HR Manager – Standalone

Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited

Excellent Opportunity Permanent HR Manager – Standalone. We are looking for a confident and capable HR Manager to take ownership of a standalone HR function within a fast-paced, commercial environment. This is a true generalist role where you will have full responsibility for the end-to-end employee life cycle, partnering closely with managers to deliver practical, commercially focused HR solutions.Working autonomously, you’ll play a key role in shaping the people agenda, supporting business growth, and ensuring a positive and compliant working environment.The RoleAs HR Manager, you will oversee all HR activities, both strategic and operational, acting as the go-to expert for managers and employees across the business.Key ResponsibilitiesGeneralist HR & Business Support

• Act as the first point of contact for all day-to-day HR matters, providing expert, pragmatic advice.
• Manage the full employee life cycle, from recruitment and onboarding through to development, change, and exit.
• Lead recruitment activity, including job design, shortlisting, interviewing, and onboarding.
• Build strong, trusted relationships with managers, supporting them in identifying and addressing people-related needs.
• Support training and development initiatives, helping to build capability across the business.
• Monitor key HR metrics (absence, turnover, recruitment trends), identifying insights and escalating risks.

Employee Relations

• Manage and advise on a wide range of employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, and performance cases.
• Support organisational change, including redundancy processes, consultation, and restructuring.
• Provide support for TUPE activity where required.
• Lead investigations, produce reports, and guide managers to fair and compliant outcomes.

HR Operations, Policy & Compliance

• Ensure all HR policies and procedures are up-to-date, compliant, and consistently applied.
• Prepare employment contracts, offer letters, and documentation in line with UK employment law.
• Maintain accurate employee records, ensuring GDPR compliance.
• Support payroll processes by coordinating accurate and timely data with the external provider.
• Oversee employee benefits administration and ensure cost awareness/reporting.
• Work independently with limited oversight while aligning to overall business strategy.

About You

• CIPD Level 5 qualified (or working towards) or equivalent experience.
• Proven experience in a generalist HR Manager level role, ideally within a fast-paced environment.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law, including disciplinary, grievance, TUPE, and redundancy processes.
• Experience managing employee relations cases end-to-end with minimal supervision.
• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work autonomously.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to quickly build trust and credibility with stakeholders.
• Confident using Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

What you need to do nowIf you’re interested in this role, click ‘apply now’ to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.If this job isn’t quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.

Hays EA is a trading division of Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited and acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C’s, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk