Interim HR Manager - Manufacturing

About the role

The Opportunity: Our client, a global manufacturing company located in Northeast Ulster County, NY, is seeking an experienced Interim HR Manager to provide full-time, onsite HR leadership and support within a fast-paced manufacturing environment. This is an individual contributor role partnering closely with site leadership, operations, engineering, quality, and production teams. The Interim HR Manager will provide both strategic and hands-on HR support, with particular emphasis on employee relations, labor relations, leadership coaching, compliance, talent acquisition, workforce development, and employee engagement.

Responsibilities

• Partner with site and senior leadership to align HR priorities with operational objectives and serve as a trusted advisor on employee relations, performance management, organizational effectiveness, and workforce matters.
• Lead employee relations matters and workplace investigations involving misconduct, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, policy violations, performance concerns, and conflict resolution.
• Coach managers on performance management, corrective action, employee development, accountability, and effective people leadership.
• Support a positive and productive union workforce while ensuring compliance with federal, New York State, and local employment laws and company policies.
• Partner with Operations and Safety to reinforce workplace safety, employee engagement, workforce stability, and a culture of accountability and operational excellence.
• Support recruiting, onboarding, retention, and workforce planning for hourly and skilled positions across manufacturing, engineering, quality, maintenance, and operations.
• Support performance evaluations, succession and leadership development initiatives, and analyze HR metrics including turnover, absenteeism, staffing trends, and employee engagement to inform business decisions.

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive Human Resources experience.
• Manufacturing HR experience required.
• Experience supporting a union workforce required.
• Strong employee relations, workplace investigation, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution experience.
• Strong knowledge of federal and New York employment laws and HR compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, advise, and influence leaders at multiple levels of an organization.
• Ability to operate independently and effectively balance strategic priorities with hands-on day-to-day HR needs.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related discipline preferred.
• Aerospace or other highly regulated manufacturing experience is helpful but not required.

About the Engagement

This is a full-time interim consulting engagement requiring onsite support five days per week during normal business hours. The Interim HR Manager will work closely with local leadership while partnering with HR resources across the broader organization. The successful consultant will be able to step into the environment quickly, establish strong working relationships, assess priorities, and provide experienced, practical HR leadership with minimal ramp-up.