£26,000 – £30,000 (dependent on experience)

We’re genuinely excited to be partnering with a well-established organisation to appoint an HR Assistant to their friendly, down-to-earth and highly supportive People team.

This is a role for someone who’s looking to build a career in HR and wants to be part of a team that will invest time, share knowledge and actively support your development. You won’t just be “supporting” HR here - you’ll be learning it properly, gaining exposure across the full employee lifecycle and building the foundations for your next step.

You’ll be surrounded by experienced, approachable HR professionals who enjoy what they do and are committed to helping others grow - creating an environment where you can ask questions, build confidence and really develop your skillset.

The role

As HR Assistant, you will act as the first level of professional HR support, providing timely and accurate end-to-end HR administrative services while delivering excellent service to internal and external stakeholders.

You’ll be comfortable managing a varied workload in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, maintaining excellent attention to detail while prioritising effectively.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing full administrative support across the HR function, including end-to-end recruitment processes – drafting and posting job adverts, shortlisting applications, coordinating interviews and preparing interview materials
• Preparing contracts, new starter documentation and supporting onboarding and induction processes
• Managing Right to Work checks, including visa applications where required
• Drafting HR correspondence throughout the employee lifecycle (e.g. probation outcomes, contractual changes and leavers)
• Maintaining accurate employee records and ensuring HR data is kept up to date
• Supporting payroll processes through coordination and handover of relevant documentation
• Liaising with managers to monitor probation periods, tracking progress and escalating where additional support is required
• Supporting the coordination and delivery of HR projects and initiatives, including wellbeing, diversity & inclusion, and learning & development
• Collating, maintaining and analysing HR data, producing accurate reporting and identifying trends (including exit interview insights)
• Supporting employee relations processes, including note taking and drafting documentation for disciplinary and grievance cases
• Acting as a first point of contact for HR queries, responding in a professional, timely and accurate manner
• Building effective working relationships across the business to support the application of HR policies and processes
• Supporting wider HR coordination, logistics and continuous improvement of processes
• This is a varied and fast-paced role offering broad exposure across the HR function.

Skills and experience

We’re keen to speak to applicants who can demonstrate:

• Experience in a business-facing, generalist HR support role within a fast-paced commercial environment, providing high-quality, customer-focused HR administration across the full employee lifecycle
• Experience supporting end-to-end recruitment and onboarding processes, including drafting job adverts, shortlisting, coordinating interviews, preparing contracts and supporting inductions
• Experience drafting clear and accurate HR correspondence across the employee lifecycle, including probation outcomes, contractual changes and leavers
• Experience supporting probation processes, liaising with managers to monitor progress and escalate where required
• Experience supporting HR activities and projects, including wellbeing, learning & development and diversity & inclusion initiatives
• Experience collating, maintaining and analysing HR data, producing accurate reporting and identifying trends
• A good understanding of HR best practice and employment law, with a proactive approach to continuous improvement
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships and provide first-line HR support
• High attention to detail, strong organisational skills and the ability to manage a varied workload in a deadline-driven environment

Qualifications – Desired but not essential

• Degree qualified (or equivalent experience)
• CIPD Level 3 (or working towards)

What’s on offer

• Hybrid working (typically 3 days onsite)
• A genuinely supportive and collaborative HR team
• Broad exposure across the HR function
• Real development opportunity with scope to progress

Summary

This is a brilliant opportunity for an applicant looking to build their HR career within a busy and supportive environment, gaining hands-on experience across both operational and project-based HR activity. If you’d like a confidential chat, please contact us charlotte.plummer@symedrummond.co.uk

People Operations Assistant (3 Month FTC)
Immediate Start | Hybrid | Edinburgh

Syme Drummond is delighted to be supporting a well-established not-for-profit organisation in Edinburgh to appoint a People Operations Assistant on a 3-month fixed term contract.

This role requires immediate availability.

This is a hands-on, operational role within a busy and collaborative People & Culture team, offering the opportunity to support across the full employee lifecycle during a particularly busy period.

We are looking for someone who can come in, pick things up quickly and provide reliable, day-to-day support to the team.

This is not an entry-level role. The team needs someone who can hit the ground running quickly.

The opportunity

This role will suit someone with a strong grounding across HR processes who enjoys variety and is comfortable working at pace.

You’ll act as a key point of contact for managers and colleagues, supporting across a broad range of People activities while also contributing to ongoing projects.

The role covers the full employee lifecycle and includes:

• Acting as a first point of contact for HR queries
• Supporting recruitment, onboarding and employee changes
• Drafting contracts, letters and maintaining accurate records
• Working across a shared inbox or ticketing system
• Supporting HR reporting and data accuracy
• Contributing to project work and process improvements

This is a role where organisation, responsiveness and attention to detail are key.

The person

This role would be particularly well suited to someone who has built solid, hands-on experience across HR processes and is confident operating in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience supporting HR processes such as recruitment and onboarding
• A good understanding of the employee lifecycle
• Comfortable handling first line queries from managers and employees
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities
• Experience supporting projects or process improvements would be beneficial
• A proactive, hands-on approach and willingness to get stuck in
• Immediately available or available at short notice

If you’re someone who enjoys keeping things organised, supporting a busy team and getting stuck into a varied HR role, this could be a great fit.

If you’re ready to step straight in and make a difference, we’d love to speak with you. Drop me a message for a confidential chat – lynne.friel@symedrummond.co.uk

People Operations Consultant (3 Month FTC)
Immediate Start | Hybrid | Edinburgh

Syme Drummond is delighted to be supporting a well-established third sector organisation in Edinburgh to appoint a People Operations Consultant on a 3-month fixed term contract.

This is a hands-on, operational HR role within a busy People & Culture team, with a strong focus on employee relations, coaching managers and supporting through a period of high activity.

We are looking for someone who can step in, build credibility quickly and operate with confidence from day one.

This role requires immediate availability.

The opportunity

This role will suit someone with strong generalist HR experience, particularly within employee relations, who is comfortable operating at pace and supporting managers through real-time people challenges.

You’ll work closely with managers across the organisation, providing practical advice and guidance while also focusing on building their capability and confidence to manage people matters effectively.

The role includes:

• Managing employee relations casework including absence, performance and conduct
• Coaching and upskilling managers to handle people matters confidently and independently
• Providing practical guidance on employment law, policies and best practice
• Supporting the development and delivery of manager training, particularly across key areas such as absence and performance management
• Contributing to project work and process improvements across the People function
• Working collaboratively across the wider People team and supporting organisational initiatives

This is a role where confidence, sound judgement and a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach are essential.

The person

• Strong experience managing employee relations casework independently
• A solid and practical understanding of UK employment law
• Experience coaching and developing managers, not just advising
• Confidence delivering or supporting training for managers would be highly beneficial
• Ability to pick things up quickly and operate with minimal supervision
• Comfortable working at pace and managing competing priorities
• Experience contributing to project work or process improvement
• Exposure to working with volunteers would be advantageous, though not essential
• A proactive, hands-on approach with a willingness to roll sleeves up and get stuck in
• Immediately available or available at short notice

If you’re someone who enjoys coaching managers, building capability and getting stuck into meaningful HR work, this could be a great fit.

If you’re ready to hit the ground running and make a difference, we’d love to speak with you. Drop me a message for a confidential chat – lynne.friel@symedrummond.co.uk

HR Manager 
First Milk – Lake District, Aspatria, Cumbria 
Permanent | Part-time over 4 days or 5 (30 hours per week) | On-site 
 

We’re proud to be retained by First Milk, a Certified B Corp, to support the appointment of an HR Manager at their Lake District site, part of their cheese business unit and play a central role in shaping people practices at the heart of an operational manufacturing site. 

First Milk’s commitment to using business as a force for good - balancing commercial success with responsibility to people, communities and the environment- makes this a particularly meaningful opportunity for an HR professional seeking purpose as well as impact. 

About the Role 
This is a site-embedded HR generalist role where you will be the sole HR lead, working closely with the Site Director and operating as a trusted advisor at the leadership table. You will be responsible for ensuring strong people processes, coaching managers, supporting recruitment and retention, and strengthening engagement rhythms across the site. 

You will report into First Milk’s central HR team, but your day-to-day world will be on site, close to the people and environment you support. 

This role offers genuine autonomy, leadership exposure, and the opportunity to make a visible contribution to culture, capability and operational excellence. 

Where You’ll Be Working 
The LDC site in Aspatria is a close-knit, pragmatic production environment focused on making high-quality cheddar, whey and biogas. With colleagues across production, engineering, shift management and health and safety, it’s a place where people take pride in what they do and value straightforward, practical support from HR. 

What You’ll Do 
In this hands-on generalist role, you will be the right hand to the Site Director: 

• Leading end-to-end recruitment and onboarding, helping improve early-career retention 

• Coaching and supporting managers in employee relations, absence and performance conversations 

• Driving improvements in HR processes and documentation, ensuring consistency and fairness 

• Partnering with managers to build capability, confidence and ownership 

• Supporting engagement activities and feedback-informed action planning 

• Maintaining strong administrative discipline and work collaboratively with central HR 

This role is about practical impact: working with leaders to solve real-world people challenges, coaching rather than rescuing, and embedding great fundamentals in day-to-day operations. 

About You 
You will be someone who: 

• Has strong, well-rounded generalist HR experience and is confident operating independently as the on-site HR lead, without the need for close supervision 

• Is known as the go-to person for people matters, bringing sound judgement, accountability and credible HR knowledge across employee relations, recruitment, engagement and the full employee lifecycle 

• Is comfortable being hands-on - sleeves rolled up in the day-to-day detail - with excellent administrative discipline and attention to accuracy 

• Thrives in a visible, autonomous role where you are embedded in operations and close to the action 

• Builds trust and credibility quickly with managers and colleagues at all levels 

• Can balance empathy with clarity, structure and accountability 

• Enjoys coaching and enabling managers to take ownership, rather than completing tasks for them 

• Values strong foundations: engagement, process, consistency and doing the basics well 

This role is located at the heart of the site. It’s hands-on, people-facing HR where you’re part of the operation, not removed from it. You have a seat at the leadership table, your voice carries weight, and you’re not hidden behind corporate barriers. 

What's on offer

• A meaningful role with real decision-making influence 

• A strong and supportive central HR team 

• A proud culture with a clear purpose 

• A seat at the leadership table and autonomy to make things happen 

• Competitive benefits including pension, holiday allowance, bonus and healthcare 

• Easy parking and a supportive local environment 

• The chance to be part of a Certified B Corp and contribute to long-term regeneration 
   

This is a role where your work matters, your voice is heard, and the impact you make will be felt across the business. 
 

If you’re looking for a role with purpose, ownership and people at its centre, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now, or drop Kelsie an email to chat more: Kelsie.patterson@symedrummond.co.uk 

As this is an exclusive, retained mandate, all applications will be handled by Kelsie Patterson @ Syme Drummond. Any unsolicited CVs will be redirected.

HR Administrator/ Assistant

Dunfermline | Hybrid Working

We’re delighted to be partnering with a well-established organisation within the med-tech manufacturing sector to welcome an HR Administrator/Assistant into their close-knit and collaborative HR team.

This is a business with a genuinely purpose-driven focus - designing innovative technology that supports their patients, all within a collaborative and forward-thinking environment.

The Opportunity

This is a role that sits right at the heart of the HR function - owning the coordination and administration that keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes.

From offers and onboarding through to data, reporting and systems, you’ll play a key role in creating a seamless and positive experience for both managers and candidates.

It’s particularly well suited to someone who enjoys working with data, thrives on accuracy, and takes real pride in bringing structure and organisation to a busy environment.

What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll take ownership of core HR processes across the employee lifecycle, including:

• Managing offers, contracts, onboarding and inductions
• Maintaining accurate employee data within SAP SuccessFactors
• Producing reports and building Excel-based trackers and dashboards
• Coordinating interviews, assessments and stakeholder diaries
• Supporting right-to-work checks and compliance processes
• Contributing to onboarding improvements and wider data cleansing projects

You’ll also work closely with HR and payroll colleagues across the UK and US, playing an important role in ensuring data is accurate, timely and well-managed.

About You

You’ll likely come from a strong HR administration or coordination background and feel comfortable working across multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

You will:

• Be highly organised with exceptional attention to detail
• Be confident using Excel (including lookups and pivot tables)
• Enjoy working with systems and data
• Communicate clearly and build strong working relationships
• Take a proactive, reliable and service-focused approach

Experience with SAP SuccessFactors (or similar HR systems) would be advantageous.

The Environment

You’ll be joining a genuinely supportive and down-to-earth environment, combining an innovative, R&D-led culture with a collaborative and friendly feel.

You’ll be part of a small, welcoming HR team, with exposure to international colleagues and the opportunity to contribute to meaningful, purpose-driven work.

Additional Details

• Hybrid working (2 days on-site, 3 from home)
• Flexitime, supportive of life outside work
• 37.5 hour working week
• Based in Dunfermline
• Permanent opportunity
• Competitive salary

This role will suit someone who takes real pride in getting the detail right, enjoys working with data and systems, and is looking to build their career within a supportive and high-quality HR environment.

If you’d like a confidential chat to explore this opportunity further, please get in touch with Lynne - we’d love to hear from you!

lynne.friel@symedrummond.co.uk