Eville & Jones is the largest provider of Veterinary Official Controls in Europe. We are committed to safeguarding animal welfare within the food chain, ensuring that food is safe to eat, and enabling the import and export of products of animal origin.
Part of the Phenna Group and with an annual turnover of £60m, E&J are now seeking an experienced and commercially minded Head of People Services to lead the HR function across the E&J Group, while providing high level support to fellow companies within the Phenna Food & Life Sciences (UK&I) Division.
You will oversee Employee Relations, People Services, and Health & Safety, ensuring the function delivers outstanding support, guidance, and protection for the business, being efficient, compliant and adding value.
Key Responsibilities will include:-
- Lead the ER team, support and guide them to manage complex employee relations issues and change programs, supporting with ER escalations as and when required.
- Lead the People Services team to develop and maintain a best practice, customer-focused employee experience, through process mapping, procedure development, system execution and management.
- Lead and support the H&S team to reinforce a culture of safety and respect for our people predominantly based at third-party, customer sites. Ensuring compliance, risk management and H&S training is proactively managed (detailed H&S knowledge is not required).
- Partner with the Head of Talent to represent the people team consistently and with professionalism - to support and influence decision making in the boardroom, presenting at National Management Team meetings and Townhall meetings; in partnership with Internal Communications, to engage colleagues in people priorities, changes and initiatives.
- Work closely with our parent company (Phenna Group) to ensure HR policies, procedures and guidelines are compliant, consistent, and fit for purpose. Dotted line relationship with Phenna’s Head of HR.
- Manage the integration and streamlining of people processes, systems and policies, relating to M&A and potential TUPE changes.
- Lead the people services team in the annual performance related pay review, end-to-end. Oversee performance calibration sessions to ensure fairness and consistency in the application of performance related pay.
- Provide, develop and translate company-wide people data into effective and commercially focused operational people plans, working with senior management and influencing them on the best course of action to deliver a continuous improvement mindset.
- Champion change initiatives getting buy-in from board members and the National Management Team.
- Ensure legal compliance is met in all HR activities, with ownership of HR policies.
- Challenge the Board where appropriate and suggest alternative paths, offering pragmatic solutions.
- Provide support and direction to the other companies within the Food & Life Sciences (UK&I) Division.
Skills and Experience Required:-
- Experience within a complex environment with a diverse workforce and experience of leading people in businesses with populations employed via skilled worker visa; our people hail from over 50 countries, with a high concentration working under skilled worker visas, deployed throughout the UK at customer sites.
- Held previous position of seniority; experienced in managing people operations, ER, HR policy, process, systems, and compliance.
- Able to problem solve and implement employment solutions at pace.
- Strategic operator but willing to roll up your sleeves when needed to support the team.
- Experience of HR process improvement and alignment, to identify and drive best practice following periods of growth, change, and integration.
- Solid employment law knowledge and proven experience of applying updated legislation to a variety of HR situations, managing business change situations, and coaching managers through business change and growth where necessary.
- Familiarity of managing TUPE situations and able to counsel senior management on appropriate practice.
- Ability to act as a role model, motivate teams, and make decisive decisions.
- Demonstrates commercial acumen – partners with the business to deliver commercially focused people centred decisions, and has a good overall understanding of company finances and uses this to develop operational people plans.
- Evidence of having a passion for working with people and working beyond the confines of the job description.
- Outstanding communication skills with the ability to influence board members.
- Proven organisational skills and ability to prioritise.
Qualifications Required:
- Bachelor’s degree as a minimum; Master’s degree in business administration, human resources management, industrial relations, or even a law degree is desirable.
- CIPD qualified with evidence of continuous professional development.
What we are offering:
The opportunity to play a key role within an established, growing and successful company that blends commerciality with delivering a key role to society. This role will enable you to make a real difference and see the wider impact of your work.
- Competitive salary
- 25 Days Annual Leave (Plus Bank Holidays)
- Company pension scheme
- Perkbox scheme – a variety of discounts and benefits
- Death in service cover
Please note this role is ideally based at Leeds Head office (LS15 8ZB), with potential for some hybrid working.
If this sounds like the job for you, we would love to hear from you!
Closing date 10th July 2026
