HR and People Manager

Caswell Maintenance Services Ltd is a growing, family-owned construction, maintenance and project delivery business.

We work across the UK delivering commercial refurbishment, retail, maintenance, construction and specialist works for a range of national clients.

As the business has grown, so have our people, systems and responsibilities.

We are now looking for an experienced HR professional who can take genuine ownership of our people function, support our managers and Directors, and help us continue to develop into a stronger, better organised and professionally managed business.

This is not simply an HR administration role.

We want someone who can become a trusted member of the management team, provide confident HR advice and also take broader ownership of the standards and effective running of our head office.

THE ROLE

The HR & People Manager will be responsible for leading the day-to-day HR function across Caswell's.

You will work directly with the Directors and managers across the business and will be expected to provide practical, commercially sensible HR advice.

You will own the employee journey from recruitment and onboarding through to development, performance management and, where necessary, disciplinary, capability or exit processes.

Alongside HR, you will have oversight of our general head-office operations.

This does not mean personally completing every administrative task.

Your responsibility will be to help ensure that our office is organised, professional and effective, that responsibilities are clear and that the people supporting the business are working together.

We expect the role to be approximately:

70–75% HR & People 25–30% Office & Business Operations

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. HR LEADERSHIP

Take ownership of the HR function across the business.

Be the first point of contact for managers and Directors requiring HR advice.

Provide practical, consistent and commercially sensible guidance.

Ensure managers understand their responsibilities when managing employees.

Help develop a culture where managers manage their teams properly rather than simply passing problems to HR.

Work closely with the Directors on people-related decisions and the future structure of the business.

1. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Confidently manage employee relations matters including:

· Absence and attendance.

· Conduct.

· Capability.

· Performance concerns.

· Grievances.

· Disciplinary matters.

· Flexible or amended working arrangements.

· Probation issues.

· Long-term absence.

· Employee welfare concerns.

· Exit processes.

Ensure processes are fair, consistent, properly documented and compliant with current employment legislation and good practice.

Provide managers with clear advice rather than simply presenting them with HR policy.

1. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Help Caswells continue to improve the way we manage performance.

Own and develop our:

· Probation process.

· Performance reviews.

· Appraisal process.

· Performance Improvement Plans.

· Manager feedback processes.

· Objective setting.

· Development plans.

Make sure poor performance is identified and managed early.

Equally, help us recognise, retain and develop good people.

1. RECRUITMENT & WORKFORCE PLANNING

Work with managers and Directors to understand future recruitment requirements.

Take ownership of the recruitment process including:

· Job descriptions.

· Recruitment adverts.

· Candidate screening.

· Interview coordination.

· Interview support where required.

· Offer documentation.

· Pre-employment checks.

· References.

· Right-to-work documentation.

· New starter preparation.

Help us improve how Caswells presents itself to potential employees.

Support the Directors with workforce and succession planning as the business grows.

1. ONBOARDING & PROBATION

Make sure every new employee receives a professional and organised introduction to Caswells.

Coordinate:

· Contracts and employment paperwork.

· Company policies.

· System access.

· Equipment requirements.

· Company introductions.

· Inductions.

· Training requirements.

· Probation objectives.

· Probation review dates.

Managers remain responsible for managing their employees, but HR should ensure the process actually happens.

1. LEARNING, DEVELOPMENT & COMPETENCY

Work with managers to identify skills gaps across the business.

Help maintain appropriate training and competency records.

Support development plans for employees with the potential to progress.

Assist with apprenticeships and early-career development.

Help us create clearer progression routes within the business.

Identify management training requirements and help managers become better people managers.

1. HR POLICIES & COMPLIANCE

Maintain and continually improve the company’s HR policies and procedures.

Ensure documentation remains practical, understandable and legally appropriate.

Maintain accurate employee records.

Ensure HR information is confidential and appropriately controlled.

Keep the Directors informed of important employment-law changes and advise on any action required.

Work alongside Health & Safety, Finance and other departments where responsibilities overlap.

1. HR REPORTING

Provide useful HR information to the Directors and Board.

We do not want reporting for the sake of reporting.

Information should help us make decisions.

Typical areas will include:

· Headcount.

· Recruitment.

· Staff turnover.

· Absence.

· Probations.

· Appraisals.

· Training.

· Employee relations.

· Current HR risks.

· Upcoming actions.

· Workforce requirements.

Highlight problems early rather than allowing them to become surprises.

OFFICE & BUSINESS OPERATIONS

1. HEAD OFFICE MANAGEMENT

Take overall responsibility for helping maintain a professional, organised and effective head-office environment.

This includes helping ensure:

· Responsibilities are clear.

· Administrative tasks are allocated appropriately.

· Office standards are maintained.

· Issues are dealt with rather than left unresolved.

· Communication between departments works.

· Visitors and new employees receive a professional impression of Caswells.

· General office requirements are identified and coordinated.

The role is about ownership and oversight , not personally doing everything.

1. ADMINISTRATION TEAM SUPPORT

Help provide structure and direction to employees working within general administration and business support.

Work with the Directors and departmental managers to make sure administrative responsibilities are clear.

Help identify:

· Duplicate work.

· Missing responsibilities.

· Poor processes.

· Unnecessary administration.

· Tasks which could be simplified.

· Areas where greater accountability is required.

Encourage departments to work together rather than operating independently.

1. INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Help improve communication throughout the business.

Support the Directors with important employee communications.

Make sure important policies, changes and expectations are communicated clearly.

Help maintain communication between:

Directors → Managers → Office → Operational Teams

Support company meetings, employee briefings and engagement initiatives where appropriate.

1. CULTURE & EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Help us maintain the good parts of being a family-owned business while introducing the structure required for a growing company.

We want Caswells to remain a business where people know one another, can speak openly and feel part of the company.

At the same time, expectations must be clear.

The successful person will help us create a culture built around:

· Accountability.

· Respect.

· Communication.

· Teamwork.

· High standards.

· Fairness.

· Ownership.

· Continuous improvement.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

We will consider this appointment successful when:

Managers manage people confidently. They understand what is expected from them and know when HR support is required.

HR problems are dealt with early. Problems do not sit unresolved for weeks or months.

Our recruitment improves. Vacancies are organised, candidates receive a professional experience and managers understand what they are recruiting for.

Probations happen properly. Objectives are agreed, reviews take place and decisions are made on time.

Appraisals become meaningful. They lead to actions, development and better performance rather than simply completing paperwork.

Employee records are reliable. Documentation is organised, accurate and accessible to the right people.

The Directors have visibility. Important people issues, risks and actions are clearly reported.

The office runs effectively. Responsibilities are clear, communication improves and administrative issues are dealt with.

The role reduces Director involvement in everyday HR matters. The Directors should remain informed without needing to personally manage every HR issue.

THE PERSON WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for somebody who combines professional HR knowledge with common sense.

You should be comfortable working in a growing SME where every day may be different.

One morning you may be supporting a disciplinary meeting.

Later you could be interviewing a candidate, discussing performance with a manager, reviewing an HR policy and then resolving an issue affecting the office.

You need to enjoy being part of the business , rather than operating HR from the sidelines.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

You should have:

· Strong generalist HR experience.

· Experience independently managing employee relations cases.

· Good working knowledge of UK employment law.

· Experience advising managers.

· Experience managing disciplinary, grievance, capability and absence processes.

· Recruitment and onboarding experience.

· Performance-management experience.

· Excellent written communication.

· Strong organisational skills.

· Confidence working directly with senior management or business owners.

· The ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.

QUALIFICATIONS

CIPD Level 5 or equivalent experience – preferred/expected.

CIPD Level 7 – advantageous.

We value practical HR experience very highly and will consider the individual’s overall experience alongside formal qualifications.

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

Experience within any of the following would be particularly useful:

· Construction.

· Facilities management.

· Engineering.

· Maintenance.

· Manufacturing.

· Property.

· Logistics.

· Field-based workforces.

· Owner-managed or family-owned businesses.

· Growing SMEs.

Previous experience combining HR with broader business or office responsibilities would also be beneficial.

PERSONAL STYLE

This role will suit someone who is:

Confident. You must be comfortable giving managers and Directors clear advice.

Approachable. Employees at every level of the business should feel able to speak with you.

Commercial. We need practical solutions, not HR processes for the sake of processes.

Fair. Consistency and good judgement are important.

Organised. There will always be several different priorities requiring attention.

Proactive. We want someone who identifies an issue and helps resolve it.

Resilient. HR occasionally involves difficult conversations and difficult decisions.

Hands-on. This is not a role where everything is delegated to an HR team.

Pragmatic. You need to understand the realities of working within a construction business.

Improvement focused. If something could work better, we want you to tell us and help change it.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

We are not looking for someone who believes HR exists simply to create policies and paperwork.

We also do not want an HR function that prevents managers from managing.

We want somebody who can protect the business, treat our employees fairly and help managers make sensible decisions.

There will be structure and process, but these should help the business operate better.

WHY JOIN CASWELLS?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of the people function within an established and growing business.

You will have direct access to the Directors and the opportunity to genuinely influence how the company develops.

The HR function is continuing to evolve, which means there is scope to improve systems, introduce ideas and put your own stamp on the role.

As the company continues to grow, there is also the opportunity for the role and the HR function around it to develop further.

For the right person, this could ultimately develop toward a broader Head of People / Head of HR position as the business grows.

Above all, we are looking for somebody who wants to become part of Caswell's and help us build the next stage of the business.

Pay: £50,000.00-£60,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Company pension
• Free parking
• On-site parking
• Referral programme

Work Location: In person