People Partner
Who are we
Surface Transforms are world leading in the design, development and Manufacture of carbon-ceramic brakes for high performance and luxury automotive sector.
Here at Surface Transforms, our vision is mobility through braking innovation and our mission is to 'Innovate and develop a sustainable, world leading, high performance braking system that redefine the limits of mobility. Investing in our people to drive excellence & create lasting value.'
Our Values:
* Leadership – United, decisive and recognising success
* Collaboration – Support others, listen with intent and challenge each other
* Communication – Ask why, be inclusive and adapt your methods
* Ambition – Be bold, believe and be irrepressible
* Excellence – Strive for brilliant, achieve high standards and continually improve
* Trust – Be real, trust yourself and support others
We are looking for a proactive and commercially minded People Partner to join our People team. Acting as a trusted advisor to operational and functional leaders, you'll drive a people strategy that supports productivity, capability, and culture across our manufacturing environment. This role blends strategic partnership with hands-on delivery, ensuring we have the talent, engagement, and organisational effectiveness needed to achieve our commercial goals.
What you'll be doing as our People Partner:
* Partner with leaders to shape and deliver people plans aligned to business priorities such as productivity, quality, safety, and growth.
* Use workforce data and insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities that inform decision-making.
* Support organisational design, workforce planning, and succession planning.
* Provide expert guidance on employee relations matters, ensuring fair, consistent, and compliant outcomes.
* Coach managers to confidently handle day-to-day people issues.
* Champion a positive, inclusive, high-performance culture across shop floor and office environments.
* Support initiatives that strengthen employee engagement and retention.
* Drive effective performance management through clear expectations, feedback, and development conversations.
* Advise on reward, benefits, and recognition approaches suited to an SME environment.
* Promote wellbeing initiatives tailored to manufacturing shift patterns and physical work demands.
* Support change initiatives including restructures, process improvements, and technology implementation.
* Contribute to continuous improvement of People processes, systems, and ways of working.
The Skills, Knowledge and Experience you will need as our People Partner:
* Proven experience in a generalist HR Advisory or People Partner role, ideally within manufacturing, engineering, or similar operational environments.
* Strong understanding of UK employment law and HR best practice.
* Confidence working with shop floor teams, supervisors, and senior leaders.
* Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery.
* Skilled in coaching, influencing, and building trusted relationships.
* Comfortable working in a fast-paced SME environment with evolving processes.
* Data literate with the ability to interpret metrics and present insights.
Need to have:
* CIPD Level 5 (or above) qualification or equivalent experience.
* Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
* Demonstrated ability to support organisational change and improvement initiatives.
* Experience in manufacturing or engineering sectors.
* Experience supporting organisational design or workforce planning projects.
You'll have these personal attributes:
* Pragmatic, solutions-focused, and commercially aware.
* Approachable and credible with employees at all levels.
* Resilient, adaptable, and comfortable with ambiguity.
* Passionate about people development and organisational culture.
* Proactive, self-starting, and able to work independently.
What we'll give you in return:
* Attractive salary
* 25 Days Annual Leave + Bank holidays
* Extra day Annual Leave for your birthday
* A confidential employee assistance helpline covering physical and emotional support
* Jobs are promoted internally providing job transfer opportunities
* Death in service scheme
Hours: Monday – Thursday 8am – 5pm, Friday 8am – 2.30pm
Salary: £40,000 - £45,000