Routeco
Human Resources Business Partner
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HR Advisor (Europe) – Routeco Group / Sonepar Group – UK Location
About the Role
At Routeco, Europe’s leading industrial automation and controls specialist, we combine seamless customer experience with unmatched technical expertise to create lasting partnerships. Part of the Sonepar Group (the world’s largest B2B electrical distributor), we embed professionalism, agility, and teamwork while keeping customers at the heart of every decision.
This role is based in the UK People Team, supporting Routeco’s UK and European entities across Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland. As a key driver of Routeco Group and Sonepar’s people strategy, you will deliver consistent, high-quality HR practices across Europe while aligning people strategy with business growth and associate experience.
You will act as a trusted Business Partner, providing strategic HR guidance across the full employee lifecycle—from recruitment to development, reward, and operational support—while fostering strong relationships with regional leaders and local HR teams. Collaboration with Sonepar’s European HR network will ensure sharing best practices, strengthening capability, and driving continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Compliance & Advisory
- Ensure full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements across all European locations, maintaining up-to-date knowledge of employment law to mitigate legal risk.
- Partner with local legal advisors to manage complex employee relations matters, including performance, discipline, grievance, and appeal procedures.
- Provide expert HR guidance to managers on performance management, supporting global frameworks, policies, and tools.
People Strategy & Data-Driven Decisions
- Use people analytics to contribute to quarterly and annual trends, metrics, and KPI reporting, informing strategic business decisions.
- Support talent acquisition, development, and succession planning to strengthen future capability regionally.
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Employee Engagement & Wellbeing
- Drive associate engagement initiatives, including ‘stay interviews’ and exit trend analysis, sharing insights with European leadership.
- Oversee a competitive and compliant European benefits package, aligned with local and group standards.
- Promote wellbeing, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), and Purpose initiatives, respecting cultural nuances while reinforcing Routeco’s Group values.
Payroll & Reward
- Work closely with Finance to ensure accurate and timely payroll delivery across Europe.
- Contribute to pay benchmarking and reward reviews to maintain competitive, innovative salary and benefits structures.
Requirements
Experience & Qualifications
- 5+ years’ HR experience spanning Talent Acquisition, Benefits, Compensation, HR Operations, with expertise in:
- Managing high-level disciplinary, grievance, performance management, and appeal processes.
- Aligning HR strategies with business objectives.
- Workplace root in the UK and Europe, with ideally multi-country experience.
- Degree in HR/Business (or related) + CIPD Graduate membership.
- Fluent English (spoken and written); additional European languages (French, German, Dutch, etc.) are highly advantageous.
Skills & Attributes
- Customer-centric mindset, razor-sharp attention to detail, and **confidentiality().
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn people data into actionable insights.
- Hybrid working readiness: manage workload independently while maintaining team alignment and stakeholder engagement.
- Crisis management experience in HR—comfortable handling acute employee relations or legal challenges.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Copilot) and digital HR tools.
- Willingness to travel between European sites.
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What You’ll Gain
Competitive Rewards & Benefits
- Base salary + bonus in line with market standards in the B2B services sector.
- Flexible working time off: Start with 25 days annual leave, growing to 30+ days, with flex options of ±5 days.
- Long service rewards: Celebrate milestones with special gifts + 2 days holiday on your anniversary.
- Care potence: 5% employer-paid contribution to a Group personal pension plan.
- Financial security: 2x salary life assurance coverage.
- Wellbeing benefits: Access to:
- Health cashback scheme,
- BUPA medical guidance agreement,
- 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (via Unum),
- Mental Health First Aiders
- Fitness & cycling: Discounts on gy memberships and salary-sacrifice Cycle Scheme.
- Learning & development: 1 hour protected training every week.
Workplace Support & Growth
- Family-friendly leave (extra encouragement for maternity, paternity, adoption).
- On-the-spot and performance-based recognition for outstanding achievements.
- Volunteer Time Off & Workplace Giving: Earn paid time for community engagement.
- Employee referral bonuses.
- Exclusive associate discounts (B2B and personal savings).
Our Promise
At Routeco, we are committed to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. We welcome every background and encourage applicants from underrepresented groups to apply, even if they don’t meet all criteria.
Our inclusive policies include:
- Blind CV reviews.
- Accreditation by GEISS (D&I compliance).
- Membership of Inclusive Employers.
- Internal focus groups covering: Menopause, Mental Health, D&I, and ethical culture.
- Full transparency on diversity aims and progress data.
Are you ready to shape the future of HR across Europe? 🚀
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