About this role
Role Purpose The Head of HR Operations will lead the delivery and continuous improvement of HR Operations, systems and services for Glanua Globally across Ireland, the UK, Portugal and the USA reporting directly to the Chief People Officer (CPO). The role is based in Ireland, with regular travel to sites and offices across multiple jurisdictions and carries responsibility for every aspect of the employee lifecycle as Glanua continues its ambitious growth journey. The main purpose of the role is to act as a strategic partner to the CPO and Senior Leadership Team, building a modern, scalable HR function that supports Glanua’s growth from a 800+ person organisation into the business it aims to become.
This includes shaping talent acquisition, reward, employee relations, learning and development, and organisational design in a way that strengthens culture and performance across a fast-growing, multi-site business. Working closely with functional and divisional leaders, the Head of HR Operations will be responsible for embedding consistent, best-practice HR policies and processes across the Group, while remaining agile enough to respond to the specific needs of each business unit and jurisdiction.
People leadership is at the heart of this role. The successful candidate will lead a high-performing HR team, and will play a central role in ensuring Glanua continues to be recognised as an employer of choice within the water, wastewater and bio-resources sector.
Essential Criteria
- Degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related discipline; CIPD qualification (or equivalent) is required.
- 10+ years’ progressive HR experience, including at least 5 years in a senior HR leadership role, ideally within engineering, construction, utilities or another fast-growing operational business.
- Proven experience building and leading HR functions across multiple sites and/or jurisdictions, ideally including both Ireland and the UK.
- Strong working knowledge of Irish and UK employment law, and experience managing complex employee relations matters.
- Senior HR leadership experience in a complex, project‑based or engineering‑led environment (construction, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing or similar).
- Proven experience leading HR Business Partners or senior HR teams.
- Strong track record partnering and influencing senior and executive leaders.
- Deep understanding of workforce planning, organisation design, performance, talent and succession.
- Commercial mindset with a clear link between people decisions and delivery outcomes
- Demonstrated experience partnering with a Senior Leadership Team on strategic workforce planning, organisational design and culture change.
- Track record of leading talent acquisition strategies to support rapid organisational growth.