HR Business Partner – Scotland & Northern England
Flexible base (ideally Central Scotland) | Regular travel to Cumbria
Highly successful FMCG / industrial manufacturing group
Ready for a role where you can actually shape something… rather than just keep the wheels turning?
This isn’t a place where HR hums along nicely and you just “keep it compliant”, far from it. This organisation is on a journey, shifting from a transactional HR model to a genuinely strategic, business-partnered approach – and they’re looking for someone who thrives in that kind of environment. If you like to roll up your sleeves, build trust with senior leaders, and see the impact of your work first-hand, you’ll feel right at home.
About the business
You’ll be joining one of the UK’s leading food ingredients manufacturers – over £1bn turnover, continued year-on-year growth, and a mix of heritage brands and innovative new acquisitions. With a new Group HR Director in place and a refreshed people strategy underway, this is the perfect moment to join and help embed a proper HR Business Partnering model across four key sites.
The opportunity
Covering sites across Scotland, Northern England and Ireland, you’ll partner with operational leaders to deliver a people agenda that genuinely supports performance, capability and engagement. It’s varied, visible and hands-on – exactly the sort of role where no two weeks look the same.
You’ll be the trusted adviser for General Managers and Operations Leaders, helping them build high-performing, well-led teams across fast-paced, unionised manufacturing environments.
What you’ll get stuck into
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Building strong, influential relationships with operational leaders across multiple sites.
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Driving the people plan aligned to business and production goals.
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Leading the full spectrum of employee relations and industrial relations work, including complex cases and union engagement.
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Coaching managers to boost their confidence, capability and leadership style.
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Embedding strong processes around performance management, succession planning and talent development.
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Working closely with central HR, Reward and L&D to ensure consistency and bring best practice into the region.
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Using people data to spot trends, improve engagement, and support operational productivity.
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Championing a culture rooted in safety, inclusion and continuous improvement.
About you
You’ll be a confident, proactive HR professional who’s comfortable working in busy, industrial environments and building credibility fast. You’ll also bring:
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Solid experience as an HRBP or multi-site HR Manager.
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A practical mindset, equally comfortable on the shopfloor and in senior leadership meetings.
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Strong ER/IR experience, including union relationships.
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Natural influencing skills and the ability to coach leaders at all levels.
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Resilience, empathy and a values-led approach.
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CIPD qualification (or equivalent).
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Willingness to travel between Fife, Glasgow, Cumbria and occasional Irish sites.
Why this role stands out
Because you won’t be inheriting perfection… you’ll be helping create it. You’ll see the difference your work makes week by week as you introduce better processes, stronger leadership behaviours and a more strategic approach to people management.
If you want to help shape the future of HR in a business that’s already thriving commercially, and you enjoy working with leaders who want real partnership, not paperwork, then you’ll love this.
