HR Manager

 HR Manager | Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria | £50,000–£55,000 | Full Time, 37.5 hours | Hybrid (4 days on site, 1 from home)

Do you want to be the HR person everyone in the building knows by name? Are you comfortable owning payroll as well as the people side, in a business that makes decisions quickly and has a culture to be proud of?

This is a permanent HR Manager role with a well-established, family-owned manufacturing & wholesale business in Kirkby Stephen. Most of the workforce is in operations, customer service and sales. There’s also a small additional manufacturing site 3 hours north of Cumbria which makes up the full company portfolio. 

The family’s values are still very much part of how the business runs. The company has a good local reputation as an employer. It’s not corporate and there isn’t much red tape. They want someone who is firm, fair and consistent, and who will make a decision, act on it fairly and professionally. 

The current HR Manager is leaving in March 2027 so ideally you would start in late January or early February and receive a proper handover. You’ll report to the Operations Director, sit on the Leadership Team and manage a part-time HR & Training Assistant.

The Role

You’ll run HR across both sites on your own terms, with real autonomy and the trust of the directors.

Being the go-to person for HR

• Give generalist advice on everything from sickness absence through to grievance
• Coach managers and coordinators so they can handle day-to-day people issues confidently
• Handle the formal employee relations cases yourself. Cases are on the light side with a few cases a year, but they need to be managed confidently and as the main HR professional on site.
• Pick up several long-term absence cases already in progress, and make sure the newly introduced absence triggers and escalation process work as intended
• Manage contractual changes and keep policies, procedures and employment documentation current
• Own GDPR compliance for all HR records

Payroll, pensions and benefits

Finance runs the payroll process but you’ll be responsible for making sure everything that goes into it is right. This oversight and fine tuning takes between 1.5 to 3 days a month. You must have had some experience managing a payroll process previously. 

• Check that every pay rate change, overtime claim, starter, leaver and anomaly is correct, then input it into payroll system on time, working closely with Finance
• Expect this to take one or two days in most months, and closer to three in heavier months such as April
• Manage pensions and employee benefits, keeping them compliant
• Lead the annual pay review and manage an HR budget of around £70,000

Recruitment, development and wellbeing

• Oversee recruitment across both sites and interview for team leader roles and above
• Make sure induction gives new starters a proper start and a real feel for the culture
• Keep the learning platform, probation reviews and annual reviews working as they should
• Run the training needs analysis and manage the training budget
• Promote wellbeing across the business, including the health cash plan

The team 

• Manage and develop the HR & Training Assistant, who works three days a week on general admin
• Visit the second site every couple of months, which is a three-hour drive with an overnight stay, or more often when needed
• Contribute to wider business decisions as a member of the Leadership Team

What You’ll Bring

You’ll be an experienced, hands-on HR generalist who is happy to be visible and approachable on the shop floor, and confident enough to hold the line when needed.

• CIPD Level 5 or above is preferred but open to qual by experience only if demonstrated 
• At least three years in a senior generalist, HR Manager or HR Business Partner role
• Experience of running/managing a payroll & pensions process
• Up-to-date employment law knowledge and confidence handling formal casework
• Experience in manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, logistics or a similar operational environment would be a real advantage
• A pragmatic, common-sense approach, a good sense of humour and no attachment to hierarchy
• Willingness to travel to second site regularly, including occasional overnight stays every couple of months

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• £50,000–£55,000 salary depending on experience
• Hybrid working, with four days on site and one day from home (this is company policy for all managers)
• Pension with an employer contribution from three months, increasing with service up to a matched 10%
• BUPA private healthcare, with the option to add family members
• Health cash plan
• Group income protection
• Death in service cover
• Company sick pay after a four-month probation, increasing with service
• 21 days’ holiday plus bank holidays, increasing with service
• Free parking
• A proper handover from the outgoing HR Manager
• A family business with a strong local reputation, where you’ll make a visible difference

Foxgroves Recruitment acts as an employment agency for vacancies on behalf of clients, following fair and inclusive recruitment practices in line with the Equality Act 2010. All appointments are subject to pre-employment screening, including right to work checks, reference checks, and qualification verification. Reasonable adjustments are available for individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.