Posted 28 July 2026
Job ref: 260818
Head of HR
- Location: Cumbria, England
- Salary: £500 - 750 per day + None
- Category
- Sector: Professional Services
- Contract type Contract
- Consultant: Joanna Jarrold
Morson Edge is looking for an experienced Head of Human Resources to join a well-established organisation operating within a highly regulated, safety-critical environment. This is a broad leadership role offering the opportunity to shape people strategy while remaining closely involved in day-to-day operational HR.
Working as a trusted adviser to the senior leadership team, you’ll provide pragmatic guidance across the full employee lifecycle, helping to build organisational capability, support business change and foster a high-performing culture.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as the senior HR lead, providing commercially focused advice and support to business leaders.
- Partner with managers to develop leadership capability and drive effective people management.
- Lead on complex employee relations matters, including investigations, disciplinary, grievance and organisational change.
- Ensure employment practices remain compliant with current UK employment legislation and internal policies.
- Oversee annual HR processes including performance management, reward reviews and people planning.
- Support workforce planning, talent development and succession planning initiatives.
- Manage recruitment activity in partnership with external agencies and service providers.
- Maintain relationships with external benefits providers and support the delivery of employee benefits programmes.
- Work collaboratively with Finance on people budgets, workforce reporting and associated purchasing processes.
- Contribute to internal governance, compliance activities and audit requirements.
- Promote a positive, inclusive and high-performance culture aligned with organisational values.
About You
- Significant experience leading an HR function or operating at Head of HR level.
- Strong knowledge of UK employment law and employee relations best practice.
- Experience supporting organisational change, workforce planning and business transformation.
- A commercial mindset with the ability to balance business objectives and employee outcomes.
- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Experience managing multiple priorities within a fast-paced environment.
- A collaborative approach and the ability to build credibility across all levels of an organisation.
Qualifications
- Degree or equivalent professional experience.
- CIPD qualification (Level 5 or Level 7) is desirable.
If you’re an experienced HR professional looking for a challenging interim leadership opportunity with significant business impact, we’d love to hear from you.