People Partner

Help leaders create the conditions for people and performance to thrive. At Crown Paints, our people are at the heart of what we do. We’re looking for a People Partner who can turn people priorities into practical action, build trusted relationships with leaders and help teams navigate growth, change and everyday people challenges. You’ll be based in Darwen, working on a hybrid basis, with regular travel to our Hull manufacturing site.

Help leaders get the best from their people

You’ll coach, guide and constructively challenge leaders, helping them make thoughtful people decisions that balance colleague experience, business performance and responsible risk management.

• Coach leaders on performance, talent, succession, engagement, change and workforce planning.
• Manage a range of employee relations cases, balancing colleague experience, business needs and risk while building manager confidence and capability.
• Support organisational design so teams remain effective, adaptable and ready for what comes next.
• Build manager capability and help embed consistent, inclusive people practices.
• Use data and insight to spot themes, shape decisions and connect people activity to business outcomes.

Turn people strategy into meaningful action

This is a hands on partnering role with scope to influence how we work. You’ll collaborate across People & Culture and the wider business to improve processes, deliver change and make the annual people cycle work well for leaders and colleagues.

• Translate People & Culture priorities into clear plans for the areas you support.
• Contribute to cross business projects and help deliver organisational change with clarity and care.
• Identify opportunities to simplify or improve policies, processes and ways of working.
• Build strong relationships across a matrix organisation and know when to resolve, influence or escape.

What you’ll bring

We’re interested in how you think, partner and influence, not whether your career has followed one particular path.

• Experience in HR partnering, people advisory work or a comparable role.
• Strong business awareness and the ability to connect people decisions with commercial priorities.
• An understanding of trade union engagement and experience supporting positive employee relations within a unionised environment.
• Experience coaching or advising leaders, with clear communication and sound judgement.
• Confidence managing several priorities while staying collaborative, curious and focused on solutions.

We value transferable experience and different perspectives, and we want our recruitment process to give people the opportunity to show what they can bring.

Make your mark at Crown Paints Crown Paints is a trusted British brand and part of the Hempel Group. We’re building a workplace where people feel respected, supported and able to grow, with a strong focus on inclusion, learning, wellbeing and creating more opportunities for women to lead.

Ready to help shape a people experience where everyone can do their best work?

Application due 2026-09-17 Seniority Level Associate Job Functions Human Resources Industry Chemicals

Crown Paints is one of UK’s most renown paint manufacturers and we have been manufacturing for over 200 years, with over 60 years proudly holding the Royal Warrant. However, what really sets Crown apart is the support we provide for cultural, humanitarian and scientific causes across the world through our ownership structure. Crown Paints is part of the Hempel Group, which gives our company stability and our employees extended, global career possibilities. Hempel is a world-leading supplier of trusted coating solutions working with customers within the decorative, marine, infrastructure and energy industries. Our purpose is to shape a brighter future with sustainable coating solutions, and being owned by the Hempel Foundation gives us the stability, means and purpose to deliver lasting, positive change in the world. The Hempel Group is the owner and parent company of Crown Paints, Wattyl and the Neogard brand.