HR Manager

This is a true hybrid HR role, combining business partnering with operational delivery. You will act as a key advisor to senior leaders across the UK Sustainability Division, bringing both credibility and constructive challenge to support business decision-making.

Step Into The Role

Leading a small HR team, you will be responsible for delivering a high-quality, pragmatic HR service while driving continuous improvement across people practices. This role requires someone who thrives in a hands-on environment, enjoys variety, and is comfortable switching between strategic input and day-to-day execution.

Main Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted HR partner to leadership and senior management teams, providing commercially focused and pragmatic people advice aligned to business goals

• Build strong relationships with stakeholders, influencing and challenging senior leaders to support effective decision-making

• Support organisational design, workforce planning, and people strategy

• Provide hands-on HR support across the full employee lifecycle, from onboarding through to exit

• Lead on employee relations matters, including complex and high-risk cases

• Support organisational change initiatives, including restructures and business transformation activities

• Ensure consistent application of HR policies and best practice in line with UK employment legislation

• Own and process monthly payroll, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and coordination with Finance and external providers

• Lead and develop a small HR team, setting direction, managing priorities, and building capability

• Maintain accurate HR and payroll data, ensuring integrity across systems and personnel records

• Monitor HR metrics and provide insight to inform business decisions

• Draft and manage employee documentation and formal HR processes

• Partner with managers on recruitment, role design, and onboarding

• Support employee development and build management capability

• Drive continuous improvement across HR processes and ways of working

• Act as a key escalation point for HR matters

Our Offer

• Hybrid (Watford / Hemel Hempstead / Northampton area), with an expectation of c.3 days per week on-site and regular travel to UK locations

• Monday-Friday 37.5h per week

Your profile

About You

• Proven experience in a generalist HR role with responsibilities aligned to HR Manager level

• Experience influencing senior leadership teams with confidence to challenge and guide decision making

• Experience in a small or standalone HR environment with a hands-on approach

• Strong employee relations experience

• Sound knowledge of UK employment law

• Experience managing or processing payroll

• Experience leading or mentoring HR team members

• Comfortable balancing strategic and operational work

• Highly organised with strong attention to detail

• Confident communicator with the ability to build credibility at all levels

• CIPD qualified, or equivalent professional experience or qualifications

Your New Workplace

Normec is a fast-growing international specialist in testing, inspection, certification and compliance. Our UK Sustainability Division supports clients across environmental, scientific and regulatory landscapes.

As we continue to grow, we are looking for a pragmatic and commercially minded HR professional to support our UK operations - someone equally comfortable shaping people strategy and getting stuck into day-to-day delivery.

About Normec

A leading organization in the Testing, Inspection, Certification, and Compliance (TICC) industry. Our expertise covers essential areas such as water, air, and soil quality, fire safety, and food safety, ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety across various sectors. Founded in 2016, Normec is an ambitious, independent, and fast-growing organization with approximately 6,500 colleagues.

We offer our colleagues the opportunity to actively contribute to our mission while simultaneously developing their own careers within a dynamic and rapidly growing organization. Together, we work on impactful solutions for our clients and on a sustainable future. The culture within Normec is informal, open, energetic, and entrepreneurial, and is anchored in our GROWTH principles. Through our The Normec Fit program, which brings these principles to life, we ensure that not only our company grows, but also everyone who is part of it.

Interested? Let’s Talk!

If you would like to speak more about this role, please reach out to HR-uklabs@normecgroup.com

Unsolicited contact from recruitment agencies is not appreciated and will not receive a response