Job Details

HR Business Partner

Location: Nottinghamshire
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
CIPD: Minimum Level 5 required

We're looking for a confident and proactive HR Business Partner to join our valued clients team and play a pivotal role in shaping a positive, high‑performance culture across all business operations. This is a hands‑on, people‑focused role supporting a fast‑paced industrial workforce, where strong judgement, credibility, and relationship‑building skills are essential.

About the Role

As the HR Business Partner, you will act as a trusted advisor to operational leaders, providing expert guidance across the full employee lifecycle. You'll be the go‑to specialist for employee relations, union engagement, employee lifecycle and project work.
You'll thrive here if you enjoy being visible on the shop floor, influencing managers, and driving pragmatic, people‑centred solutions.

Key Responsibilities

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  Employee Relations Management - Lead on complex ER cases including disciplinaries, grievances, investigations, performance management, and absence management, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes.
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  Union Relationship Management - Build strong, constructive relationships with trade union representatives; support collective bargaining, consultations, and negotiations.
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  Manager Coaching - Equip managers with the skills and confidence to lead their teams, handle ER issues early, and embed best‑practice people management.
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  Policy & Compliance - Ensure HR policies are up to date, legally compliant, and consistently applied across the site.
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  Culture & Engagement - Support initiatives that strengthen engagement, wellbeing, and retention within a blue‑collar workforce.
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  HR Projects - Lead and contribute to continuous improvement projects across HR systems, processes, and organisational development.

Essential criteria

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  CIPD Level 5 (minimum) - Level 7 desirable.
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  Proven experience as an HR Business Partner or Senior HR Advisor in a manufacturing, industrial, logistics, or blue‑collar environment.
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  Strong ER expertise with a track record of managing complex cases end‑to‑end.
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  Experience working with trade unions in a collaborative and solutions‑focused way.
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  Confident influencing senior leaders and challenging constructively.
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  Pragmatic, resilient, and comfortable working in a fast‑paced operational setting.

If this opportunity suits your skill set and is of interest, please apply now!

About Us

We are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive community. In line with our Diversity and Inclusion policy, we welcome applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability. As a Disability Confident Employer, and part of the Nicholas Associates Group, we are committed to supporting candidates with disabilities, and we're happy to discuss flexible working options.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of all our candidates and clients. If you choose to apply, your information will be processed in accordance with the Nicholas Associates Group of companies Privacy Notice.