People & Culture Manager in Chester

• People & Culture Manager
• Reporting to: Finance Director
• Direct Reports: 1

The Opportunity

Calder Industrial Materials is a long established and growing manufacturing business with a turnover of £40+ million and approximately 110 employees and growing.

We have made significant investments in our people and culture, including a refreshed Employee Handbook, improved employee benefits, and a stronger commitment to learning and development.

As we continue to grow, we are looking for an experienced People & Culture Manager to lead the next phase of our people journey.

Working closely with the leadership team, you will help foster an inclusive, engaged and high-performing culture, ensuring our colleagues remain at the centre of our success.

This is an exciting opportunity for a hands‑on and commercially minded HR professional who enjoys being close to the operation while also contributing strategically.

We are looking for someone who will become a trusted adviser to directors and managers, strengthen management capability and continue developing a positive, high-performing culture.

This role offers genuine scope to make it your own and leave a lasting impact on the business.

The Role

As People & Culture Manager, you will lead the people agenda across the business and provide proactive support, guidance and coaching to managers and directors.

You will be responsible for ensuring that our people processes support business growth, employee engagement and operational excellence, while maintaining compliance with employment legislation and best practice.

Key areas of responsibility include

• Business Partnering
• Act as a trusted adviser to directors and managers.
• Provide practical guidance on people matters, organisational change and employee engagement.
• Support managers in developing effective leadership and people management skills.
• Coach managers to confidently handle employee relations matters.
• Employee Relations
• Lead on complex employee relations cases including disciplinaries, grievances, absence management and performance issues.
• Support the consistent application of company policies and procedures.
• Maintain positive employee and management relationships.
• Work constructively with employee representatives and unions where applicable.
• Recruitment and Talent
• Lead recruitment activities across the business.
• Develop attraction and onboarding strategies to secure and retain talent.
• Improve candidate and new starter experience.
• Support workforce planning with department managers.
• Learning and Development
• Build and deliver a practical learning and development plan aligned to business objectives.
• Identify training needs across all functions.
• Support succession planning and talent development initiatives.
• Help create clear development pathways for employees and managers.
• Culture and Engagement
• Drive employee engagement initiatives.
• Promote company values and positive workplace culture.
• Analyse employee feedback and recommend improvements.
• Support wellbeing initiatives and employee communications.
• Reward and Benefits
• Manage annual salary reviews and benchmarking exercises.
• Continually review and enhance employee benefits.
• Work closely with payroll regarding employment changes and benefits administration.
• Ensure reward practices remain competitive and equitable.
• HR Operations and Compliance
• Maintain and develop HR policies, procedures and documentation.
• Ensure compliance with current UK employment legislation.
• Manage People records and systems effectively.
• Active team lead in ERP implementation and own the People module.
• Produce meaningful HR metrics and reports to support business decision-making.
• Maintain the employee handbook and ensure policies remain current and relevant.

About You

You will be a dynamic and experienced Human Resources professional with strong technical expertise, a practical mindset, and a genuine passion for people.

Taking full ownership of the People & Culture function, you will be accountable for delivering all aspects of the people agenda, ensuring tasks, projects and employee matters are managed to a high standard and seen through to completion.

With a visible and approachable presence across the business, you will enjoy building strong relationships at all levels, providing support, guidance and constructive challenge to managers where appropriate.

You will be confident in finding pragmatic solutions that balance employee needs with commercial objectives, and possess the strength of character to influence decisions and drive positive outcomes.

Highly organised and proactive, you will be comfortable managing multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail.

You will also have a genuine interest in community engagement and local networking, helping to strengthen our reputation as an employer of choice and supporting our wider business and recruitment objectives.

Essential

• CIPD qualified (Level 5 minimum).
• Significant generalist HR experience.
• Experience in a manufacturing or operational environment.
• Strong employee relations knowledge.
• Up-to-date understanding of UK employment law.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills.
• Experience supporting and challenging managers at all levels.
• Ability to work both strategically and operationally.

Desirable

• Experience supporting business growth and organisational change.
• Experience developing learning and development frameworks.
• Experience introducing or improving people initiatives.
• Exposure to unionised environments.
• Experience of Insights Discovery.
• Keen commitment to HR as a support function.
• Willingness to be active in local HR networks.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary.
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays.
• Life assurance.
• Company pension.
• Investment in professional development.
• Opportunity to shape and influence the people agenda.
• A supportive leadership team committed to continued growth and improvement.
• Full benefits list is available on request.
• #J-18808-Ljbffr