Head of HR UK & Ireland

Head of HR UK & Ireland

Location: West London, 4 Days on-site, 1 work from home
Salary: c. £80,000 to £90,000 base, plus car allowance and bonus
Sector: Retail, leisure, hospitality or multi-site consumer-facing environment

We are working with a fast-paced, multi-site leisure business to appoint a Head of HR for the UK and Ireland.

This is a highly operational HR leadership role, suited to someone who enjoys being close to the business, partnering with senior stakeholders and leading a small, capable HR team. The role requires someone commercially minded, pragmatic and hands-on, who can balance strong HR governance with the pace and demands of a customer-facing, multi-site environment.

Reporting to the General Manager, you will act as the senior HR lead for the UK and Ireland, supporting both head office and a large operational estate. You will work closely with senior leaders, area managers and group HR colleagues to deliver practical people plans, support organisational change and ensure HR activity is delivered consistently and to a high standard.

Key responsibilities will include

Managing and developing a small HR team, including HR Business Partners and HR coordination support

Partnering with senior operational leaders to deliver the people agenda across a multi-site business

Providing hands-on support and guidance on complex employee relations matters, restructures, consultations and organisational change

Ensuring HR policies, processes and procedures are legally compliant, practical and commercially effective

Supporting recruitment, succession planning, talent development and performance management activity

Driving operational HR excellence across areas such as ER, payroll coordination, recruitment, training, pay and benefits, and people reporting

Working closely with group HR colleagues on wider HR initiatives, frameworks and cyclical activity

Using people data, dashboards and metrics to identify trends, risks and areas for improvement

Supporting the business through ongoing change, including new operating models, technology improvements and evolving ways of working

The successful candidate

You will be an experienced senior HR generalist, ideally operating at Head of HR level, or a senior HR Business Partner ready to step into a broader leadership role.

You will bring experience from a fast-paced, multi-site environment such as retail, leisure, hospitality, quick service restaurants or a similar consumer-facing business.

You will need to be comfortable operating at both strategic and operational levels, but this is not a detached, corporate HR role. The successful person will be hands-on, visible, resilient and comfortable rolling their sleeves up.

We are looking for someone with

Senior HR generalist experience in a multi-site, operational business

Strong employment law and complex ER experience

Experience supporting restructures, consultations, redundancies or TUPE-related activity

The ability to influence senior stakeholders while maintaining strong HR governance

Experience managing and developing a small HR team

A commercial, pragmatic and solutions-focused approach

Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise in a fast-moving environment

Confidence working with data, people metrics and HR reporting

High standards, sound judgement and strong personal credibility

This is an excellent opportunity for a hands-on HR leader who enjoys pace, variety and operational complexity, and who wants to play a key role in supporting a business through its next stage of development.