HR Specialist (35hrs weekly) - UK (Birmingham)

Sungrow Europe; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Sungrow Europe is seeking an HR Specialist based in Birmingham to support employee relations, payroll, and HR operations across the UK and Ireland. You will partner with line managers to drive engagement, handle investigations, and ensure compliant HR processes while supporting the full employee lifecycle.

The role requires UK work rights, CIPD Level 5 or equivalent, and strong knowledge of UK employment law.

Qualifications

• Solid experience in a UK-based HR generalist role with employee relations case management and investigations.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law; Ireland exposure is a plus.
• Experience supporting payroll processes in the UK.
• Degree in HR or related field with CIPD Level 5 or equivalent certification.
• Fluent English (C1) in speaking and writing; additional European languages are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted HR contact for employees and managers across the UK and Ireland.
• Manage employee relations matters including disciplinary, grievance, and investigations.
• Support performance, engagement, and coaching for managers and teams.
• Assist onboarding, development discussions, probation, and offboarding processes.
• Provide backup for payroll processes and ensure compliant HR administration.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition, HR, HQ, and Office Manager on hiring transitions.

Skills

Employee relations

Payroll support

Coaching managers

UK employment law

Education

Degree in Human Resources

CIPD Level 5 or equivalent

Job description

Your mission

Please note: Sungrow UK’s office is expected to relocate from Milton Keynes to Birmingham in mid-2027. The candidate must be based in Birmingham and able to commute to the Milton Keynes 2-3 days per week to the office until the relocation is completed.

Hello and welcome to Sungrow in the UK. We’re excited to introduce a people-focused role for an HR Specialist in Birmingham who helps create a fair, supportive, and high-performing workplace while connecting local teams with our wider European HR journey.

Curious what this role looks like in practice? Here’s what you would be doing:

• Act as a trusted HR contact for employees and managers, offering practical guidance on people topics and helping foster open, transparent communication.
• Manage employee relations matters across the UK and Ireland, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, conflict resolution, and workplace investigations.
• Partner with managers to support performance, team dynamics, and employee engagement, while providing coaching and sound HR advice.
• Support key moments across the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, development discussions, probation follow-up, and offboarding.
• Provide backup support for UK and Ireland payroll processes and help ensure accurate, compliant HR administration.
• Work closely with Talent Acquisition, the broader HR team, headquarters, and the Office Manager to deliver smooth hiring transitions and people-focused culture and wellbeing initiatives.

Your profile

Role

All right, all right - this one is an important people role, and to thrive in it, your background should look a little like this:

• You have the legal right to work in the UK and can commute to the Milton Keynes office at least 3 days per week until the relocation is completed.
• You bring solid experience in a UK-based HR generalist role, including hands‑on employee relations case management and workplace investigations.
• You have strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice, and familiarity with Ireland employment law would be a strong advantage.
• You have experience supporting payroll processes in the UK, and any exposure to Ireland payroll would be a plus.
• You are confident advising and coaching line managers on performance, conduct, and team-related matters.
• You have supported the full employee lifecycle, from onboarding and probation to development, performance reviews, and offboarding.
• You hold a degree in Human Resources, Business, Law, Psychology, or a related field, and you have CIPD Level 5 or above, are working toward it, or bring equivalent HR experience.
• Your English is fluent at C1 level in speaking and writing, and additional European languages would be a plus.

Why us?

Our HR team plays a key role in shaping the employee experience and supporting business growth in a fast‑moving international environment. In this role, you would join a collaborative team that values practical problem‑solving, strong partnerships, and a people‑first mindset. You would have the chance to influence employee experience locally while working closely with regional colleagues and headquarters on meaningful HR initiatives that support culture, wellbeing, and operational excellence.

About Us

We are a green tech company with young creative minds.

We are fighting every day to make our mission happen – Clean Power for All!

With 870+GW of clean power presently installed worldwide, we are on the road to success!

Welcome at Sungrow

Founded in 1997 by University Professor Cao Renxian, Sungrow is a leader in the research and development of solar inverters with the largest dedicated R&D team in the industry and a broad product portfolio offering PV inverter solutions and energy storage systems for utility‑scale, commercial & industrial, and residential applications, as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions, NEV driving solutions, EV charging solutions and renewable hydrogen production systems.

Want to know more? Check out what working with us is like!