Interim Human Resources Director

Interim HR Director – Business Partnering & Employee Relations

North West England | Hybrid| 6-Month Assignment | £800 per day

A high-impact interim leadership opportunity at the heart of a major business transformation.

Middlemore is partnering with a leading, private equity-backed UK services organisation to appoint an Interim People Partnering & Solutions Director, reporting directly to the Chief People Officer.

With significant growth underway, the business is entering a pivotal phase. A major workforce transfer will bring in a substantial unionised population, creating an opportunity to reshape how the organisation partners with its people, engages with trade unions and delivers sustainable performance.

This newly created role sits on the People Leadership Team, with a broad remit spanning strategic HR business partnering, employee and industrial relations, organisation design, workforce planning and the future of work.

The Opportunity

This is a six-month assignment for a commercially astute HR leader who can operate strategically while staying close to the realities of a large, distributed workforce.

You will:

• Lead business partnering and employee relations, strengthening the HRBP and ER function
• Shape the industrial relations agenda, building constructive relationships with recognised trade unions and leading collective consultation, TUPE and pay negotiations
• Partner with the Executive team on organisation design, transformation and business-critical people decisions
• Drive workforce planning to ensure the right capability, capacity and structure for growth
• Help shape a pragmatic approach to workforce AI and the future of work
• Contribute to the People Strategy through to 2030

About You

You are an established HR leader who combines commercial credibility, strong industrial relations expertise and the ability to influence at the highest levels.

You'll bring:

• Significant experience at HR Director or HRBP Director level, ideally with interim or contract experience
• A strong track record in complex, operationally intensive businesses with large field-based workforces
• Deep trade union and industrial relations experience, including collective consultation, negotiations and TUPE
• Proven expertise in organisation design, transformation and workforce planning
• Experience leading HR Business Partnering and Employee Relations teams
• The confidence to challenge and build trusted relationships with Executive stakeholders
• A collaborative, pragmatic and commercially focused style

Experience in energy, utilities, manufacturing or other large-scale operational field based environments would be particularly relevant.