Job Title: HR Manager – Manufacturing Plant
Job Purpose
The HR Manager – Manufacturing Plant will act as a strategic HR partner to the plant leadership team and its operational functions (Production, Quality Assurance/Control, Engineering & Maintenance, Supply Chain, Warehousing, and HSE). This role ensures alignment between operational objectives and HR strategies by driving workforce planning, talent development, employee relations, and a strong culture of safety and compliance. The role supports plant leadership in building a skilled, engaged, and productive workforce within a highly regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
Key Accountabilities
Strategic HR Partnership
- Partner with the Plant Manager and functional heads to understand operational strategies and provide HR insights that enable productivity, quality, and operational excellence.
- Translate plant priorities (output, efficiency, quality, and safety targets) into HR-related initiatives that strengthen organizational capability.
- Provide proactive counsel and coaching to supervisors and managers on workforce planning, performance, and shop-floor culture.
Talent Management & Development
- Lead the talent agenda for the plant, including succession planning for critical technical and supervisory roles, career pathways, and frontline leadership development.
- Collaborate with L&D and Quality teams to design and implement technical training, GMP training, multi-skilling programs, and competency certification for operators and technicians.
- Drive employee engagement and retention initiatives tailored to shift-based and blue-collar workforces.
Recruitment & Workforce Planning
- Partner with Talent Acquisition to attract and select qualified operators, technicians, engineers, and quality professionals.
- Advise on workforce planning, shift structures, manpower ratios, overtime management, and the use of temporary or contract labor to meet production demand.
- Oversee onboarding and induction for new hires, ensuring completion of mandatory safety and GMP training before job assignment.
Performance & Reward
- Manage the annual performance management cycle for the plant, ensuring fairness, transparency, and alignment with operational KPIs.
- Partner with Compensation & Benefits on market competitiveness, shift allowances, overtime policies, and incentive schemes linked to productivity, quality, and safety.
- Oversee timekeeping, attendance, and payroll inputs to ensure accuracy and compliance.
Organizational Effectiveness & Change Management
- Drive organizational design discussions to ensure plant functions are structured effectively, with clear roles, spans of control, and reporting lines.
- Support capacity expansions, new production lines, technology transfers, automation, and continuous improvement (Lean/Six Sigma) initiatives with tailored HR interventions.
- Foster a culture of accountability, safety, quality, and continuous improvement across the plant.
Employee Relations, EHS & Compliance
- Ensure adherence to labor laws, GMP-related HR requirements, company policies, and regulatory standards across plant operations.
- Lead employee relations matters, including grievance handling, conflict resolution, disciplinary investigations, and, where applicable, engagement with labor unions or worker committees.
- Partner with the EHS team to promote a safe and healthy workplace, support incident investigations, and reinforce safety behaviors.
- Ensure HR records, training files, and job descriptions are audit-ready for regulatory and internal inspections.
Qualifications, Experience & Skills
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Business Administration, or a related field. A Master's degree or MBA is preferred. A professional HR certification is preferred.
Experience:
- 6–8 years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 years in an HR manager or business partner role supporting manufacturing or industrial operations (pharmaceutical/healthcare manufacturing strongly preferred).
- Demonstrated experience in workforce planning, shift and overtime management, employee relations, and HR budgeting.
- Strong knowledge of labor law, occupational health and safety requirements, and HR compliance in a regulated (GMP) environment.
Skills & Competencies:
- Strong operational acumen with a solid understanding of manufacturing processes and plant dynamics.
- Excellent employee relations, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
- Strong stakeholder management and the ability to build trust with both plant leadership and frontline employees.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, including use of HR metrics (absenteeism, turnover, overtime, training compliance).
- Visible, hands-on presence on the shop floor, with high resilience and adaptability in a fast-paced production environment.
