The opportunity
JK Civils Ltd is looking for an experienced and commercially minded Senior Recruitment & Workforce Manager to establish and lead our internal recruitment, talent and workforce function.This is a strategically important leadership role within a growing construction and labour-intensive business. You will ensure that we have access to the skilled tradespeople, operational employees and professional talent needed to deliver our current and future contracts.Working closely with Operations, Commercial and Finance, you will translate our contract pipeline and project schedules into a practical workforce plan, build reliable talent pipelines and create a scalable recruitment function capable of supporting the company’s continued growth.This is an internal recruitment and workforce leadership role. It is not an external recruitment agency or recruitment sales position.
What you will be responsible for:
Establish and deliver the company’s recruitment, talent and workforce strategy.
Translate current and forecast contract requirements into short-, medium- and long-term workforce plans.
Deliver approved permanent, temporary, contingent and project-based hiring requirements.
Build sustainable talent and labour pipelines for critical trades, operational roles and professional positions.
Design, build and lead an effective internal recruitment team.
Introduce recruitment systems, processes, controls, dashboards and management reporting.
Manage recruitment agencies, labour suppliers, advertising channels and other external partners.
Improve direct sourcing and reduce unnecessary agency and recruitment costs.
Ensure appropriate right-to-work, qualification, licence, reference and onboarding checks are completed.
Monitor recruitment delivery, workforce availability, cost, retention, attrition and workforce risk.
Develop the company’s employer proposition and candidate-attraction approach.
Provide clear workforce insight, risks and recommendations to the leadership team.
Continuously improve the quality, efficiency and scalability of the recruitment function.
Your first-year priorities
During your first 12 months, you will be expected to:
Assess current and forecast workforce demand, recruitment capability, costs, suppliers, systems and compliance.
Create a clear 12-month workforce and recruitment plan.
Design and implement the recruitment and workforce operating model.
Build the internal recruitment team and priority labour pipelines.
Introduce clear recruitment governance, reporting and performance measures.
Improve hiring speed, quality, retention and cost efficiency.
Reduce avoidable dependency on recruitment agencies.
Embed workforce planning into the company’s commercial and operational planning cycle.
What we are looking for
You will be an experienced recruitment or workforce leader who is comfortable combining strategic planning with hands-on delivery.
You are likely to have:
Significant experience leading recruitment, talent acquisition or workforce planning within a high-volume, multi-site or operational environment.
Experience recruiting skilled tradespeople, site-based workers, operational employees or other hard-to-fill roles.
A strong understanding of workforce planning and the ability to translate business demand into a practical recruitment plan.
Experience building or transforming an internal recruitment function.
Experience managing recruiters, recruitment agencies, labour suppliers and recruitment budgets.
Strong knowledge of recruitment compliance, including right-to-work and worker-record requirements.
Confidence using recruitment data to identify risks, improve performance and support leadership decisions.
Strong stakeholder-management skills and the ability to work effectively with Operations, Commercial and Finance teams.
A practical, delivery-focused approach and the ability to operate effectively in a growing business.
The judgement and credibility to influence senior leaders while remaining close to operational detail.
Experience within construction, engineering, infrastructure, logistics, manufacturing, facilities management or another labour-intensive industry would be highly advantageous.
How success will be measured
Success in this role will be assessed through a balanced workforce scorecard, including:
Delivery against the approved workforce plan.
Critical roles filled and workers mobilised by agreed dates.
Quality of hire and workforce retention.
Recruitment cost and agency-spend management and reduction.
Strength of direct-sourcing channels and labour pipelines.
Recruitment team, systems and process development.
Recruitment and right-to-work compliance.
Accuracy and quality of workforce reporting.
Salary and benefits
The proposed package includes:
A base salary of £35,000–£45,000, depending on the scale of the role and relevant experience.
A discretionary annual bonus, subject to the scheme rules.
Private healthcare.
Company mobile phone and laptop.
20 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays.
Workplace pension.
Six-month probationary period.
Three months’ notice following successful completion of probation.
Regular travel to company and project sites will be required.
Why join us?
This is an opportunity to build a critical business function from the ground up and directly influence the company’s ability to grow and successfully deliver its contracts.
You will have the authority and leadership access needed to design the recruitment and workforce function, shape its team and systems, and create a more reliable, scalable and cost-effective approach to workforce delivery.
How to apply
Please apply with your CV and a short supporting statement explaining:
Your experience of building or leading an internal recruitment or workforce function.
The types and volumes of roles you have recruited.
Your experience of workforce planning in an operational or project-based environment.
An example of how you improved recruitment delivery, quality, retention or cost.
JK Civils Ltd. is committed to creating an inclusive workplace and welcomes applications from candidates from all backgrounds.
Pay: £35,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Free parking
- Private medical insurance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Durham (Durham)
