR service delivery.
• Demonstrated experience in UK and Irish employment law, including union and employee representation engagement.
• Experience leading HR teams.
• Background in compensation and benefits implementation within larger organizations.
• Experience delivering change initiatives and supporting cultural transformation.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing capability, including interaction with global COEs.
• CIPD qualification or equivalent preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong operational execution skills with the ability to translate strategy into action.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and interpersonal skills.
• Proven leadership capability with experience engaging and developing teams.
• Problem-solving capability with a data-driven, analytical mindset.
• High degree of integrity, resilience, and professional judgement.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.