Human Resources Manager in Whetstone

Up to £50k pa salary negotiable depending on experience. 33 days holiday, Contributory Pension, Healthcare Cash Plan. Flexible start / finish times. Location – Whetstone, Leicester (LE8 6NU) with regular visits to Frankley (B45) and occasional home working available.

Base Materials Ltd are a chemical engineering business across 2 sites (Whetstone & Frankley) with its core activities being the manufacture of styling, modelling and tooling materials for the production of high-quality precision moulds, master models, jigs & fixtures, across a diverse range of applications and industries including automotive, aerospace, motor sport, marine and varied industrial application.

As part of our ongoing Growth Plan, we are seeking to broaden our internal expertise through the appointment of an experienced Human Resources Manager. This role will suit someone from an SME Manufacturing background who is a true HR Generalist and comfortable with working on the day to day HR issues as well as being proactive/strategic.

The HR function is supported and mentored by a long-standing Independent Human Resources Consultant; HR plays a vital role at Base – it’s our job to work closely with the team to enable business success, drive cultural change, deliver efficiencies and support people management and development.

We are looking for someone with energy, drive, enthusiasm and good pace. Are you confident in advising 1st Line Management on any Employee Relations / Legislation issues? You will need to be up to date and strong in ER. Are you known for being driven, direct and able to react quickly to situations that require it, striving to provide solutions whilst applying your commercial acumen? Are you able to Mentor, Counsel, Coach and generally support those in the business who are not confident in their area of competence, building morale and personal esteem and generally encouraging others to give their best performance?

Do you have a proven track record of HR Lead in a commercial environment (ideally manufacturing SME) demonstrating autonomy and ability to think commercially rather than with a linear approach to regurgitating statute and best practice? Your ultimate goal is to contribute to Developing a professional HR Function that can deliver skilled, creative, motivated, flexible and committed employees.

In this busy generalist role, you will have the space to be creative / strategic and look at ways HR can really make a difference, whilst at the same time ensuring the day to day duties are covered including, but not exclusive to:

• Leadership and Oversight: Provide daily direction, mentoring, and professional development to the HR Officer, reviewing work quality and ensuring consistent, accurate and compliant HR outputs. Oversee and quality-check all HR correspondence, documentation, and advice before issue to ensure legal and professional standards are met. Act as first point of escalation for complex or sensitive HR queries, investigations, or disputes. Ensure alignment of all HR activity with business strategy, risk management, and workforce planning needs.
• HR Strategy, Policy and Governance: Maintain, develop, and implement HR policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with employment law and best practice. Partner with senior leaders to design and deliver HR initiatives supporting business performance, culture, and engagement. Lead on continuous improvement of HR systems, processes, and reporting — including data accuracy, metrics, and KPI reporting (absence, turnover, ER cases, training compliance). Manage HR audit and compliance readiness for ISO or similar quality frameworks.
• Employee Relations: Provide expert advice and coaching to managers on all employee relations matters, ensuring fairness, consistency, and adherence to policy. Lead or support complex ER cases (disciplinary, grievance, absence, capability, restructuring, etc.) and review documentation prepared by the HR Officer. Identify and mitigate people-related risks through proactive case management and early intervention.
• Recruitment, Onboarding, and Retention: Oversee all recruitment and selection processes, ensuring attraction strategies are inclusive, compliant, and effective.
• Learning and Development: Develop and deliver management capability training on key people topics (conducting investigations, managing absence, performance conversations, etc.).
• HR Systems, Analytics, and Reporting: Manage the integrity and reporting functionality of the HRIS (PeopleHR).

Requirements / Qualifications: To be successful you’ll come to us with experience in Employee Relations and Employment Legislation, strong administrative experience dealing with highly confidential matters and be comfortable juggling multiple priorities including direct line management. Experience working within an SME Manufacturer is a must. You will ideally have a minimum CIPD Level 7 (or equivalent) and be working in a role of a similar nature. We use PeopleHR as our HRIS so experience of this would be an advantage.

Words to describe the ideal character: Robust – not only in character but in your approach to tasks. Disciplined and highly organised. Self-motivated. Collaborative, Empowering, Approachable.

If you feel this role looks right for you and you feel you can contribute significantly to our Business Growth Plans and want to join our team, it’s time to get your application started. Please apply through this advert to our HR Consultant with an up to date CV and covering letter stating why you feel you are suitable for the role, also detailing your salary requirements.

Deadline: 27th Nov 2025 (although applications will be reviewed as they come in). This is likely to be a 2-Stage Interview Process with the 2nd interview including at least a Psychometric Assessment and one presentation.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE BUSINESS DIRECTLY OR ATTEMPT TO SUBMIT YOUR CV IN ANY OTHER WAY AS THIS MAY NOT GET PASSED ON.