HR Manager - Manufacturing in Gateshead

HUMAN RESOURCES BUSINESS PARTNER - HRBP / HR Manager COMPANY DESCRIPTION, PROFILE AND SCOPE OF ROLE: This is a fantastic opportunity for a progressive HR professional to join an established, global leader in specialist engineering. Operating on behalf of our client, we are seeking a strategic yet hands-on Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) to build and elevate the HR function across two rapidly evolving group companies. Based at an established engineering facility in Gateshead, this is a newly created, autonomous position reporting directly to the General Manager (EMEA). You will act as the local people expert for the Gateshead site (~100 employees) while fully supporting a newly acquired, specialist engineering business located in Rugby (~30 employees). This role sits on the local leadership team, actively influencing business growth and organisational change, while collaborating with a wider global matrix corporate structure. It offers a culture defined by trust, accountability, and true operational independence. NB: It’s anticipated the successful candidate would visit the Rugby site around 2 days a week, twice a month. A company vehicle will be provided when required for this purpose and/or other expensed travel as necessary. Likewise any overnight accommodation and related expenses will be covered by the company. KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: * Partner closely with senior leaders and the General Manager to provide commercial HR insights that advance organisational capability, workforce effectiveness, and strategic business growth. * Develop and drive a robust talent acquisition and retention strategy; implement workforce planning and succession-planning methodologies to build a sustainable internal talent pipeline. * Advise, coach, and support department heads and managers on leadership behaviours, competencies, performance enablement, and reducing "time to competence" for their teams. * Lead and manage structural change initiatives—including potential reorganisations, restructures, or integration programmes—ensuring smooth transitions while maintaining employee morale. * Manage complex employee relations issues autonomously, conducting disciplinary and grievance hearings up to and including dismissals in strict accordance with UK legislation and company policy. * Create and deliver targeted internal HR training sessions for staff and management, fostering a culture of high performance and continuous learning. * Maintain master data for key HR metrics and people analytics. Formulate comprehensive management reports and data trends for presentation at monthly/quarterly management meetings and local Board meetings. * Oversee the end-to-end employee lifecycle from contract variations, reference verification, and Right to Work (RTW) compliance, through to exit interviews and trend tracking. Ensure payroll-related data is cleanly processed on schedule. * Utilise employee feedback workshops and branding initiatives to champion a positive workplace culture focused on diversity, inclusion, belonging, and employee wellbeing. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES: ESSENTIAL * Fully CIPD Qualified (or equivalent HR-focused degree / professional attainment). * Established background as an HR Business Partner or a Senior HR Advisor ready for a strategic step-up, ideally within a fast-paced specialist engineering, manufacturing, or industrial environment. * Comprehensive, up-to-date knowledge of UK employment law and regulatory best practices. * Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with proven resilience and the confidence to navigate demanding stakeholder groups and resolve complex ER cases independently. * Strong logical thinking skills with the ability to translate people metrics into commercial business outcomes for leadership and Board review. * Logistics: * Full UK Driving Licence and the right to work in the UK. * Mobility: Absolute willingness and ability to undertake regular on-site travel to the secondary business unit in the Midlands (Rugby area). DESIRABLE * Direct experience supporting or managing HR integration following a business acquisition or organisational merger. * Experience operating within a large, global matrix organisation with remote reporting lines. * Track record of utilising digital workflows, modern HRIS, or smart tools to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and streamline reporting. Details of Package: £45,000 to £55,000 (Depending on Experience) + Bonus + Competitive Benefits. Hours of work: 39 hours per week, Mon-Thurs (phone number removed)pm Fri (phone number removed)pm, there will be some flexibility by agreement