How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
HR Manager (12-Month FTC - Maternity Cover)
An online B2C retailer is looking for an experienced HR Manager to cover a period of maternity leave. The role is based in central London on a hybrid basis, with three days a week in the office. Salary is competitive and discussed on application.
This is a stewardship hire, not a transformation one. The business has established processes, an existing team, and a permanent postholder who will return at the end of the 12 months. What they need is someone who keeps things running cleanly, stays sharp on UK employment law, and is genuinely good with people - the kind of HR professional that managers and employees actually want to come to. You will be stepping into an existing web of stakeholder relationships from day one, so the ability to get up to speed quickly and build credibility fast is just as important as technical HR knowledge.
Key Responsibilities
- Collaborate with senior leadership to develop and implement HR strategies aligned with business objectives
- Act as a trusted advisor to managers and employees across designated business units on a wide range of HR matters
- Advise managers on employee relations issues, including disciplinary actions, grievances, and performance improvement plans
- Conduct investigations and resolve workplace conflicts in line with company policy and legal requirements
- Support the performance management process, including goal setting, evaluations, and coaching
- Work with the Talent Acquisition Partner to identify staffing needs and develop effective recruitment strategies
- Participate in selection processes, including interviewing and assessing cultural fit
- Facilitate onboarding and orientation programmes for new hires
- Ensure ongoing compliance with UK employment legislation and regulatory requirements
- Review and update HR policies and procedures to reflect best practice
- Use HR data and analytics to inform decision-making and report on key metrics and trends
- Own the employee lifecycle from recruiting through probation, ensuring teams are onboarded and developed effectively
- Work with managers to understand the skills and roles the business needs
- Support training initiatives and liaise with external stakeholders
- Assist in coordinating global culture initiatives
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Requirements
Must-haves
- CIPD qualification or equivalent
- Strong, up-to-date knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice
- Experience working across a broad HR remit, including employee relations, performance management, talent acquisition, and compliance
- Strong project management and organisational skills
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills
- Ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels
- Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret HR data and metrics
- High level of integrity and professionalism, with a genuine commitment to confidentiality
- A career history that demonstrates the ability to adapt quickly in new environments, with meaningful stints in previous roles rather than frequent short-term moves
Nice-to-haves
- Experience in an online retail or fast-paced B2C environment
- Familiarity with global culture or engagement programmes
What Success Looks Like
- The business remains legally compliant throughout the 12 months, with no employment law issues arising from gaps in knowledge or process
- Managers and employees across the business see this person as a go-to, not a last resort
- Stakeholder relationships are established quickly and the person is operating independently without hand-holding within the first few weeks
- HR processes and policies are kept current and handed back to the returning postholder in good order
- Employee issues are handled with care and consistency, and nothing slips through the cracks
Team and Culture
- A busy, established HR function with existing processes and a clear way of working
- Lots of stakeholders across the business, so strong relationship-building skills matter from day one
- A business that moves at pace, where the expectation is that you read the room quickly and adapt
- The environment rewards self-starters who do not need extensive onboarding to find their feet
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Challenges
- There is a lot to learn quickly. The stakeholder map is broad and the business has its own established ways of working, so someone who needs a long runway will struggle
- This is a cover role, which means stepping into someone else's relationships and processes rather than building your own from scratch
- The pace is real. The expectation is credibility from early on, not after a settling-in period
- Legal compliance is non-negotiable. The business needs someone who is alert to employment law changes and acts on them, not someone who flags risks after the fact
Practicals
- Role type: Fixed-term contract, 12 months (maternity cover), full-time
- Location: Central London, hybrid - 3 days per week in the office
- Company: Online B2C retailer
- Salary: Competitive, discussed on application
- Interview process: Details provided on application
Ideal Candidate Profile
You have a broad HR generalist background and have built your career across more than one business, which means you know how to read a new organisation quickly, build trust with people you have never met before, and get on with the work without needing everything explained to you. You are sharp on UK employment law and take compliance seriously, but you are also the kind of person that managers and employees genuinely want to talk to. You are not here to redesign the function or put your stamp on things - you are here to keep a well-run operation running well, handle whatever comes up with care and good judgement, and hand things back in better shape than you found them. If that sounds like the kind of role you thrive in, this is a strong one.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location