ABB Country HR Lead UK & Ireland

At ABB, we help industries outrun - leaner and cleaner. Here, progress is an expectation - for you, your team, and the world. As a global market leader, we’ll give you what you need to make it happen. It won’t always be easy, growing takes grit. But at ABB, you’ll never run alone. Run what runs the world. 

As part of our strategic growth, we are appointing an experienced, dynamic and agile Country HR Manager for the UK & Ireland. In this role, you will be accountable for the leadership and collaboration of the HR community across the UK & Ireland businesses, ensuring robust country fiduciary compliance while driving the effective implementation of the people strategy. 

Operating in a diverse and complex environment, spanning multiple businesses, leadership teams and an international footprint, this role is suited to a leader who is comfortable navigating ambiguity, adapting their style, and maintaining pace and clarity of delivery. Success will depend on your ability to lead through influence rather than hierarchy, coaching, and enabling outcomes through collaboration rather than command. A strong people‑led mindset will be critical to achieving sustainable results. 

In addition to the Country HR Manager remit, the role includes responsibility for providing HR Business Partner support to a dedicated client group. 

You will also play a visible role in representing and strengthening the ABB employer brand, contributing to social progress and supporting our ambition to attract, develop and retain the best talent, today and for the future. 

While the scope of the role covers the UK & Ireland, the preferred location is Daresbury, UK. The work model is hybrid (#LI‑hybrid). 

Key Responsibilities 

License to Operate & Fiduciary Compliance 

• Ensure full compliance with local legislation, ABB HR policies and governance standards; share best practices across the countries. 

• Fulfil all HR‑related fiduciary responsibilities, including reporting, legal structures, and internal and external audits. 

• Identify and mitigate people related risk, ensuring compliance with ABB standards and legal regulations, including HSE and integrity requirements. 

Leadership & Collaboration 

• Provide leadership and direction to the UK & Ireland HR community, ensuring teams are appropriately organized, skilled and resourced to meet business needs (including teams without direct reporting lines). 

• Take accountability for the overall HR contribution and value creation across the countries, in close partnership with businesses, functions and Shared Services. 

• Coach, motivate and develop HR talent to build a high performing, capable and future‑ready HR organization. 

• Act as a trusted HR leader to senior management, building strong relationships with business leaders and employees. 

• Collaborate closely with global HR teams to ensure alignment, consistency, and adoption of best practices. 

• Own the end-to-end HR offering to the business, leveraging functional expertise across all HR sub‑functions. 

HR Business Partnering 

• Provide HR Business Partner support to a defined client group alongside Country HR responsibilities. 

• Drive execution of key Business HR priorities to deliver measurable business impact. 

• Ensure effective implementation of HR strategies, policies and tools across areas including culture, talent acquisition, succession and workforce planning, organization design, D&I, L&D, performance management, compensation & benefits, and global mobility. 

• Lead behavioral change, continuous improvement, and change management initiatives across the countries. 

Company Representation 

• Lead employee relations strategy and works council engagement to foster a positive, compliant and inclusive workplace. 

• Strengthen ABB’s employer brand through effective internal and external communication and employer branding activities, including participation in selected events. 

• Partner with Communications and other functions to deliver consistent and impactful messaging. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualifications. 

• Preferably CIPD qualified, with evidence of continuous professional development. 

• Proven HR leadership experience, with the ability to establish credibility and drive accountability. 

• Strong influencing skills with a track record of leading through example in complex, matrix organizations. 

• Demonstrated coaching capability and experience enabling others to succeed. 

• Strong problem‑solving skills, combining operational excellence with strategic thinking. 

• Solid change management expertise. 

• Strong commercial and business acumen, with the ability to translate business and financial understanding into effective people's strategies. 

#ABBCareers 
#RunwithABB 
#Runwhatrunstheworld 

ABB Motion, a global leader in motors and drives, is at the core of accelerating a more productive and sustainable future. We innovate and push the boundaries of technology to contribute to energy efficient, decarbonizing, and circular solutions for customers, industries, and societies. With our digitally enabled drives, motors and services we support our customers and partners to achieve better performance, safety and reliability. To help the world’s industries outrun – leaner and cleaner, we deliver motor-driven solutions for a wide range of applications in all industrial segments. Building on over 140 years of domain expertise in electric powertrains, our more than 22,000 employees across 100 countries learn and improve every day. go.abb/motion 

We value people from different backgrounds. Could this be your story? Apply today or visit careers.abb to read more about us and learn about the impact of our solutions across the globe.