Human Resources Partner Retail in Manchester

Responsibilities

• Foster strong, collaborative relationships within the HR Team to ensure consistent and effective HR operations.
• Act as the primary HR business partner for Retail teams (and Wholesale where applicable), managing day‑to‑day HR operations and administrative activities.
• Ensure HR queries and issues are handled accurately, consistently, and in a timely manner, maintaining high standards of service delivery.
• Maintain comprehensive and accurate employee records, ensuring full compliance with GDPR requirements.
• Ensure job descriptions are regularly reviewed, up to date, signed, and securely stored in Workday.
• Facilitate staff changes, recruitment approvals, and offer confirmations in line with internal governance.
• Ensure employment contracts, variations, and all onboarding paperwork are completed, signed, and processed correctly, including right‑to‑work and reference checks.
• Monitor sickness absence and attendance trends, applying company procedures and updating Workday accurately, while partnering with managers to address concerns proactively.
• Build strong working relationships with stakeholders across Retail and Distribution, demonstrating professionalism and integrity at all times.
• Identify and implement opportunities for digitalisation, automation, and process improvement within HR operations.
• Keep up to date with changes in employment legislation and HR best practice, ensuring policies and guidance remain compliant.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of Time & Attendance and Payroll processes, including the ability to run payroll using Equator and support pay‑related queries.
• Visit retail stores regularly to maintain visibility, build trust, and proactively engage with managers and employees.
• Analyse engagement data, turnover trends, and feedback to identify themes, best practices, and opportunities for improvement.
• Partner with managers to implement initiatives that enhance employee engagement, wellbeing, and retention within retail teams.
• Support and promote continuous learning, skills development, and career progression initiatives across the retail population.

Performance Management & Employee Relations

• Coach and support managers and employees through the full performance management lifecycle, ensuring expectations are clear and outcomes are documented and actionable.
• Advise line managers on employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, and absence management cases, ensuring fair and consistent application of policy.
• Support investigative and formal HR processes, providing guidance in line with employment law and company values.

Onboarding, Offboarding & Recruitment

• Train and support hiring managers on the end‑to‑end recruitment process, ensuring consistent use of recruitment tools, training videos, and surveys.
• Assist with recruitment activity, including candidate shortlisting, interviews, and the preparation and issuing of employment offers and contracts.
• Maintain accurate recruitment and employee lifecycle data in Workday.
• Coordinate effective onboarding activities to ensure a positive new‑starter experience across retail and distribution locations.
• Keep the P&O Induction Handbook and all policy and procedure documentation current and accessible.
• Manage the offboarding process, including system updates, return of PUMA property, and the completion of exit interviews, using insights to support retention strategies.

HR Platforms & Systems

• Establish effective communication methods for employees without access to puma.com email, ensuring consistent messaging across the retail population.
• Create, update, and maintain clear and engaging YOU@PUMA communications.
• Ensure Workday data integrity, accuracy, and timely updates across all employee lifecycle events.
• Manage and support employee benefits administration via Benefits@PUMA, including an understanding of salary sacrifice arrangements.

Minimum 3 years’ experience as an HR Advisor or HR Business Partner, ideally within retail or multi-site environments. Confident supporting line managers and building strong working relationships across different levels. Solid experience handling ER cases end‑to‑end with a good understanding of UK employment law. Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage high volumes of activity in a fast‑paced setting. Comfortable analysing HR data (e.g., absence, turnover, engagement) to inform decision‑making. Clear, professional communicator with the ability to influence and coach managers effectively. Hands‑on, adaptable, and comfortable working across multiple stores and stakeholders. Ability to handle sensitive data with discretion and confidentiality. Proactive, solution‑oriented, and adaptable to a fast‑paced environment. A mindset focused on improving processes, efficiency, and employee experience. Experience using HR systems (e.g., Workday) and supporting payroll/time & attendance processes is advantageous. Expertise in employment law and HR best practices. CIPD Level 3 or higher.

PUMA provides equal opportunities for all job applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or disability. Equality for all is one of the core principles at PUMA and we do not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination.