Head of People

Drayton are thrilled to be partnering with a highly successful, international consumer business to appoint a Head of People, Site Operations. This is a significant leadership appointment with responsibility for leading the people agenda across an UK based fully operational manufacturing site.

• Take end-to-end accountability for the people agenda across a large, complex and continuously operating manufacturing environment.
• Work closely with the Site Director and leadership team, playing a pivotal role in enabling the smooth running of the operation through effective people leadership, employee engagement and a strong employee relations agenda.
• Embed Operational Excellence principles through training, communications, leadership behaviours, recruitment, onboarding and employee engagement initiatives.
• Establish effective feedback and performance practices, build clear progression pathways, and create inclusive initiatives that foster connection, pride and belonging across shifts and departments.

• Essential to offer HR site-based leadership experience within manufacturing, FMCG, food production, logistics, distribution or another operationally intensive environment.
• A proven track record supporting large site based and frontline employee populations.
• Experience gained within a larger, more mature organisation, with exposure to scalable people practices. Candidates who can complement big company experience with success in a smaller, fast growing organisation would be very attractive.
• Experience leading change, transformation or organisational development initiatives.
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with a practical, hands on approach.

• An experienced People lead with strong manufacturing credentials.
• First and foremost a hands-on leader who enjoys being visible across the site, building relationships, solving problems and helping operational leaders achieve great outcomes through their teams.
• Will have strong experience of workforce planning, talent development and succession, employee engagement, and performance management.
• Be confident managing people analytics, compliance requirements, payroll and reward activities, and a functional budget.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a market leading growth business and play a pivotal role in strengthening organisational capability across a complex and evolving international operation.

This role will be based in the UK.