Summary
Overview
Work history
Education
Skills
Certification
References
Timeline
Generic
KAREN FULLERTON

KAREN FULLERTON

Dunmurry

Summary

Award winning, innovative, CIPD qualified Human Resources Manager, with a strong background in Workplace Health & Wellbeing, Employee Engagement & Internal Communications. I have a passion for engagement, learning & development and a keen interest in Equality of Opportunity. Skilled at building strong team environments and encouraging open communication. I am a forward-thinking individual, committed to best practice as well as possessing the necessary negotiating skills to provide strong leadership on all HR & L&D matters.

Overview

24
24
years of professional experience
12
12
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification

Work history

Head of HR

Portview
Belfast
03.2015 - 08.2025
  • Lead the HR function in close collaboration with the Board of Directors, ensuring all people strategies directly support and enhance core business objectives.
  • Drive organisation-wide employee engagement initiatives to strengthen retention, attraction, and productivity, including flagship programmes such as Live Better, Feel Better, Reward & Recognition, Do Not Hesitate, Innovate, Investors in People (IIP), Best Companies, and Your Pay, Your Way.
  • Analyse and interpret engagement data from Best Companies and IIP surveys, introducing the “You Said, We Did” approach to create clear accountability and measurable improvement.
  • Oversee the organisation’s reward and benefits strategy, introducing Your Pay, Your Way to provide employees with a flexible, personalised pay and benefits package supported by an online benefits platform.
  • Manage the company’s employee review process, embedding 360-degree feedback to support a culture of continuous development.
  • Design and deliver innovative HR initiatives that challenge traditional approaches while aligning with organisational values and strategic priorities.
  • Curate and manage content for The Hub, the organisation’s award-winning internal communications and engagement platform, ensuring it remains dynamic, engaging, and aligned with corporate messaging.
  • Provide trusted leadership and expert guidance on all aspects of HR, including employee relations, talent attraction, development, and retention.
  • Lead employer branding projects to position the organisation as an employer of choice in the marketplace.
  • Oversee the Learning & Development strategy, including training needs analysis (TNA), learning programme design, and alignment of learners with high-quality providers.
  • Integrate all HR initiatives with core values and environmental commitments such as ProZero.
  • Produce comprehensive monthly board reports and present compelling business cases for new people strategies and initiatives.
  • Champion the company’s innovation agenda, embedding a culture of creativity and continuous improvement.
  • Manage and optimise the HRIS platform (HiBob) to ensure compliance, streamline workflows, improve efficiency, enhance data accuracy, and strengthen reporting across all HR processes.
  • Managed complex employee relations issues
  • Implemented innovative recruitment strategies, attracting top industry talent.
  • Reduced employee turnover through robust talent retention strategies.
  • Streamlined HR processes for improved efficiency.
  • Conducted regular internal audits of HR practices ensuring conformity with standards.
  • Fostered an inclusive work environment to increase diversity.
  • Performed exit interviews, gaining useful insights to improve employee retention rates.
  • Provided expert HR advice to line managers to tackle obstacles such as conflict resolution, pay disputes and under-performance management.

Senior HR & OD Officer

Lagan Construction Group
09.2014 - 03.2015
  • To liaise closely with the Senior Management Team, and middle managers, on personnel issues, employment law and recruitment issues.
  • Ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and best practice and provide advice and guidance to managers.
  • Adhere to employment legislation and, in particular, on disciplinary, grievance, redundancy and TUPE procedures; ensure that all managers are appropriately trained cost-effectively and kept abreast of relevant developments in employment law.
  • Organisational development, including employee engagement & motivation, team working & team building, performance management, organisation design, organisation culture and employee awards.
  • Employee benefits, including pay, pensions, reward and recognition, including health and wellbeing benefits.
  • Employee relations, including general communications with employees, absence management, staff turnover / retention, employee health and wellbeing (- including managing private health care, childcare vouchers, Cycle to Work scheme, etc.).
  • Provision of a management and employee development service to managers, including managing the design and delivery of initiatives to develop and train managers and employees, the evaluation of training and development events/initiatives, and advice concerning the linking business performance to employee development.
  • Ensure HR monitoring and control systems are in place to enable a yearly audit of key HR services to be carried out.
  • Ensure that an analysis of KPI's and reports are produced on a monthly basis to the Head of HR and OD to facilitate Management and EOT reports. Quarterly analysis should be forwarded for the HR Dashboard for the Board.
  • Proactively contribute to the overall management of the business by providing information for the external stakeholders on staffing, suggesting HR-related ideas and initiatives to improve the Organisational performance, utilising your HR-related skills and knowledge in non-HR areas and working collaboratively with other managers on specific projects.
  • Provision of a cost-effective HR administration service, including the production and distribution of policies/procedures/manuals, ensuring appropriate manual and computerised records are available, responding to internal/external enquiries, etc.
  • To chair the relevant internal HR forums.
  • To assist in the development of a three year strategic plan in liaison with Head of HR in line with the Organisational strategic aims and objectives.
  • To develop an annual operational plan in liaison with Head of HR and ensure it is in line with objectives of the organisation.
  • In conjunction with the Finance Director and Head of HR, plan the annual HR budget to deliver the HR strategy and plans.
  • To manage and control the Document Control Toolkit for Human Resources and Services.
  • To assist in the implementation and maintain the Organisational recognition structure with Investors in People.
  • To maintain and implement the training budget through Invest NI and CITB.

HR Manager

Jurys Inn
04.2004 - 09.2014
  • To develop and deliver an annual HR & Training Plan and Payroll budget.
  • Ensure that the required training (including BELONG, BE Exceptional and all mandatory training such as Health & Safety, Security training etc.) is carried out to the level required.
  • Plan and organise all training.
  • Running local training in the hotel each quarter to maximize the skills of the team and share best practice (this includes induction, customer care and all safety training).
  • Manage the performance management system for the property and ensuring appropriate development plans are in place and that managers are trained fully to deliver quality reviews.
  • Deliver reviews when necessary.
  • Compile and manage the Succession Plan for the property ensuring appropriate succession plans are in place to fill management roles and to provide career development for all employees.
  • To follow the process for Recruitment to ensure that the right people are recruited and retained within the business and that process is followed on Amris to ensure statistics are accurate.
  • Be responsible for the recruitment initiatives in the property/cluster, being pro-active to build working relationships with Job Centre's and local colleges to support work placements and young people entering the work place.
  • Monitor & Review turnover & ensure exit interviews are conducted with all leavers.
  • Integrate new legislation in to the property working practices as required and promote best practice whilst keeping abreast of employment law changes.
  • Monitor & review absenteeism in line with company policy.
  • Ensure that SAP (HR & Payroll system) is correctly administered and followed and that all reports are correctly processed and are approved off in accordance with company procedures.
  • To ensure that all Personnel files are up to date for every employee with the correct information on file and regularly purged of old and irrelevant documentation as per company policy and Data Protection Act 1998.
  • Provide support to the HR administrator and the property management team on all HR issues as required ensuring compliance with company policies and procedures.
  • Being aware of Jury's Inn business levels, and to ensure proactive planning takes place so that appropriate staffing levels are set per property.
  • Producing weekly/monthly reports to update the management team on HR activities at weekly/monthly communication meetings.
  • Provide support and advice as appropriate in disciplinary, grievance and other such matters for the property.
  • To promote Jurys Inn in all relationships, developing positive networks with key organisations as required.

Group Training Officer

Mooney Hotel Group
06.2002 - 08.2004
  • Administration and organisation of CDP program, training records, grants etc.
  • Manage house NVQ's.
  • Assist individual hotels in obtaining IIP status.
  • School/college liaison Officer.
  • Induction.
  • Training Needs Analysis.
  • Develop, manage & produce annual training plan and budget.
  • Design and delivery of training.
  • Manage all training programs, job skills, modern apprenticeship, in-house management program.
  • Evaluation of all training activities.
  • All duties as carried out by personnel officer (when required duties listed above).
  • Design of core values for company working closely with BOD.

Personnel Officer

Mooney Hotel Group
04.2001 - 06.2002
  • To liaise with recruitment agencies and other employment bodies.
  • To analyse and monitor sickness absence.
  • Recruitment and selection.
  • EC Monitoring.
  • To analyse and monitor staff turnover figures.
  • To assist in the appraisal process.
  • Grievance and disciplinary procedure.
  • Advise staff.
  • Administration.
  • Produce & Distribute quarterly Newsletter 'The Eclipse'.
  • Manage and update personnel database.
  • Attend monthly Head of Department Meetings.
  • To ensure compliance of H&S legislation.

Education

Master of Arts - Personnel & Development

DEMONTFORT UNIVERSITY
Leicester
09.1998 - 09.1999

Bachelor of Arts - Business & Finance

UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER
Northern Ireland
09.1993 - 06.1997

GCSE & A-Levels - General Education

COMPREHENSIVE COLLEGE
Belfast
09.1986 - 06.1993

Skills

  • Decision making
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Leadership and engagement
  • Project management
  • Effective communication
  • Time management
  • Adaptability and flexibility
  • Analytical skills
  • Employee relations
  • Corporate culture development
  • HR software proficiency

Certification

SEPT 1999

CIPD Associate Member

April 2007
Winner at JANUS Awards for professionalism in the field of training
CIPD C23/C24
Training Certificate
St Johns Ambulance
Manual Handling Trainers Award

December 17
Mental Health First Aid Certificate

June 2018
Winner WEA Medium Category Best Workplace Wellbeing Initiative

October 2018
Winner CIPR Best Internal employee communications platform

November 2018
NEBOSH Certificate in the Management of Health & Wellbeing at Work

May 2019
CIPDNI Winner Best Employee Engagement Initiative

June 2019
Winner Best Place to Work Medium Category

References

References available upon request.

Timeline

Head of HR

Portview
03.2015 - 08.2025

Senior HR & OD Officer

Lagan Construction Group
09.2014 - 03.2015

HR Manager

Jurys Inn
04.2004 - 09.2014

Group Training Officer

Mooney Hotel Group
06.2002 - 08.2004

Personnel Officer

Mooney Hotel Group
04.2001 - 06.2002

Master of Arts - Personnel & Development

DEMONTFORT UNIVERSITY
09.1998 - 09.1999

Bachelor of Arts - Business & Finance

UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER
09.1993 - 06.1997

GCSE & A-Levels - General Education

COMPREHENSIVE COLLEGE
09.1986 - 06.1993

Similar Profiles

Create profile
KAREN FULLERTON