Head of People

Newry, County Down
Corvus People

Head of People
Location: Newry, with regular travel to sites across NI and ROI
Salary: Range shared after initial discussion + bonus, pension, private healthcare & car allowance.

Closing Date: 21st October 2025 at 2pm

This is a newly created role in a well-established construction business.

Established in 1972, OHMG is still family-owned, still doing great work, and still building long-standing relationships with clients across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

But like a lot of companies, they re ready to do things a bit differently.

This isn t about fixing a broken culture. It s about building on what s already there and shaping a people function that supports growth, development, and long-term capability.

Until now, HR has been reactive. The admin has been covered, but the strategic side has been missing. They ve started to address that recently with some external support, and now they re ready to bring someone in full-time to take the lead.

This is a standalone role to begin with, reporting directly to the MD. You ll be the first Head of People in the company s history, so there s no legacy to work around. You ll have a blank canvas, strong backing from the board, and the opportunity to shape how people are supported, developed, and retained across the business.

You ll be involved in:

• Developing a people plan that works for both site and office-based teams
• Introducing learning and development, performance conversations, and career pathways
• Leading culture and engagement initiatives using insights from their first employee survey
• Reviewing and updating contracts, policies, systems, and basic HR processes
• Working with managers to build confidence and consistency in how they lead their teams

What we re looking for

We re not expecting perfection, but you will need to bring a solid mix of experience and common sense. Ideally, you ll have:

• Senior-level HR or People leadership experience in a busy, operational environment
• A track record of building or improving people functions, not just maintaining one
• Strong working knowledge of NI employment law
• A working understanding of ROI employment legislation (or willingness to build it quickly)
• Experience across workforce planning, L&D, performance, and engagement
• Confidence working with senior leaders, line managers, and site-based teams
• The ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on delivery

If you ve worked in construction or a similar project-led business, great. If not, you ll still need to show that you understand how to design people processes that work in the real world, not just on paper.

If you re looking for the chance to build something meaningful from the ground up, with a company that genuinely sees people as part of its long-term success, this could be an excellent next career move for you.

Message us or send over a CV if this sounds like something you d like to explore.

Don t worry if your CV isn t up-to-date, we can deal with that later.