Karen Gateson Email & Phone Number

United Kingdom

Scotland, United Kingdom

Strategic HR Consulting assignments including, board level team dynamics, complex grievance and investigation work, HR policy development,organisational reviews, executive team recruitment,Mergers & Acquisitions - end to end management of TUPE transactions - due diligence, union negotiations, contract negotiations, integration.Interim HR Director contracts to handle redundancy programmes, manage cost rationalisation programmes, manage newly acquired businesses. Change Management - project management of HR, Employee Relations and Communications work streams. Strong track record of working with some of the most demanding unions and delivering results through negotiation.Executive Recruitment; profiling candidates, supporting selection and induction .

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Group Operating Board Member with responsibility for proposing and implement HR strategy to support business goals, a key team member delivering post merger synergy targets and cost rationalization, integrated acquired business.Responsibility for Internal and External Communications, PR policy and deliveryProfessional handling of redundancies, dismissals, disciplinary and grievance cases. Specifically managed extensive company wide redundancy programme. Significantly raised the profile, influence and confidence of the HR Team. Introduced the HR business partner model.Developed behavioral framework to profile roles and support profile based recruitment, performance management and development programmes.

London

Strategic management of HR due diligence, post merger integration and pre-disposal projects on behalf of clients. Developed project plans, led, coached and mentored client team, status, contingency planning and trouble shooting. International projects included; managing pre-disposal preparation work, pension due diligence, vendor due diligence, purchaser due diligence, advising on the application of TUPE regulation and negotiation strategy, developing client resourcing strategies to support post administration recovery plan, specifically advising on replacement, deployment dismissal of contractors, cost implications and risk analysis.Researching, developing and bringing new products to market, responding to invitation to tenders, preparing client proposals.Writing and delivery of training programme on TUPE, due diligence and risk analysis. Developed and introduced HR Risk management methodology aimed at Group CFOs.

London Area, United Kingdom

Executive search assignments, performance improvement, due diligence and transaction work.Interim HR Director assignments, providing leadership to HR Teams, delivering strategic HR projects.Project HR lead for successful major insourcing deal in financial sector - engaged to lead HR contract negotiations, perform due diligence and integrate acquired business.Interim HR position to manage large redundancy and reorganisation project, specifically engaged to eliminate adverse action and improve transparency.Providing short lists for Sales Director and Prisoner Governor positions.Successfully headed off the possible re-tender of poor performing contract by addressing employee relations, performance and attendance issues.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Recruited as HR Director for newly acquired business in Canada with responsibility for recruitment, union negotiations, industrial relations, cost rationalization, payroll and HR systems.Tasked with integrating the newly acquired business into the Group, translating company values and integrating different culturesPart of Board team that successfully turned poor performing business back to profit making status. Significantly changed terms and conditions in a heavily unionised environment, led annual pay talks and secured more cost effective reward system as part of recovery plan. Significantly improved the handling of disciplinary matters and changed the working relationship between the company and the unions.Overhaul of hourly paid recruitment process that had failed to achieve regulatory approval, gained sign-off from authorities.Reduction of major HR costs to business e.g. employee liability insurance, pension administration costs.Provincial negotiations with some of the most aggressive trade unions operating in Canada - Teamsters, Canadian Auto Workers, establishing respectful relationship and improved industrial relations climate.

Crawley, England, United Kingdom

HR Director with full responsibility for managing the HR department during a period of radical company change that saw the introduction of professional management disciplines.Introduced a professional HR department that championed objective handling of performance management and disciplinary cases. Introduced a formal partner selection programme including psychometric assessment and assessment centre methodology.Redeveloped the graduate intake programme.

London Area, United Kingdom

HR Consultant with responsibility for developing and implementing people strategy for client assignments. HR lead on post merger business integration projects, responsible for integrating HR departments, designing and delivering redundancy and redeployment programmes.Lead HR consultant responsible for developing and delivering HR policy to support client reorganisational work.

London Area, United Kingdom

Development and implementation of HR strategy and policies in support of business objectives and specific projects including; responsibility for updating company hourly paid recruitment process, changing hourly paid terms and conditions, management recruitment, job evaluation.Led the researched operational employee costs and redefined remuneration package to reduce operating costs, developed and costed negotiation strategy, changing hourly paid terms and conditions to deliver significant profit improvement in unionised environment.HR lead for group-wide design, selection and implementation of integrated HR/Payroll Systems. HR lead on management evaluation and recruitment programme designed to improve the quality of operational management.Evaluation of and subsequent redesign of operational recruitment practices.Selection and implementation of full HR system.Management of sales reorganization programme; role profiling, designing and managing assessment centre, handling redundancies.

Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom

Development of HR policy and procedures, specifically redundancy handling procedures to support cost rationalization programme.Advising client facing legal helpline on HR legal, specifically redundancy handling and counseling programme for legal advisers.Developed annual pay review reporting system for publication and union distribution.Evaluation of management recruitment policy.Development of redundancy handling procedure.

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Management of hourly paid and junior management job evaluation schemes.Preparation for and follow up after annual pay negotiations with union.Completion of annual salary benchmarking questionnaires and participation in regular regional management forums. Specific, one off exercise to evaluate new roles introduced through acquisition.Specified and tested payroll system modifications to reflect changes to terms and conditions following annual pay awards.Developed post acquisition negotiation strategy and costs to harmonise terms and conditions.

Audit Assignments and personal tax calculations

Executive Mba, With Distinction, Distinction

Bachelor Of Commerce - Bcom Sons, Marketing And Industrial Relations, 2.2

Joint Honours Marketing and Industrial Relations, specialising in Union Relations, Organisation Behavioural Theory, Organisational.

Fellowship, Human Resources