Salary: £60k - 65k per year
Reference: JOB-12574
Opportunity Brief: Head of HR
Ford & Stanley Executive Search (Part of the Ford & Stanley Group) are a leading Executive search firm to the UK, North American and European Engineering, Technology, Sustainability & Heavy Manufacturing industries.
Our search directors, search consultants and research teams specialise in all horizontal functions of our clients’ organisations with expertise spanning engineering, commercial, procurement, HR, IT, finance, HSQE, sales, projects, operations and c-suite.
We are trusted by over 100 leading organisations when they seek to make a leadership appointment, be that a permanent appointment or an interim solution.
We have been retained and appointed by Buckland Rail on a retained search for a Head of HR, a hands-on HR professional who can ensure that all HR processes and Procedures are fit for purpose to match growth ambitions.
Below you will find an ‘opportunity brief’ developed from notes taken during the scoping meeting (Situational Discovery) held between the Business Manager and Managing Consultant of Ford & Stanley Executive Search and the newly appointed CEO of Buckland Rail. This brief is designed to give candidates a deeper insight into the opportunity inherent within the role, the challenges the role presents and provide access to the detail that sits behind the job specification.

ESSENTIAL HARD SKILLS (SKILLS & EXPERIENCE)

§ Experienced HR professional with circa 10 years’ experience working within a HR function alongside being ambitious to continue their development
§ Strong experience in business partnering with managers and senior stakeholders, advising on HR Issues and optimising business performance.
§ Experience working in an SME environment where it is a requirement to ‘roll your sleeves up’ and work in a hands on fashion.
§ Track record of working within an engineering business that has a ‘Blue Collar’ workforce
§ *Desirable: Experience working in the Rail industry.

ESSENTIAL SOFT SKILLS (ATTRIBUTES & BEHAVIOURS)

§ Engaging both externally and internally, strong communications skills, able to communicate from boardroom to shop floor.
§ Detail-orientated and process-driven – always looking at how to make marginal gains and continuous improvements
§ Confidence in ability and able to make recommendations. Noting that it’s important to not be too confident. Personality and engagement are key.
§ Hands-on in approach and capable of bringing others on a journey.
§ Good sense of humour
§ Resilient with an understanding that change won’t be delivered immediately.

GOOD TO KNOW:

• Buckland Rail is part of the Buckland Group and is made up of three businesses, Yellow Rail, W.H Davis and Davis Wagons
• Group turnover is ~ £45m and has circa 200-250 members of staff.
• The Head of HR within Buckland Rail will report directly to the CEO of the Group. As a group, Buckland is profitable, has a good mix of people and receives consistent investment for growth.
• Yellow Rail is a specialist engineering business with strong capability in bogie overhaul and repair. The business is made up of varied project values and sizes from £50k-£2m.
• WH Davis is the last independent UK Rail Wagon Manufacturer, they are especially dependent on the demand in the market and their performance tends to fluctuate within a 3-year cycle.
• Davis Wagons Services are a leading maintainer of rail freight wagons, with a predictable stable performance, they tend to grow in line with the investment provided into them. They have so far outperformed expectations and are on a stable trajectory.
• All though this is a group-focused position, we expect the majority of HR work to be focused on Yellow Rail, as they haven’t had a standalone HR function, previously this was looked after by the FD. It is expected that the time split will be 10% Buckland Rail, 40% Yellow Rail, 25% WH Davis and 25% Davis Wagons.
• This role is a newly created position within the structure aimed at supporting the business with its current needs but also ensuring the HR function is developed to support future growth ambitions.
• It’s important to note that the HR Function is being developed as a strong advisory function to the business and as such will have a strong emphasis towards HR Business Partnering.
• Currently, plenty of the HR responsibilities are absorbed within the businesses in the form of responsibilities being picked up by other members of staff and it will fall to the Head of HR to mentor these individual to ensure adherence to required standards.
• We are expecting the incoming Head of HR to be welcomed by the three businesses within the group as they recognise the value that this support can provide to their growth plans.
• The role will work very closely with the Group CEO and MDs of each business, advising on HR issues and ensuring the HR function is there to support business needs.
• Due to the role being majority based on Yellow Rail’s site it is important to empower and develop staff on the other sites in your absence.
• Future plans include; the implementation of an HR system across the group and the implementation of a proper apprenticeship scheme to help with future growth.
• The incoming Head of HR will need to be aware that currently there is little in the way of structured process and procedure within the HR Function. Although the long term plan is to develop all of this capability there is a step by step process to follow and it will be important not to ‘run before we can walk’.
• We are expecting the incoming Head of HR to be visible to staff to demonstrate the investment in culture and build relationships with the teams.
• Emotional intelligence will be key to the success of this role with the incumbent being required to build strong relationships and understand when to negotiate, compromise and stand their ground. Important to note that they will have the full support of the CEO as changes are rolled out across the business.
• Key responsibilities include:
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• Developing, implementing, monitoring and maintaining HR policies and procedures, ensuring they are up-to-date and compliant with current employment legislation

• Advising managers on HR policies and procedures, ensuring they are adhered to and effectively communicated across the organisation.
• Providing HR generalist and best practice employment law expertise on the full range of employment issues, including absence management, disciplinaries, grievances, performance management and appraisal and restructuring
• Overseeing recruitment, selection and the induction and onboarding process
• Identifying and developing training and development initiatives
• Working closely with the senior team to develop staff skills including highlighting needs and recommendations made through the staff appraisal process
• Monitoring staff turnover and ensuring that exit interviews are carried out, analysing and reporting on findings.
• Attending and contributing to management meetings
• Managing all HR administration
• Monitoring employee attendance and sick leave and ensuring managers are actively addressing issues when they arise
• Ensuring mandatory records and contracts of employment are maintained and up-to-date and kept in line with the requirements of current legislation

Please refer the Job description for details