HR Manager / People Leader

Halmer Recruit; Aldershot; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Halmer Recruit is seeking an experienced HR Manager/People Leader to own and drive the HR function in a dynamic SME environment. The role covers employee relations, recruitment, onboarding and workforce planning, with a strong emphasis on business-aligned people strategies.

You will partner with Directors and managers, delivering practical HR advice, building engagement, and developing HR processes to enable growth and improvements across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as an HR Manager or Senior HR Generalist in SMEs.
• Experience in handling day-to-day HR activities and advising managers.
• Strong understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice.
• Experience supporting recruitment, onboarding and full employee lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for the day-to-day running of the HR function.
• Provide practical HR advice to employees, managers and senior leadership.
• Independently manage employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, absence and performance procedures.
• Ensure HR policies and documentation comply with UK employment law.
• Manage recruitment, onboarding, development and offboarding.
• Support managers with performance management and wellbeing.

Skills

HR management

Employee relations

SME experience

Strategic advisory

Workforce planning

Organisation development

Communication

Problem solving

UK employment law

Recruitment & onboarding

Education

CIPD Level 5 qualification

CIPD Level 7 qualification

Tools

Microsoft 365

SharePoint

Excel

Job description

The Opportunity

We are recruiting for an experienced, commercially minded and hands-on HR Manager / People Leader to take ownership of the HR function within an established business.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced HR professional who enjoys working in a smaller business environment, where they can make a genuine difference to employees, managers and the wider organisation.

The successful candidate will be responsible for managing all aspects of HR, from day-to-day employee relations and recruitment through to workforce planning, employee engagement and longer-term people development.

This is a broad generalist position requiring someone who is equally comfortable dealing with everyday HR matters, supporting managers and advising senior leadership.

Previous experience working within a small or medium-sized business (SME), or a similarly lean operational environment, is particularly important.

We're looking for someone who understands the practical realities of managing HR without the support of a large corporate HR department and who enjoys taking ownership, finding solutions and getting involved.

Key Responsibilities

HR Management & Employee Relations

• Take responsibility for the day-to-day running of the HR function.

• Provide practical and professional HR advice to employees, managers and senior leadership.

• Independently manage employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, absence, capability and performance procedures.

• Ensure HR policies, procedures and employment documentation remain compliant with UK employment legislation.

• Manage the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, development and offboarding.

• Support managers with performance management, employee wellbeing and workplace matters.

Recruitment & People Development

• Oversee recruitment activities, including working with recruitment agencies and temporary staffing providers.

• Support workforce planning, succession planning and future staffing requirements.

• Identify training and development opportunities across the business.

• Coach and guide managers, helping them build confidence in managing their teams.

• Develop employee engagement, wellbeing and retention initiatives.

• Support organisational development and wider people-related projects.

HR Strategy & Business Improvement

• Work closely with senior leadership to support the business's people strategy.

• Provide commercially focused advice on workforce and organisational matters.

• Produce HR reports and analyse trends relating to absence, retention, recruitment and productivity.

• Identify opportunities to improve HR systems, processes and reporting.

• Explore appropriate opportunities for digitalisation, automation and AI to improve efficiency.

• Balance immediate operational HR requirements with longer-term business priorities.

Essential Experience & Qualifications

We're looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Proven experience as an HR Manager, Senior HR Generalist, HR Business Partner or similar.

• Previous experience working within an SME or similarly lean business environment.

• Experience independently managing a broad range of HR responsibilities.

• Strong employee relations experience, including personally handling disciplinary, grievance, absence and performance matters.

• A good understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice.

• Experience supporting recruitment, onboarding and the full employee lifecycle.

• Confidence advising Directors and senior managers on HR matters.

• Experience supporting workforce planning, organisational development and management capability.

• Strong organisational, communication and problem-solving skills.

• Good IT literacy, reporting and analytical skills.

• CIPD Level 5 qualification.

Candidates must be comfortable working independently and taking responsibility for HR matters from beginning to end.

Desirable Experience

• Experience within manufacturing, distribution or another operationally focused business.

• CIPD Level 7 qualification.

• Experience using HR systems, Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Excel.

• Experience improving HR processes, introducing new systems or implementing automation.

• Experience developing employee engagement, wellbeing and retention initiatives.

About You

We're particularly interested in candidates who have previously worked as a standalone HR Manager, Senior HR Generalist or the main HR contact within a smaller business.

You'll be someone who:

• Enjoys a varied, hands-on HR role.

• Is approachable, confident and comfortable working with people at all levels.

• Can manage sensitive employee matters professionally and independently.

• Understands the importance of balancing employee needs with commercial business requirements.

• Is proactive, organised and able to manage competing priorities.

• Takes ownership of problems and follows them through to resolution.

• Can build strong working relationships with managers and employees.

• Enjoys improving processes and finding more effective ways of working.

• Is comfortable switching between operational HR matters and strategic projects.

This role would particularly suit someone who enjoys being actively involved in the business rather than working within a large, highly structured HR department.

Working Arrangements

• Full-time, permanent position.

• Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5.00pm.

• Primarily office-based.

• Reporting to a senior member of the leadership team.

• Senior HR position with no direct reports initially.

• Broad responsibility for both operational HR and longer-term people initiatives.

Why Apply?

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of an HR function and make a meaningful contribution to a business's people strategy.

You'll have the opportunity to work closely with senior leadership, support employees and managers, improve existing processes and help shape the future development of the HR function.

If you're an experienced HR professional who enjoys the variety, independence and responsibility of working within a smaller business, we'd love to hear from you.