Carlisle
Role: HR Manager Employer: ECM (Vehicle Delivery Service) Ltd Location: Carlisle (on-site) Salary: £50,000 - £55,000 + Company Car (Mercedes C-Class PHEV) We're delighted to be working on a retained basis with our client, ECM. ECM is a long-standing leader in vehicle delivery and logistics, now proudly part of the Constellation Automotive Group - the UK’s largest vertically integrated automotive business. With a workforce of over 800 employees, including 600+ drivers, ECM’s Carlisle operation is a fast-paced, hands-on environment where HR plays a crucial role in supporting a growing and diversifying business. It’s an exciting time to join as the organisation grows, modernises, and strengthens its people culture. The Opportunity We’re looking for a confident, pragmatic and people-centred HR Manager who can thrive in a busy, operational setting. You’ll work on-site in Carlisle, partnering closely with managers, workshop teams, drivers, support functions. You will build on the excellent foundations already laid - digitised systems, updated policies, strong relationships, and actively managed HR processes - while driving the next phase of modernisation and cultural development. What You’ll Lead • Embed and elevate core HR practices - continuing the proactive, structured management of absence, sickness, performance and conduct, ensuring consistency and fairness across all employee groups., • Maintain and enhance constructive union relationships - working in partnership with Unite representatives to resolve issues early, uphold agreements, and protect a positive industrial relations climate for the driver workforce., • Support, guide and upskill managers - coaching office, workshop and operational leaders on people issues, performance conversations, wellbeing, conflict resolution and team development., • Be a visible, approachable presence on-site - building trust across shifts, engaging with colleagues at all levels, and contributing to a grounded, collaborative culture in a busy logistics/manufacturing environment., • Lead and oversee recruitment activity - managing end-to-end hiring for the Carlisle operation, supporting ongoing expansions, and ensuring ECM attracts the right talent for both operational and professional roles., • Deliver high-quality onboarding and induction - ensuring every new starter experiences a smooth, compliant and welcoming transition into ECM., • Manage and develop the HR Assistant - providing day-to-day guidance, delegation, support and professional development to strengthen the HR function., • Drive HR operational excellence - overseeing compliance, contracts, right-to-work processes, data accuracy, and maintaining up-to-date policies, procedures and employment documentation., • Progress HR digitalisation - continuing the move away from legacy processes, supporting the introduction of a new HRIS, and maximising the use of digital tools such as Adobe Sign., • Champion continuous improvement - identifying opportunities to streamline workflows, improve service levels, and strengthen the overall employee experience. What You’ll Bring We’re looking for someone who is: • Confident, collaborative, and resilient approach in a fast-paced environment, • Highly operational - visible on-site, building trust on the workshop floor and in the office., • Naturally pragmatic - balancing compliance with sensible, people-first decision making., • Experienced in unionised settings (advantageous, not essential)., • Strong across ER, recruitment, HR operations and stakeholder management., • Comfortable challenging, guiding and supporting managers when needed., • Experience of TUPE or organisational change processes is helpful (but not essential) If you’re an HR Manager who thrives where you can be visible, influential and part of a grounded, collaborative team, this is an opportunity to make a real impact. Don’t meet every single requirement? At Realise, we are dedicated to helping our clients build diverse, inclusive and authentic workplaces, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we would encourage you to apply anyway - you might just be the candidate we’re looking for! Realise HR Ltd is operating as a recruitment agency on behalf of its clients. We may keep your CV on file for the purposes of providing recruitment services and in accordance with our privacy policy, which can be found on our website: