Interim HR Business Partner

Summit HR; West Midlands; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Summit HR is seeking an HR Business Partner for an on-site role at a Dudley manufacturing site, supporting ~500 employees. You will own the full employee lifecycle, work closely with line managers, and drive performance, absence, ER, and engagement initiatives.

The role is hands-on, visible on the shop floor, with no policy-writing focus, and requires someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment with real business impact.

Qualifications

• Generalist HR experience in manufacturing/fast-paced operations.
• Experience managing employee relations cases confidently and fairly.
• Ability to build credibility quickly with operational managers and understand production pressures.
• Practical, pragmatic coaching style adaptable to ER meetings.
• Resilience and energy for a busy, evolving environment.

Responsibilities

• Coaching and upskilling line managers to handle their people.
• Managing employee relations casework end to end including disciplinary and grievances.
• Owning absence management, including long-term sickness with fair balance of needs.
• Driving performance management processes and supporting difficult conversations.
• Leading site recruitment from planning to offer stage.
• Championing employee engagement and shaping initiatives.

Skills

Generalist HR

Employee relations

Coaching line managers

Performance management

Absence management

Job description

HR Business Partner

On-site, 5 days a week c.500 employees Manufacturing

6 Month FTC - Dudley

The Opportunity

This is HR where it actually happens, on the shop floor, If you want HR that's stuck behind a screen, this isn't it. If you want a role where you're genuinely part of how a site runs, keep reading.

This is an established business looking for a generalist HR Business Partner to be the go-to HR partner for line managers across a site of around 500 people. You'll own the full employee lifecycle, from the moment someone's hired to the day to day realities of managing a busy, fast-paced operational workforce.

This isn't a policy-writing, sit-in-meetings kind of HR job. It's hands-on, visible, and genuinely varied no two days will look the same.

What You'll Be Doing

• Coaching and upskilling line managers - building their confidence and capability to manage their own people well, rather than doing it for them
• Managing employee relations casework end to end: disciplinaries, grievances, capability, and everything in between
• Owning absence management, including complex long-term sickness cases, with a practical, fair approach that balances people and business needs
• Driving performance management processes and supporting managers through difficult conversations
• Leading recruitment for the site from workforce planning through to offer stage
• Championing employee engagement - you'll have real scope to shape initiatives that make this a better place to work
• Ensuring consistent application of policy and procedure, acting as the trusted voice managers turn to before they make a decision, not after

What You'll Bring

• Solid generalist HR experience gained in a manufacturing, logistics, or other fast-paced operational environment
• A track record of managing employee relations cases confidently and fairly, including complex or sensitive situations
• The ability to build credibility quickly with operational managers , you understand shift patterns, production pressures, and what "operational delivery" really means
• A practical, pragmatic style, someone who can flex between coaching a first-line manager and holding their own in a difficult ER meeting
• Resilience, energy, and genuine enjoyment of a busy, ever-changing environment

Why This Role

• You'll be a visible, trusted presence on site
• Real ownership: you'll shape how ER, absence, and engagement are handled
• Work for an established, stable manufacturing business with a long track record and a workforce that relies on good HR support to function well
• Every day brings something different, this is HR with pace, purpose, and people at the centre of it

If you thrive on being where the action is, love solving real problems for real managers, and want an HR role with genuine impact, I would love to hear from you.