Group People Manager

Blue Gem Holdings is a fast-paced, hands-on business in the high-growth flexible office market, with a strong culture and a high-performance ethos. The group is growing, and HR needs to grow with it: new systems, AI tools and streamlined processes are being introduced to support that growth.

The Group People Manager will be the group's sole HR lead, reporting to the Chief of Staff. You will set HR strategy and build the systems and processes behind it, while also running the full employee lifecycle day to day: recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, absence, performance, policy and offboarding. You will be the trusted HR adviser to the leadership team and keep the business fully compliant with UK employment law.

At the heart of the role is judgement. People will bring you sensitive, confidential and sometimes difficult situations, and they need to trust that you will handle them fairly, discreetly and correctly. With no wider HR team to lean on, this is a role for an experienced practitioner who is as comfortable shaping strategy as running a disciplinary hearing.

• HR strategy, set with the Chief of Staff and implemented pragmatically in line with Blue Gem's goals

• Acting as the trusted HR adviser to the Chief of Staff and leadership team, including reporting at Board level

• Introducing a new HR system and AI tools, starting with mapping every process across recruitment, onboarding, paperwork, inductions, training, appraisals, career journeys and offboarding

• End-to-end recruitment: workforce planning with managers, writing job descriptions and adverts, managing agencies and job boards, shortlisting, interviewing and issuing offers

• Pre-employment checks, including right to work, references and any background checks, completed and recorded before start dates

• Onboarding and inductions, so every new starter has their contract, equipment, system access and first-week plan in place on day one

• Employee relations: advising managers on conduct, capability, grievances, absence and flexible working, and managing complex cases through to resolution, using external employment law advice where needed

• Running formal processes, including letters, invite packs, hearings and outcomes, in line with the ACAS Code of Practice

• Absence management, including tracking sickness, return-to-work meetings, occupational health referrals and family leave

• Probation, performance management and appraisals, making sure managers complete them on time and on record

• Leading organisational change, planning and communicating it, and managing any resistance or conflict that comes with it

• Writing and maintaining HR policies, the employee handbook, contracts and HR letters, updated as legislation changes

• HR records and the HR system, kept accurate, complete and GDPR compliant, with clear filing so information can be found quickly

• Monthly payroll inputs: starters, leavers, changes and absence, checked and passed to payroll by the deadline

• HR reporting, including headcount, turnover, absence and recruitment figures

• Managing HR suppliers, including recruitment agencies, payroll, benefits and training providers, reviewing contract terms and costs

• Training and development, engagement and wellbeing activity across the business

• Offboarding, including resignations, exit interviews, final pay information and leaver records

Requirements

• At least five years' experience in an HR Generalist role, handling the full employee lifecycle rather than one specialism

• A degree and a CIPD Level 5 qualification. CIPD Level 7 or other HR certifications are an advantage

• Strong knowledge of the hiring process, from workforce planning to the first day, including right to work and fair, consistent selection

• A sound, up-to-date understanding of UK employment law, HR best practice and the ACAS Code of Practice, with the confidence to apply it to real situations

• A track record of developing and implementing HR policies, processes and systems, ideally including an HR system rollout

• Excellent judgement and problem-solving, able to work through complex HR issues on your own and know when to bring in external advice

• Experience supporting organisational change, and handling the resistance, conflict and emotion that can come with it

• Business acumen: you understand how financial, operational and strategic decisions affect people, and can analyse supplier contracts and their costs

• A customer-focused approach to HR, treating managers and employees as people you are there to help, with a high level of discretion and professionalism

• Excellent verbal communication skills, able to have difficult conversations calmly, explain policy in plain English and report concisely at Board level

• Strong written skills for drafting policies, contracts and HR documents that follow brand guidelines

• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural awareness, with the ability to build trust with people at every level and from every background

• Able to work well with colleagues, managers and the leadership team, and take ownership of outcomes

• Highly organised, with a disciplined approach to storing, updating and finding different types of information every day

• Proficient in the Microsoft Office suite, particularly Word, Excel and Outlook, and confident using HR systems and other HR technology

• A hands-on, proactive mindset, able to manage competing priorities and adapt quickly as the business changes

Benefits

• Base salary £60,000–£70,000

• Discretionary annual performance bonus

• A possible pathway from fixed term to a permanent role

• The chance to build HR your way as the group's sole HR lead, working directly with the Chief of Staff and leadership team

• A hand in shaping how HR works as the business introduces new systems, AI tools and processes

• Professional development, including support towards CIPD Level 7 for the right candidate

• Employee ownership. The business is owned by an Employee Ownership Trust, so as it grows the rewards are shared with the people who work in it

• Regular team-building events, celebrating wins together

• A fantastic pension scheme

• Employee Assistance Programme, round-the-clock support

• Free access to wellbeing programmes

• Personal season travel ticket loan