Head of People

Company: Drayton
Apply for the Head of People
Location: Doncaster
Job Description:

Drayton are thrilled to be partnering with a highly successful, international consumer business to appoint a Head of People, Site Operations. This is a significant leadership appointment with responsibility for leading the people agenda across an UK based fully operational manufacturing site.

In This Role You Will:

  • Take end-to-end accountability for the people agenda across a large, complex and continuously operating manufacturing environment.
  • Work closely with the Site Director and leadership team, playing a pivotal role in enabling the smooth running of the operation through effective people leadership, employee engagement and a strong employee relations agenda.
  • Embed Operational Excellence principles through training, communications, leadership behaviours, recruitment, onboarding and employee engagement initiatives.
  • Establish effective feedback and performance practices, build clear progression pathways, and create inclusive initiatives that foster connection, pride and belonging across shifts and departments.

Requirements:

  • Essential to offer HR site-based leadership experience within manufacturing, FMCG, food production, logistics, distribution or another operationally intensive environment.
  • A proven track record supporting large site based and frontline employee populations.
  • Experience gained within a larger, more mature organisation, with exposure to scalable people practices. Candidates who can complement big company experience with success in a smaller, fast growing organisation would be very attractive.
  • Experience leading change, transformation or organisational development initiatives.
  • The ability to balance strategic thinking with a practical, hands on approach.

The Ideal Profile:

  • An experienced People lead with strong manufacturing credentials.
  • First and foremost a hands-on leader who enjoys being visible across the site, building relationships, solving problems and helping operational leaders achieve great outcomes through their teams.
  • Will have strong experience of workforce planning, talent development and succession, employee engagement, and performance management.
  • Be confident managing people analytics, compliance requirements, payroll and reward activities, and a functional budget.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join a market leading growth business and play a pivotal role in strengthening organisational capability across a complex and evolving international operation.

This role will be based in the UK.

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Posted: September 26th, 2026