Senior HR Generalist

MDPI; Manchester; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Working Times

Special Days Off

Our Culture

Bonus Incentives

Perkbox

Health Cash Plan

Modern City Centre Office

Cyclescheme

Techscheme

Job summary

MDPI is seeking a Senior HR Generalist to lead the UK office HR operations from Manchester. You will manage recruitment, onboarding, payroll support, and employee relations while collaborating with teams across Europe and North America.

In this in-office role, you will lead the local HR team, drive compliant HR processes, and contribute to broader HR initiatives. A strong UK employment law background and CIPD qualification are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in HR/Business or related field.
• CIPD Level 5 or equivalent qualification.
• Strong track record in HR roles with UK employment law knowledge and employee relations.

Responsibilities

• Own the employee lifecycle for the UK office: recruitment, onboarding, probation, promotions, contracts, and offboarding.
• Advise line managers on policies and UK employment matters; escalate complex cases.
• Handle employee relations, from performance to disciplinary processes.
• Prepare and check payroll; support salary benchmarking and bonus information.
• Maintain HR records, right-to-work and visa documentation; ensure data privacy.

Skills

Payroll processing

HR administration

Microsoft 365

UK employment law

People leadership

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in HR/Business

CIPD Level 5 or equivalent

Tools

HRIS

Job description

As Senior HR Generalist, you’ll be the go-to HR contact for our UK office, covering everything from hiring and onboarding to employee relations and payroll. You’ll lead the local HR team and work closely with colleagues across Europe & North America to ensure consistent HR processes and ways of working. While locally focused, the role also offers broader international exposure through cross-country HR initiatives and projects, giving you the opportunity to contribute beyond the UK while remaining close to day-to-day HR operations.

This is a full-time, in-office role based in our Manchester city centre office, which is located next to Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the employee lifecycle for the UK office: recruitment, onboarding, probation, promotions, contract changes and offboarding
• Be the trusted HR contact for employees and line managers, advising on policies and UK employment matters and escalating complex or higher-risk cases
• Handle employee relations cases, from performance and sickness absence to flexible working, reasonable adjustments, Occupational Health referrals, and disciplinary and grievance processes
• Prepare and check monthly payroll, and support salary benchmarking, salary reviews and bonus/OKR information
• Keep HR administration accurate and compliant, including contracts, employee records, right-to-work and visa documentation, and family-related leave
• Support hiring managers with job descriptions, requisitions, offers and contracts
• Lead the local HR team: manage the HR Assistant, coordinate the HR Project Coordinator, set priorities, give regular feedback and hold one-to-ones
• Contribute to regional and global HR projects, bringing the UK perspective and supporting local rollout

Additional Responsibilities

• Spot ways to improve HR processes, tools and templates, with an eye on efficiency and employee experience
• Contribute to HR reporting, audits, compliance reviews and data-quality checks
• Cover for HR colleagues across Europe & North America when needed
• Handle all HR matters with confidentiality and care for data protection

What We're Looking For

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration or a related field
• A recognised HR qualification, such as CIPD Level 5 or equivalent
• A solid track record in progressive HR roles, with strong practical knowledge of UK employment law and employee relations
• Hands‑on payroll processing and HR administration experience
• Experience leading a team or directly managing others, including giving feedback and handling difficult conversations (early-career managers are welcome)
• Comfort with HR systems and employee data, and advanced Microsoft 365 skills
• Fluent English with excellent written and verbal communication skills
• A proactive, ownership-driven approach, sound judgement, and strong communication skills

Desirable Experience

• Experience with HR projects or process improvement across several locations

About MDPI

A pioneer in scholarly, open access publishing, MDPI has supported academic communities since 1996. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI has the mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines.

We operate currently over 400 diverse, peer-reviewed, open-access journals supported by over 66,000 academic editors. We serve scholars from around the world to ensure the latest research is openly and broadly available.

Besides our main publishing business, we develop and maintain digital platforms and software ranging from scientific exchange platforms to article databases and search engines, all focused on empowering scholars and giving them the best possible product and service. As of the end of 2022, we count more than 6700 colleagues in 17 offices across 11 countries.

Benefits

• Flexible Working Times You are able to start work anytime between 7-9am, and finish between 3pm-6pm.
• Special Days Off Getting married or moving house? No need to use up your holidays, MDPI offer paid time off for such occasions.
• Our Culture A friendly working environment with monthly lunch parties, office snacks and seasonal events.
• Bonus Incentives Depending on your role, you may be eligible for one of our bonus schemes which rewards high-performing employees.
• Perkbox You will have access to our benefit platform called “Perkbox.” This will provide you with a range of discounts and benefits across various retailers, including savings on food, drinks, tech, travel, and more.
• Health Cash Plan After passing probation, employees are enrolled into our private health membership with Bupa. You can claim money back on dental, doctors, and prescriptions amongst many other health services
• Modern City Centre Office Located next to Piccadilly Gardens, our office is a 10 minute walk from both Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road train stations. There are also tram stops outside of the building.
• Cyclescheme Save between 25-39% on a bike and accessories.
• Techscheme Save up to 10% on tax when purchasing tech equipment from places such as Ikea and Currys.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion

At MDPI, we believe in fostering an inclusive work environment that respects and values individual differences and prioritises growth through continued learning, support, and feedback. We are always seeking new initiatives to advance diversity and inclusion across all our offices to create a more equal workforce.

Initiatives

At MDPI, we develop and maintain various platforms in order to better serve the scientific community, which you can find below:

MDPI homepage: https://www.mdpi.com/

Sciprofiles: https://sciprofiles.com/

Sciforum: https://sciforum.net/

Scilit: https://www.scilit.net/

Preprints: https://www.preprints.org/

Encyclopedia: https://encyclopedia.pub/