Human Resources Director in Oldham

About the job

Human Resources Director

Oldham - Fully Onsite (flexible start and finish times)

£80,000 - £100,000 + Bonus

Permanent

JGA are delighted to be partnering with a leading and growing manufacturing business located in Oldham.

The client is looking for an HR Director who can come in, stabilise the HR function, reset the leadership structure, and then build a more accountable, scalable people infrastructure around the business.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic HR Leadership

• Develop and implement the organisation’s people strategy

• Align HR strategy with business growth, operational performance and commercial objectives

• Provide strategic HR advice to the Managing Director, Board and Senior Leadership Team

• Act as the senior voice on workforce risk, organisational capability and people strategy

• Review existing HR strategy, policies, frameworks and processes

• Complete a full HR resourcing review and establish the appropriate HR structure and capability

• Ensure the HR function has the right balance of strategic and operational resource

• Establish effective Board-level HR reporting and governance

Employment Compliance & Risk

• Take overall responsibility for employment compliance across the organisation

• Complete a full HR compliance audit within the first 90 days

• Review employment contracts, right-to-work, working time, pay, pensions and employee records

• Ensure HR policies and procedures are legally robust and consistently applied

• Establish and maintain a formal HR risk register

• Provide regular compliance and risk reporting to the Board

• Provide senior oversight of employee relations, disciplinary, grievance, absence and performance matters

• Act as the escalation point for complex employee relations cases and employment disputes

• Work with external employment lawyers where required

• Ensure appropriate processes are followed during restructures and organisational change

Leadership & Organisational Transformation

• Lead a structured review of the Senior Leadership Team

• Assess leadership capability against business requirements, competency expectations and performance standards

• Identify leadership capability gaps and make evidence-based recommendations

• Lead recruitment of new senior leaders where required

• Design the future leadership structure alongside the Managing Director and Board

• Develop robust role specifications for every Senior Leadership Team position

• Establish clear responsibilities and accountabilities for each leadership role

• Create a 12-month roadmap for every SLT position

• Introduce clear decision-making rights across the leadership team

• Establish a RACI and escalation framework

• Ensure operational decisions are made at the appropriate management level

• Reduce unnecessary escalation to the Managing Director

• Support new and existing leaders through onboarding, coaching and development

• Track and report progress against the reduction in operational workload reaching the Managing Director

Talent, Performance & Capability

• Develop and implement a Group-wide recruitment framework

• Introduce consistent recruitment and selection processes

• Establish structured onboarding and induction

• Implement probation and appraisal frameworks

• Create clear performance expectations across the organisation

• Establish consistent performance management processes

• Develop competency frameworks across operational, technical, supervisory and management roles

• Develop career development frameworks where appropriate

• Identify and develop high-potential employees

• Establish succession plans for business-critical and leadership positions

• Build a culture of accountability, performance and continuous development

Employee Engagement, Culture & Morale

• Take ownership of employee engagement and morale as a Board-level priority

• Establish a clear baseline for employee engagement

• Introduce regular pulse surveys and full engagement surveys

• Establish employee listening groups and shop-floor feedback mechanisms

• Identify the key causes of low morale, disengagement and turnover

• Develop measurable action plans to address engagement issues

• Create transparent two-way communication between leadership and employees

• Introduce “you said, we did” initiatives

• Build stronger relationships between leadership, managers, supervisors and employees

• Create greater cohesion across departments, sites and shifts

• Introduce recognition initiatives and employee reward programmes

• Develop team-building and social activities

• Introduce milestone, achievement and long-service recognition

• Establish clear organisational values and expected leadership behaviours

• Embed values and behaviours throughout the organisation

• Coach managers and supervisors on people leadership and employee engagement

• Ensure responsibility for morale and engagement sits across the leadership team, not solely with HR

• Report engagement, morale, retention and workforce KPIs to the Board

Reward & HR Operations

• Develop and oversee reward and benefits strategy

• Conduct regular salary and market benchmarking

• Ensure internal pay equity and market competitiveness

• Review and improve reward structures

• Oversee HR systems, HR data and workforce reporting

• Improve HR data integrity and reporting capabilities

• Assess and implement HRIS improvements where appropriate

• Manage the HR budget

• Ensure HR resource remains appropriate as the organisation grows

• Develop a scalable HR operating model

Health & Safety Partnership

• Work closely with the Health & Safety function

• Ensure workforce-related H&S obligations are appropriately managed

• Maintain accurate training and competency records

• Support workforce compliance relating to relevant H&S requirements

• Ensure competency requirements are incorporated into recruitment, induction, training and performance management

• Ensure HR and Health & Safety processes work effectively together

Experience required:

• Proven track record of building, developing and shaping HR functions from the ground up
• Experience establishing HR strategy, processes, policies and infrastructure
• Ability to develop a scalable HR function aligned to business growth
• Strong experience balancing strategic HR leadership with hands-on operational delivery
• Experience working within a Manufacturing environment