HR Integration Manager

HR Integration Manager | UK & Ireland | Hybrid Working | Manager / Senior Manager Level

Be at the heart of business transformation.

What if your next HR role went beyond business partnering and gave you the opportunity to shape how businesses come together, how people experience change, and how organisations grow? We’re looking for an experienced People & Culture professional to take ownership of the people integration journey following business acquisitions. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of people strategy, business transformation and M&A, playing a pivotal role in bringing acquired businesses together while protecting the talent, culture and client relationships that make them successful.

You’ll have genuine visibility with senior leadership, ownership of meaningful integration projects and the opportunity to influence how future acquisitions are delivered.

Why this opportunity stands out

• Lead the people workstream from early integration planning and Day 1 readiness through the first 100 days, stabilisation and final handover.
• Help translate acquisition strategy into practical people plans that protect business continuity, retain key talent and support long-term value creation.
• Partner closely with business leaders, acquired-company stakeholders, People & Culture specialists and programme leadership.
• Help bring different teams, leadership styles and working practices together while preserving the strengths that make each business distinctive.
• Track integration progress, employee retention, engagement, workforce priorities and agreed business benefits.
• Contribute to the development of integration frameworks, playbooks and processes that will shape how future acquisitions are delivered.
• Work across the UK and Ireland within a hybrid environment, with the opportunity to collaborate across multiple locations and businesses.

The role

• You’ll be the central point of coordination for the people aspects of acquisitions, ensuring that plans move from strategy into successful execution.
• Working alongside senior stakeholders and specialist teams, you’ll coordinate organisational design, employee transitions, payroll and benefits changes, HR systems, recruitment, learning and employee engagement. You’ll ensure the right people are involved at the right time, risks are identified early, decisions are escalated appropriately and critical milestones are delivered.
• You’ll also play a key role in managing the human side of change: helping leaders communicate effectively, supporting managers through uncertainty, identifying retention risks and ensuring employees feel informed and supported throughout the transition.
• This is a delivery-focused position. You won’t be expected to be the technical expert in every HR discipline, but you will need the judgement and project leadership skills to bring the right specialists together and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.
• From initial readiness through to business-as-usual handover, you’ll have a clear line of sight between your work and the success of each integration.

What you’ll bring

We’re interested in professionals who combine strong people expertise with the commercial awareness and delivery discipline needed to manage complex business change.

• Significant experience in HR, People & Culture, HR business partnering, organisational change or people integration.
• Direct experience leading the people aspects of M&A integrations, acquisitions or comparable business transformation programmes.
• Experience in professional services, accountancy, consulting or another complex, partnership-led and client-facing environment.
• Strong project management skills, including integration planning, milestones, dependencies, risk management and progress reporting.
• Sound working knowledge of UK employment law, employee consultation, employee transfers and employee relations, with the ability to engage legal and technical specialists when required.
• Experience supporting organisational design, cultural alignment, leadership engagement and employee retention.
• The confidence to influence senior stakeholders, challenge constructively and navigate competing priorities.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to handle sensitive information and change-related conversations with discretion.
• Experience across multiple acquisitions, UK and Ireland operations, or the development of integration playbooks would be advantageous.
• A CIPD qualification or equivalent professional accreditation is also desirable.

Who will thrive here?

• You’re someone who enjoys bringing structure to complexity. You can move comfortably between strategic discussions with leadership and the practical detail required to deliver an integration successfully.
• You understand that successful M&A is about more than systems, structures and processes. It’s about people, trust, communication and ensuring that the business continues to perform while change takes place.
• You’re resilient, commercially minded and comfortable taking ownership in an environment where priorities can evolve quickly.

The next step in your career

This is an opportunity to move beyond traditional HR business partnering and into a role where you can influence acquisition outcomes, shape the employee experience and build a valuable specialism in people integration.

If you’re ready to combine people strategy, M&A and hands-on delivery in a role with real business impact, we’d welcome a confidential conversation.

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