Head of HR - Manufacturing Operations (FTC)

Croda is a Purpose driven, FTSE100 organisation focused on the research and development of biological ingredients for the Life Sciences and Consumer Care sectors. With over 6,000 employees globally, we have manufacturing operations in over 30 countries and are now looking for an experienced HR leader to support a wide scale transformation programme across our manufacturing operations group.

Reporting to the President HR, and indirectly to the President Supply Chain Operations, this role will act as a trusted and strategic HR advisor during a period of change transformation, ensuring our people strategy is aligned with the global operations strategy to enable sustainable business performance and support growth. This is initially a 6‑9 month contract role and can either be based from our Head Offices in East Yorkshire or from a remote/home office location in the UK.

Who we're looking for:

• Prior experience in HR leadership roles within a publicly listed manufacturing organisation with demonstrable experience leading change and transformation.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to engage and coach senior leadership teams, build strong working employee relationships and demonstrate leadership within the global HR function.
• High level of authenticity and integrity to effectively represent and promote Croda’s culture both internally and externally.
• Highly resilient and able to manage conflict productively to influence change.
• Strong business acumen with an ability to translate business strategy into a deliverable HR strategy and culture.
• Prior team leadership experience with a proven track record of setting and communicating HR strategy and vision whilst coaching high performance in individuals and teams with indirect line management responsibility.
• A strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with the ability to communicate effectively and implement initiatives that embed a mature, inclusive culture.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the President of Supply Chain & Operations to deliver a wide scale transformation programme spanning multiple countries, operations and cultures.
• Develop and execute Croda’s people strategy aligned with group objectives, supporting growth, transformation, and organisational resilience.
• Coach senior leaders and managers as required to strengthen leadership capability and embed a high‑performance coaching culture rooted in psychological safety and continuous feedback.
• Lead succession planning, workforce analytics, talent acquisition and development strategies within the Operations function ensuring alignment with Croda’s group strategy, purpose and values.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including leadership teams, Group and/or Regional HR teams, works councils/unions, regulators, and auditors.
• Capture continuous improvement opportunities and ensure accountability through effective coaching and objective setting across operations to deliver against project timelines and milestones.
• Maintain an up‑to‑date knowledge of Croda’s business and manufacturing operations strategy, bringing strategic HR insight and knowledge to deliver the Operations transformation programme.

Why Croda?

At Croda, we believe our people are our difference. We are people‑led, driven by the desire to do good and deliver value, an unifying principle shaped by all the great people that have travelled through Croda since our beginning in 1925. We pride ourselves on bringing together diverse teams and talents from across the globe and, guided by our values of Responsible, Innovative, and Together, we are passionate about building an inclusive, collaborative, and diverse organisation with innovation and customer focus underpinning all that we do. Croda is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.