HR Business Partner - South

McCain Foods; Peterborough; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as an HR Business Partner, where you will play a pivotal role in driving the people agenda. This exciting position involves collaborating with leadership teams to provide expert HR support, enhancing talent management, and fostering an inclusive workplace culture. With a focus on innovation and strategic impact, you will help shape the future of the organization while contributing to a positive work environment. This role offers a unique opportunity to make a lasting difference in a dynamic and supportive setting, ensuring that every employee feels valued and engaged.

Benefits

Generous Car Allowance

Excellent pension plan

Flexible holidays

Optional health cash plan

Cycle to work scheme

Volunteering Day Off

Qualifications

• Proven experience as an HR Business Partner or equivalent role.
• Strong analytical skills and a consultative approach.

Responsibilities

• Drive the people agenda and support leaders in HR matters.
• Lead talent management and succession planning initiatives.
• Foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Skills

Talent Management

Organisational Design

Change Management

Analytical Skills

Relationship Building

Agility

Resilience

Education

Degree in Human Resources or related field

Job description

Position Title: HR Business Partner - South

Position Type: Regular - Full-Time

Position Location: Whittlesey

Requisition ID:35630

About McCain

At McCain, we’re feeding the world: from French fries to Smiles, we contribute to the important role food plays in people's lives. That’s why we’re dedicated to ensuring our core values—Family, Authentic, Trusted, and Quality—shine through every day. As a privately owned family company with over 60 years of experience, a presence in more than 160 countries, and a global team of 22,000 people, our values and culture are at the heart of everything we do.

Why join the McCain family
Your Life – we’re here to help you fulfil your potential, flourish, and thrive in work and life.
Your Success – work alongside passionate colleagues who are committed to supporting your career goals, drive, and success.
Your Impact – we want you to make a meaningful, lasting impact for you, for your colleagues, and for the business.

About the role

The purpose of a HR Business Partner is to drive the people agenda in our McCain GB business, supporting our leaders, and shaping our culture to ensure we remain an employer of choice.

As a trusted partner to the business, you will provide comprehensive HR support, from strategic talent management to leadership development and organisational effectiveness. Collaborating with a team of HR professionals, you’ll deliver innovative and transformational solutions to foster engagement, diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating an environment where all colleagues feel valued and supported.

What You’ll Do:

• Strategic Partner – Work alongside manufacturing site directors and leadership teams to provide expert HR support.
• Talent Champion – Attract, retain, and develop top talent while leading succession planning and performance management.
• Culture & Engagement – Foster a workplace that champions Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and drives employee engagement.
• Change & Growth – Lead organisational effectiveness and manage change initiatives for seamless execution.
• Data-Driven Decisions – Use workforce analytics to identify challenges and inform strategic actions.
• Leadership Development – Equip managers with the tools and strategies to enhance their impact.
• Workforce Planning – Drive quarterly & annual planning to align talent with business needs.
• Innovative HR Solutions – Partner with Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to design workforce strategies that evolve with the business.
• Recruitment & Selection – Lead hiring efforts, conducting behavioural interviews to secure top talent.

What we're looking for

• Proven experience as an HR Business Partner or equivalent role, ideally within manufacturing, logistics, or FMCG.
• Expertise in talent management, succession planning, organisational design, and change management.
• A consultative and personable approach, with the ability to build lasting relationships and influence effectively.
• Strong analytical skills, using data to inform decisions and uncover insights.
• Exceptional agility, resilience, and a hands-on approach, with the ability to hit the ground running.
• A passion for fostering an inclusive, engaging, and high-performing workplace culture.

If you’re an inspiring leader who can balance strategic thinking with operational delivery, we’d love to hear from you. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a lasting impact and shape the future of our organisation.

Location

You’ll cover two of our manufacturing operations. Your main base will be our Whittlesey plant, and if you’ve spotted our three wind turbines, then you’ll know where we are! With about 350 employees on site, we’re one of our largest plants across the GB business. Our Whittlesey plant is where we make our famous French Fries as well as our chilled products, such as our Shake Shake Fries. You will also cover our Wombourne plant,in Staffordshire. Although smaller in size its perfectly formed team of over 110 colleagues produce our famous (and well loved) potato Smiles, hash browns as well as our pre-baked Jacket Spuds.

The benefits of working for McCain
For working hard, you’ll also get a great salary and some pretty good benefits including:

• Generous Car Allowance
• An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12% of your pay
• Flexible holidays – where you can buy & sell up to 5 days holiday per year
• Optional health cash plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• ‘Chips In’ Volunteering Day Off - to make a positive impact to the competitiveness, resilience, and long-term development of McCain communities across the globe

And of course, being part of a Global business there are great opportunities to shine/thrive should you wish to relocate in the future. We have an ambitious 5-year growth plan that presents development & progression opportunities for those who seek it out.

The McCain experience
We are McCain: this statement is about our power collectively and our importance individually—your impact is a significant part of the business. Our winning culture focuses on authenticity and trust so we can always bring out the best in our people. Here, you have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive while being yourself.

Come and join The Makers to see why we are better together.

#LI-CB1

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. We see value in ensuring we have a diverse, antiracist, inclusive, merit-based, and equitable workplace. As a global family-owned company we are proud to reflect the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that diversity drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger.

McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with the Global Privacy Policy

Job Family:Human Resources
Division:GB HR
Department:Human Resources GB
Location(s): GB - United Kingdom : England : Whittlesey

Company:McCain Foods (G.B.) Ltd