Head of HR in Ware

C.U. Phosco, the leading global exterior lighting company, is looking to recruit a senior-level HR professional into the role of Head of HR to support their efficient processes as the company grows.

The Head of HR will build a single, consistent HR framework that works across every business unit and departments. This is a genuinely cross-functional role. Success is measured by consistency and fairness across the whole business, not by how well it serves any single manager or site.

Key Responsibilities

• Organisational Design, Structure & Workforce Planning
• Review structure, roles and workforce planning across the business, including succession from long-serving, highly experienced staff nearing retirement.
• Identify and plan for skills gaps as they emerge, balancing continuity with the opportunity for fresh approaches.
• Lead or support restructuring and change initiatives, working with managers to reduce resistance to change.
• Recruitment & Talent Management
• Own or closely support recruitment and interviewing across all departments, bringing consistent process and candidate experience.
• Design a standard, high-quality onboarding and induction process so every new colleague, regardless of site, gets the same grounding in company processes and expectations.
• Support retention of key talent, including succession-critical roles identified through workforce planning.
• Performance Management & Appraisals
• Design and roll out a single, company-wide appraisal framework, starting with senior managers and cascading through all personnel.
• Support managers in running consistent, well-documented performance conversations, including where a development or retention risk has been flagged.
• Legislative & Compliance Guidance
• Act as the business's internal point of expertise on employment legislation, keeping the organisation ahead of legal change (e.g. changes brought by the Employment Rights Act)
• Review, simplify and standardise contracts of employment and HR policies across all sites.
• Reduce the business's reliance on ad hoc external advice by building this expertise in-house.
• Learning & Development / Upskilling
• Build a general framework for identifying development needs and creating development plans.
• Support managers in making time for regular 1:1s and development conversations.
• Employee Relations, Disputes & Disciplinary Support
• Provide expert, consistent guidance to managers on disciplinary, grievance and dismissal processes, reducing reliance on external bodies.
• Support the resolution of current and future employee relations cases, working alongside external legal advice where needed.
• HR Operations & Record-Keeping
• Establish consistent, accurate people records and basic HR reporting (headcount, absence, turnover)
• Ensure accurate handoff of pay and contract data to payroll.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Experience

A minimum of 10 years in a senior HR role with:

• Demonstrable experience managing UK employment legislation in practice, including disciplinary, grievance and dismissal processes.
• Experience operating across multiple sites, departments or business units, ideally in an organisation without a well-established HR function.
• Experience designing or standardising HR policy, contracts, or appraisal frameworks across a multi-site business.
• Experience supporting or leading organisational change, including managing resistance to change.

Skills & Attributes

• Credible, independent and professional - able to earn the trust of managers and leadership without being seen as belonging to any one department.
• Confident advising and, where necessary, challenging senior managers on compliance risk.
• Strong communicator, comfortable working with people at every level from shop floor to Managing Director.
• Strong data literacy - comfortable using basic HR metrics (turnover, absence, time-to-hire) to inform decisions.
• Organised self-starter, comfortable building a function from scratch with limited existing infrastructure.
• Genuinely mobile and visible - willing and able to split time across all business units rather than defaulting to one base location.

Qualifications

• CIPD qualification (or equivalent professional experience) desirable, not mandatory.

What You Will Receive From Us

• Salary range: £65,000 to £70,000
• Car Allowance / EV Scheme
• Company pension scheme with employer contributions above the statutory minimum.
• 24 days' annual leave plus UK bank holidays, and Birthday.
• Hybrid working: typically, three days per week at the UK Head Office, with flexibility around divisional travel.
• Realistic Bonus Structure
• External legal support
• Opportunity to shape and influence people strategy
• Senior leadership exposure
• Be an integral part of a growing international business
• Supportive and values-led culture and the ability to make a real impact