W Talent are retained by Wescom Group to support the appointment of a HR Director for the business.
Wescom Group is a global leader in survival solutions, recognised for quality, performance, reliability and safety. The Group has a long heritage and today operates across the marine, defence, and emergency services markets, delivering specialist products and technologies where safety and reliability are critical.
Wescom manufactures more than 2.5 million pyrotechnic products annually for the global maritime and defence industries and has specialist capabilities spanning manufacturing and logistics, energetic compounds, safety systems, radio frequency signalling, and camouflage systems.
The Group operates internationally, with businesses and manufacturing capabilities across the UK, Germany, Spain and Australia. Its portfolio includes Wescom Signal & Rescue, PW Defence, Eflare, ANP Pharma, Marine Rescue Technologies and BCB International, creating a diverse and technically specialised organisation.
Wescom is continuing to develop as a Group, supporting growth, operational integration, and the development of its businesses while maintaining the high standards of safety, quality and integrity expected in its markets.
The Opportunity
- This is an opportunity to shape the people strategy of an international manufacturing group operating in some of the world's most safety-critical markets.
- As the Group continues to develop, grow and integrate its businesses, Wescom is now looking to appoint an outstanding HR Director to lead its people agenda into its next phase.
- This is a genuinely influential role, working directly with the CEO, Group leadership team and operational leaders to ensure Wescom has the people, capability, culture and organisational infrastructure required to achieve its ambitions.
- You won't simply be responsible for maintaining the HR function.
- You'll have the opportunity to shape it.
The Role
Reporting directly to the CEO, you will take ownership of the Group's HR strategy, ensuring it is commercially aligned to the wider business objectives while remaining practical, visible and connected to the operational environment.
You'll lead and develop the HR function across Wescom's businesses and sites, creating greater consistency while recognising the individual needs of different operations.
A key part of the role will be strengthening organisational capability, developing leaders, improving management capability, building succession plans and creating a culture where people are accountable, engaged and able to perform at their best.
You'll also play a critical role in supporting the continued development of the Group, including organisational change, transformation and integration activity.
Key areas of responsibility will include:
- Develop and deliver a Group-wide HR strategy aligned to business growth and organisational priorities.
- Act as a trusted and commercially focused HR partner to the CEO, leadership team and senior operational managers.
- Lead, develop and strengthen the Group HR function.
- Drive workforce planning, succession planning, talent acquisition, retention and development.
- Build leadership and management capability across the organisation.
- Strengthen performance management and develop a high-performance culture.
- Provide expert leadership across employee relations, employment legislation, policies and people risk.
- Support organisational change, transformation and integration.
- Develop employee engagement initiatives and a consistent employee experience.
- Review and improve HR policies, processes, systems and governance.
- Use HR data and insight to identify trends and support better business decisions.
- Support reward and benefits activity, ensuring a commercially appropriate approach.
- Work closely with operational and HSE leaders to ensure people practices support Wescom's commitment to safety, quality and compliance.
- Champion the Group's values around people, diversity and inclusion, collaboration, innovation, safety, quality, integrity and sustainability.
About You
We're looking for a credible, commercially minded and hands-on HR leader who understands that great HR is about more than policy and process.
You will be comfortable operating strategically at Board and senior leadership level, but equally happy getting close to the operation, understanding the challenges managers and employees face and turning those challenges into practical HR solutions.
You'll bring the confidence to challenge constructively, the judgement to know when to take a pragmatic approach and the energy to drive meaningful change.
Ideally, you'll have experience operating at HR Director, Head of HR or equivalent senior HR leadership level within manufacturing, engineering, defence, marine, industrial or another complex operational environment.
You'll also ideally bring experience of:
- Developing and implementing practical people strategies.
- Working within international or multi-site organisations.
- Complex employee relations and people risk.
- Organisational change and transformation.
- Developing leaders and management capability.
- Succession planning and organisational development.
- Acquisitions, integration or restructuring.
- Using HR data and insight to influence business decisions.
- UK employment legislation and HR best practice.
- CIPD qualified or equivalent professional experience is expected.
The Person
- Preferred Location - based across Central England or South Wales. With sites in Cardiff, Derby and Hull as being on site is expected
- Wescom is looking for someone who can combine strategic thinking with practical delivery.
- You'll be a confident and credible business partner who can build relationships quickly, influence senior stakeholders and engage effectively with people throughout the organisation.
- You'll bring energy, pace and ambition, but also the maturity and judgement to operate effectively within a highly regulated and safety-critical environment.
- Most importantly, you'll genuinely believe in the importance of people.
- Wescom places significant emphasis on nurturing talent, creativity and personal development, and the HR Director will play a central role in turning those commitments into a consistent, high-quality employee experience across the Group.
What's on offer?
- Competitive salary, depending on experience
- car allowance
- Performance-related bonus
- employer pension contribution
- 25 days holiday + bank holidays
- AXA private healthcare
- Ongoing executive leadership development and professional support
- A key position within the senior leadership team with genuine influence over the future of the Group
W Talent are retained on this search.
All applications and expressions of interest will be forwarded directly to Joe Walton at W Talent, who is leading the search on behalf of Wescom Group.
If you are interested in exploring this opportunity confidentially, please apply directly or contact Joe Walton at W Talent for an initial discussion.