Role HR Advisor
Location Bridgend | On-site | 5 days per week
Contract Full-time, Permanent
Department People / HR
Reports to HR Manager / Head of People
We are seeking an experienced, practical HR Advisor to join our clients business as the first permanent HR hire on site. This is a hands-on, operational role supporting a blue-collar workforce within a manufacturing and operational environment in what is a fascinating ecommerce business.
You will play a key role in managing day-to-day HR activity, freeing up senior HR leaders to focus on strategic priorities, while ensuring employees and managers receive consistent, timely, and high-quality HR support.
This role suits someone who enjoys being close to the workforce, thrives in a traditional operational setting, and is comfortable dealing with experienced, sometimes old-school stakeholders.
Job Responsibilities
Operational HR & Employee Relations
- Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day HR queries
- Manage absence, sickness, performance, disciplinary and grievance processes
- Support investigations, hearings, and meetings with a fair, pragmatic approach
- Handle flexible working requests and general employment queries
- Build strong, trusted relationships with line managers in an operational environment
HR Administration
- Draft and issue contracts, offer letters, and contractual variations
- Manage starters, leavers, onboarding, and probation processes
- Maintain absence, sickness, and holiday records
- Maintain accurate employee records in line with GDPR
- Deliver high-quality HR administration that enables the business to run smoothly
HR Systems, Payroll & Data
- Work with manual HR processes during transition
- Support the implementation of HiBob as the first HR system
- Maintain HR data accuracy and integrity
- Support payroll processes within the HR team
- Produce HR reports and metrics as required
Team Support & Continuous Improvement
- Work closely with interim HR leadership to support operational delivery
- Take ownership of tasks and work independently
- Identify opportunities to improve HR processes and ways of working
Experience Needed
- Proven experience in an HR Advisor or HR Administrator role with advisory responsibilities
- Experience working with blue-collar or operational workforces
- Strong working knowledge of UK employment law
- Comfortable dealing with experienced, sometimes challenging or traditional stakeholders
- Highly organised with strong attention to detail
- Confident communicator with a practical, calm approach
- Happy working fully on site, five days per week
Nice to Have’s
- Experience in manufacturing, steel, logistics, or similar environments
- Experience supporting HR system implementations, ideally HiBob
- CIPD Level 3 or Level 5, or working towards
Why Join
- First permanent HR role on site with real ownership and visibility
- Opportunity to help build strong HR foundations
- Close support from experienced interim HR leaders
- Involvement in implementing the first HR system
- Stable, hands-on role for someone who enjoys operational HR
