We are seeking a strategic, experienced, and hands on People & Culture leader, someone who can partner closely with the CEO, shape a maturing organisation, and help build the leadership capability required to double the business in size over the next five years.
If you are motivated by impact, influence, and organisational evolution, this role presents a rare and compelling opportunity.
About Mayerton
Mayerton is a privately owned international manufacturing group supplying technically specialised refractory products to global steelmakers and high-temperature industrial organisations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
For over 30 years the company has built a reputation for technical reliability, trusted partnerships and entrepreneurial agility.
Today Mayerton is entering an important stage of evolution.
The business is transitioning from a highly entrepreneurial structure towards a more aligned, leadership-driven organisation capable of scaling internationally, while maintaining the technical credibility and customer trust that underpin its success.
With plans to double the business in the next five years, strengthening leadership capability, organisational clarity and talent depth has become a strategic priority.
The HR Director - Organisational Development & Leadership will play a central role in shaping this next chapter.
Our Vision, Culture & Values
Our aspiration is simple: To be the best refractory partner to our customers.
We are a business that prides itself on:
Going the extra heat
Building trust and technical credibility
Promoting resilience, collaboration and belonging
Creating an environment where people thrive and contribute meaningfully
While this cultural evolution is underway and gaining traction, the organisation recognises that collaboration, leadership alignment, and consistent behaviours must strengthen further. The People & Culture Director will be central to this.
The Purpose of the Role
This role combines strategic HR leadership with organisational diagnosis and leadership development.
The HR Director will act as a trusted partner to the CEO and leadership team, helping to design the organisational structure, leadership capability and cultural alignment required to support Mayerton's next phase of growth.
The role will focus not only on strengthening HR foundations but also on developing leadership maturity, building organisational capability, and translating strategy into effective behaviours and ways of working across the company.
The HR Director will ensure the People function evolves from a traditional support role into a source of organisational leverage and long-term value creation.
Partnership with the CEO
The HR Director will work in close partnership with the CEO as a trusted adviser on organisational effectiveness, leadership dynamics and talent strategy.
The role is expected to provide independent perspective and constructive challenge, helping the leadership team make thoughtful decisions about organisational structure, leadership capability and cultural evolution.
The successful candidate will therefore be comfortable holding a mirror to the organisation, identifying both strengths and areas requiring change, and working collaboratively with the CEO to address them.
Core Responsibilities
1. Organisational Diagnosis & Design
2. Leadership Development & Capability Building
3. Talent Strategy & Workforce Planning
4. Learning & Organisational Development
5. Culture & Leadership Alignment
6. HR Operations & Infrastructure
1. Organisational Diagnosis & Design
Conduct a structured diagnostic of the organisation to identify strengths, risks and opportunities within leadership dynamics, organisational structure and decision-making processes.
Responsibilities include:
* Assess leadership team dynamics, role clarity and decision rights
* Identify structural and behavioural barriers to collaboration and performance
* Evaluate organisational capability and succession risks
* Support the CEO in shaping an effective streamlined leadership model
* Design organisational structures aligned with growth and international expansion
* Introduce clear accountability frameworks and leadership expectations
The HR Director will help ensure the organisation moves from entrepreneurial autonomy toward aligned leadership and shared standards.
2. Leadership Development & Capability Building
Strengthen the effectiveness and maturity of Mayerton's leadership population.
Key activities include:
* Define what effective leadership means within Mayerton
* Develop leadership expectations linked to company values and strategy
* Coach and support senior leaders in building high-performing teams
* Introduce leadership development linked directly to real operational challenges
* Strengthen managers' ability to develop people, not simply manage performance
Success will be reflected in:
* more consistent leadership behaviours
* stronger collaboration across markets
* reduced escalation of people issues to the CEO
3. Talent Strategy & Workforce Planning
Develop a forward-looking view of the company's talent requirements.
Key responsibilities:
* Identify critical roles and capability gaps
* Introduce structured succession planning
* Reduce risk in key-person dependency in technical, sales and commercial roles
* Build a strategic approach to talent acquisition in niche technical markets
* Develop visibility of competitor and adjacent industry talent
The goal is to ensure Mayerton has the leadership and technical capability required to scale internationally.
4. Learning, Development & Organisational Capability
Move the organisation beyond compliance training towards continuous capability development.
Responsibilities include:
* Diagnose capability gaps across technical, commercial and leadership roles
* Design practical development initiatives linked to real work challenges
* Support managers in building coaching capability
* Ensure learning programmes translate into measurable capability improvement
The emphasis will be on learning applied to real work, rather than theoretical training programmes.
5. Culture & Leadership Alignment
Help shape and embed the culture required to support sustainable growth.
Key responsibilities:
* Strengthen alignment around Mayerton's mission and values
* Support collaboration across geographies and functions
* Translate strategy into everyday behaviours and leadership expectations
* Support leadership teams in navigating organisational change
The HR Director will help ensure that growth does not dilute the company's identity or trust-based culture.
6. HR Operations & Infrastructure
Ensure the operational HR foundation is reliable, efficient and scalable.
This includes:
* Improving HR processes, contracts and policies across international teams
* Strengthening employee relations and employment governance
* Supporting the HR Administrator to handle operational matters efficiently
* Implementing simple HR systems appropriate for a lean international organisation
Operational HR should function with predictability, professionalism and minimal disruption to leadership time.
The Candidate Profile
We are seeking a mature HR leader capable of combining strategic insight with practical implementation.
Ideal candidates will bring:
* Senior HR leadership experience within industrial, engineering or manufacturing environments
* Experience working in founder-led or entrepreneurial organisations undergoing structural evolution
* Demonstrated capability in organisational design and leadership development
* Experience supporting dispersed international teams
* Strong diagnostic ability and organisational judgement
* Credibility with technically minded leadership populations
Personal Characteristics
The successful candidate will likely be:
* intellectually curious and analytically minded
* emotionally intelligent and diplomatically influential
* comfortable operating in ambiguity while bringing clarity
* pragmatic and hands-on when required
* confident working closely with a CEO and senior leadership team
* motivated by building lasting organisational foundations
Working Pattern
* 3-4 day working week (or 7-in-10 pattern)
* presence in Solihull approximately 1-2 days per week
* London HQ visit roughly once per month
* occasional travel within Europe or Asia
The Opportunity
This role offers a rare opportunity to shape the organisational foundations of a growing international manufacturing business.