HR Associate

Greencore (Formally Bakkavor Group); Newark on Trent; Hybrid; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company share save scheme

Life insurance up to 4x salary

Competitive pension contributions

Job summary

Greencore Newark site seeks a People Associate to support the local HR team with entry-level generalist HR duties and provide first-line HR advice to colleagues and managers.

You will handle admin tasks, coordinate communications and engagement initiatives, assist recruitment and onboarding, manage HR data in MyHR and KPIs, and contribute to wellbeing and safety programs. The role follows a 4/1 hybrid pattern.

Qualifications

• Entry-level generalist HR duties and first-line HR advice.
• Ability to work to strict timescales in a busy environment.
• Strong data handling and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Provide general administration support to the HR team and update HR data.
• Coordinate employee communications and engagement activities.
• Assist with recruitment processes, interviews and onboarding for new starters.
• Support attendance, relations meetings and HR reporting using MyHR and KPI data.
• Liaise with shared services and ensure compliance with health, safety and wellbeing initiatives.

Skills

HR administration

Data entry

Communication

Tools

MyHR

Qliksense

Job description

People Associate

Salary: Competitive salary

Location: Jessop Way, Newark NG24 2ER

Ways of Working: 4 days in the office, 1 day working from home

Hours of work: Monday - Friday

Contract Type: Permanent

Benefits

• Company share save scheme
• Competitive matched pension up contributions
• Life insurance up to 4x salary

Why Greencore?

Following the combination with Bakkavor in January 2026, we're one of the UK's leading creators of convenience food, driven by a simple purpose: to make every day taste better.

As a vibrant and fast-moving business, we're proud to employ over 28,000 talented colleagues across 36 manufacturing sites and 21 distribution depots in the UK and the US.

Together, we bring delicious food to life. Our products cover every meal occasion from breakfast through to dinner and dessert, with lunch and snacking in between.

In FY25, our shared passion helped us achieve combined revenues of approximately £4bn.

Our extensive direct to store (DTS) network, with 17 depots across the UK, allows us to deliver fresh and frozen food, both our own and from trusted partners to thousands of stores every day, ensuring consumers enjoy the very best, whenever and wherever they shop.

Our site in Newark, Nottinghamshire, specialises in producing a range of chilled desserts, including trifles, creamcakes, and choux pastries. The site employs over 1,800 people and operates in a fast-paced, high-volume production environment.

What you’ll be doing

As People Associate you will support to the local HR team whilst undertaking entry level generalist HR duties and providing first line HR advice to colleagues and managers.

Role Accountabilities

• Provide general administration support to the HR Team, including, Organisational Design projects, raising purchase orders and arranging payment of invoices, conducting frequent low-level audits of MyHR data to check data integrity and accuracy. Where appropriate, updating labour (core manning) plan in line with Business Unit requirements.
• Coordinate Business Unit people communications in a variety of formats, including announcements and notice board updates.
• Support the Business Unit engagement agenda by completing admin and coordination of the annual Group Employee Engagement survey. Administer and coordinate engagement initiatives including Loyal Service Awards and our Proud to be Bakkavor recognition schemes. Support Group initiatives and Site Employee Forum/Wellbeing Champions to deliver their engagement activities and events as required.
• Work with the Talent Acquisition Team and line managers to ensure the Business Unit resourcing requirements are proactively managed. Including ensuring the MyHR system accurately reflects vacancies, coordination of interviews/factory tours/offers for volume recruitment (for bigger Business Units), coordinating the internal recruitment process, and supporting the temp-to-perm process for agency workers.
• Represent the HR function at inductions, supporting the successful onboarding of new starters into the Business Unit, including (where relevant) working with the New Starter Champions as required.
• Manage the Right to Work process for the Business Unit ensuring all employees have the correct documentation, including re-checks, online checks, sending letters to individuals to confirm actions required, and escalation of any potential risk to the HRBP.
• Provide administration support to HRBPs and line managers during the AWOL and formal employee relations meetings including taking notes if required.
• Update People KPIs, including use of Qliksense and MyHR reporting, highlighting trends to the HRBP. Use the data to support managers to drive improvements where applicable.
• Supporting the attendance management process by coordinating referrals to Occupational Health, tracking of restricted duties and reviewing the absence trigger data making appropriate recommendations to HRBP for review.
• For sites without on-site Occupational Health provision, coordinate health surveillance requirements to ensure compliance with Bakkavor's Health & Safety Risk Management Guidance and Health Surveillance Standards.
• Liaise with shared service functions to resolve issues and escalte accordingly.

What we’re looking for

• Able to work to strict timescales in a busy environment demonstrating resilience
• Strong systems skills with the and ability to coach others to use them
• Results driven with excellent time management and prioritisation skills and the ability to see tasks through to completion
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to handle detail and to analyse data
• Ability to communicate clearly in a variety of formats, and adjust style to suit the audience
• Proactive and pragmatic approach
• Able to work as part of a team and independently
• Desire to drive own development demonstrating a passion for learning new things
• Ability to handle confidential information discretely, professionally, and appropriately
• Courage to ask questions, introduce new ideas and question ways of working
• Ability to act with integrity, be an ambassador for the Bakkavor values and to champion an inclusive culture We're proud to be recognised in the Gender Equity Measure Top 100 for our commitment to gender equality.

What you’ll get in return

• Competitive salary and job-related benefits
• Holidays
• Competitive matched pension contributions
• Life insurance up to 4x salary
• Company share save scheme

Greencore Qualifications

• Exclusive Greencore employee discount platform
• Access to a full Wellbeing Centre platform
• Enhanced parental leave and menopause policies
• Throughout your time at Greencore, you will be supported with on-job training and development opportunities to further your career.