Director - Civil Engineering​/Construction Contractor

A leading civil engineering and construction contractor has retained our services to recruit a UK People Director to join its UK leadership team.

The role will lead the people agenda across various UK sites, maintaining strong engagement with 2000+ frontline employees across a geographically wide workforce.

Our client is seeking a commercially minded HR leader with strong employee relations expertise and experience leading HR Business Partner teams supporting large, multisite operational work forces.

This is a great opportunity to combine strategic judgement with a practical, hands‑on approach and the ability to build credibility from board level to site teams, with a visible presence across offices and operational locations.

• Overall functional responsibility for the performance and delivery of the UK People Function, including UK Recruitment, ensuring high standards, consistency, accuracy and effective collaboration across the UK HR team.
• Be the main point of contact for the UK Managing Director and UK Senior People Partners on key HR issues.
• Support the Group People Director and work with peers in other geographies, ensuring smooth transitions when staff relocate internationally.
• Responsibility for ensuring that the Learning and Development strategy is clearly communicated and consistently implemented across all areas of the UK business.
• Act as the day-to-day HR contact for UK central functions, providing generalist advice and drawing on support from the wider UK HR team as needed.

• FCIPD qualified or well on the way towards it.
• Previous experience of working in a senior generalist HR Director or Head of HR/Equivalent role in a substantial business (over 1,000 people), which has involved multi-site operations.
• Experience could have been gained in a wide variety of industrial business sectors including Construction, Facilities Management, Infrastructure, Logistics & Transport, Manufacturing etc.
• Experience working as either part of a country operating board or similar country wide boards/teams, with a direct relationship to a country MD or equivalent.
• Comfortable with regular national travel.
• Strong knowledge of remuneration & recognition trends.
• Strong knowledge of employee relations and resolving issues practically as well as legally.
• Experience of identifying, developing and delivering innovative HR solutions at scale.
• Strong and demonstrable track record of putting group HR strategies into successful action at either a country or significant sized business unit level.