HR Manager

zendbox; Whetsted; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A fast-growing eCommerce fulfilment company based in Kent is looking for an experienced HR Manager. The role involves overseeing day-to-day HR activities, managing employee relations, and driving the recruitment process. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in an SME environment and strong skills in employee relations, absence management, and coaching. This position offers development opportunities and benefits such as a 32-day holiday allowance and paid birthday leave.

Benefits

Career development opportunities

32 day holiday allowance (inc bank holidays)

On site free parking

Paid birthday leave

Qualifications

• Proven experience as an HR Manager or senior HR generalist in an SME environment.
• Strong generalist background with hands-on expertise across ER, absence management, recruitment, L&D, and engagement.
• Commercially minded, with the ability to align people strategy with business needs.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day to day HR activities to ensure effective people processes across the business.
• Lead all employee relations matters including investigations and grievances.
• Provide regular reports on key HR metrics.

Skills

Experience as an HR Manager

Expertise in employee relations

Ability to manage absence effectively

Coaching and influencing skills

Familiarity with eCommerce fulfilment

Tools

Bradford Factor

Job description

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Zendbox.io is a fast-growing, tech-led eCommerce fulfilment and distribution business based near Maidstone in Kent. We help ambitious brands scale by delivering smart, reliable warehousing and logistics solutions - and we're now looking for an experienced HR Manager to support our next stage of growth.

About the Role

We're looking for a confident, hands-on HR Manager to lead and develop our people strategy at our Kent HQ near Maidstone. This is a true blend of strategic and operational HR in a fast-paced distribution environment, overseeing the full employee lifecycle from recruitment and onboarding through to performance, wellbeing, absence management and retention.

You’ll need to hit the ground running: setting direction quickly, making clear decisions, taking ownership of absence management (including use of the Bradford Factor) and giving managers the support and challenge they need to deliver.

You’ll work closely with senior leadership to ensure our people practices directly support business objectives, while creating a culture that enables our teams to thrive.

Key Responsibilities

HR Leadership (Operational Focus)

• Oversee day to day HR activities to ensure effective people processes across the business
• Support managers with organisational changes, staffing needs and people related decisions
• Contribute to initiatives that improve culture, engagement and team performance

Employee Relations (ER) & Absence Management

• Lead on all ER matters including investigations, disciplinaries, grievances and policy updates
• Design and own a robust absence management framework across the business
• Use tools such as the Bradford Factor to monitor sickness and identify trends
• Support and coach line managers to confidently manage attendance, conduct return-to-work meetings and follow through on formal processes where needed
• Act as a trusted advisor to managers on complex people issues

Board Reporting & Metrics

• Provide regular reports on key HR metrics including turnover, absence, engagement, ER activity, recruitment and DEI
• Use data to demonstrate impact, support planning and drive accountability across the business

Recruitment & Onboarding

• Oversee end-to-end recruitment and employer branding strategy
• Work at pace to attract and secure the right talent for a fast-moving distribution environment
• Streamline and enhance onboarding processes for a seamless employee experience

Compliance

• Ensure HR policies, processes and practices are legally compliant and up to date
• Keep the business informed and prepared for changes in employment law and HR best practice
• Oversee right-to-work checks, data protection compliance (GDPR), and all statutory reporting

Manager Development & Training

• Develop and deliver training and support to build confident, capable line managers
• Equip managers to handle ER, performance and absence matters consistently and effectively
• Promote values-based leadership across the business

Performance & Development

• Design and manage effective performance management frameworks
• Foster a culture of regular feedback, growth and accountability

Wellbeing & Benefits

• Lead wellbeing and mental health initiatives
• Manage and optimise employee benefits to support attraction and retention

Requirements

Proven experience as an HR Manager or senior HR generalist in an SME environment (essential)

Strong generalist background with hands‑on expertise across ER, absence management, recruitment, L&D and engagement

Confident and decisive, with the ability to hit the ground running and make clear, pragmatic decisions

Commercially minded, with the ability to align people strategy with business needs

Skilled in coaching, influencing and supporting leaders at all levels

A practical, solutions-focused approach and ability to work autonomously

Familiarity with distribution, logistics, warehousing or other fast-paced operational environments (experience with eCommerce fulfilment businesses like Zendbox.io is highly beneficial)

Comfortable using HR data and metrics (including Bradford Factor or similar tools) to drive action

Benefits

• Career development opportunities
• 32 day holiday allowance (inc bank holidays)
• On site free parking
• Paid birthday leave