Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.
GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.
The Site HR Director is responsible for partnering with the Site Leadership Team to understand Operations goals, strategies and to identify opportunities to increase organizational effectiveness and productivity. The Site HR Director is also responsible for developing and executing human capital strategies and initiatives that enable growth, innovation, overall organizational effectiveness, and change management. Additionally, the Site HR Director drives corporate initiatives with the local team and communicates how these programs fit in with the overall business and HR strategies. This position reports directly to the (S)VP Human Resources for the region where their site is located.
1. Site Ramp-Up & Workforce Scaling
- Lead and execute the HR strategy supporting site ramp-up and expansion phases.
- Design and implement aggressive recruitment plans for both direct and indirect labor.
- Establish scalable onboarding, training, and workforce planning processes.
- Partner with Operations to ensure right-first-time workforce capability development.
- Implement HR infrastructure and policies aligned with the site's growth trajectory.
- Collaborate with GKN Aerostructures to align with global HR processes and programs.
2. Leadership & Organizational Development
- Act as a trusted advisor and coach to the Site Leadership Team.
- Support leadership transitions, onboarding of new leaders, and organizational restructuring.
- Drive leadership capability development from operational to strategic maturity.
- Identify and develop succession pipelines and critical talent.
- Lead organizational design initiatives aligned with business growth and complexity.
3. Employee Relations & Labor Management
- Manage employee relations in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
- Ensure full compliance with Mexican labor law and applicable union frameworks.
- Lead union engagement and negotiations when required.
- Proactively manage conflict resolution, grievance handling, and disciplinary processes.
- Strengthen shopfloor engagement and build trust across the workforce.
4. Performance & Culture Transformation
- Implement and drive performance management systems.
- Build a high-performance, accountable organizational culture.
- Support the transition from a start-up mindset to structured industrial operations.
- Lead culture transformation initiatives focused on safety, quality, leadership, and accountability.
- Deploy engagement initiatives based on employee feedback and diagnostics.
5. Compensation & Retention
- Ensure competitive positioning within the local maquiladora labor market.
- Manage salary reviews, promotions, and retention strategies.
- Identify and mitigate risk of attrition in critical roles.
- Balance cost control with talent attraction and retention needs.
6. HR Operations & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with Mexican labor regulations, internal policies, and audit requirements.
- Establish and maintain robust HR processes including payroll, contracts, and reporting.
- Monitor and improve key HR KPIs such as turnover, absenteeism, and hiring lead time.
7. Change Management & Transformation
- Lead HR efforts supporting rapid organizational change and transformation.
- Drive change management initiatives across all organizational levels.
- Translate business strategies into actionable HR plans.
- Support organizational evolution across maturity stages: start-up scale-up structured operation.
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Experience
- 10–15+ years of progressive HR experience.
- Minimum 5+ years in HR leadership roles.
- Strong experience in manufacturing environments (aerospace, automotive, or similar).
- Proven track record in site ramp-up, greenfield projects, or major expansions.
- Experience in fast-growth and high-change environments.
- Background in leadership transitions and organizational restructuring.
- Experience in unionized environments is preferred.
Skills & Competencies
Business & Strategic Acumen
- Strong ability to partner with operations and align HR with business strategy.
- Proven ability to translate strategy into execution under pressure.
Leadership & Influence
- Ability to challenge, influence, and coach senior leaders.
- Strong stakeholder management across all organizational levels.
Change & Transformation
- Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity and continuous change.
- Experience driving organizational maturity and transformation initiatives.
Operational Excellence
- Hands-on, pragmatic, and execution-focused approach.
- Strong discipline in delivering results in high-paced environments.
Interpersonal Skills
- High emotional intelligence and resilience.
- Strong conflict resolution and negotiation capabilities.
Profile Summary
The ideal candidate is a pragmatic and resilient HR leader with deep experience in ramp-up and transformation environments. This individual excels at navigating complex labor landscapes, scaling specialized workforces, developing leadership capability, and driving cultural evolution. Success in this role requires balancing operational pressure with employee engagement, maintaining competitive positioning in a challenging labor market, and acting as a trusted strategic partner to site leadership.
We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?
A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working
Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.
We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.
We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.
