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Fashion & Lifestyle Recruitment Roles

Fashion & Lifestyle – HR

Fashion and lifestyle businesses ask Encore Recruitment to help them hire HR professionals.

Fashion and lifestyle professionals ask us to help them find HR opportunities.

We find, assess and recommend people they’d want to work with.

Key Takeaways

  • HR recruitment across fashion and lifestyle: We recruit from HR Assistant to Head of HR and People leadership roles for brands, retailers, suppliers and importers across fashion, accessories, footwear, beauty and homeware.
  • Understand, find and filter: We understand what you’re trying to achieve, find people who could help, and filter what we find through that understanding.
  • Assess, qualify and recommend: We assess and qualify who remains before deciding who we’re prepared to recommend. We make the recommendation. You decide what happens next.

HR Recruitment Starts for Different Reasons

Businesses recruit HR professionals to support growth, introduce greater structure or help people and managers through organisational change. HR professionals may consider a move because they want broader responsibility, greater leadership exposure or more influence over people decisions.

For businesses and HR professionals, the starting point changes what we need to understand and explore.

What if Your Business Has Outgrown its Existing People Support?

Growth can create pressure on managers, founders and teams.

Informal conversations and processes may no longer provide the structure needed around onboarding, employee relations, policies, communication and workforce planning.

You may need someone who can introduce greater consistency as the organisation grows.

What if Organisational Change is Creating New Challenges?

Organisational change can create new demands for HR support.

A new leadership team, retail expansion, departmental restructuring or changing workforce expectations may require someone who can support managers, guide communication and navigate sensitive situations while change takes place.

What if You're Ready to Influence More Than Your Current Position Allows?

Career progression in HR can mean taking on broader responsibility and greater influence.

For some professionals, that involves greater exposure to leadership teams, people management, organisational development or shaping workforce decisions.

What if You Want to Work Closer to the Decisions Being Made?

Some HR professionals want greater involvement in how organisations develop, communicate and support their people.

A move may offer the opportunity to contribute earlier, support wider initiatives or work more directly with senior leaders.

HR Careers, Responsibilities and Salaries

HR responsibilities vary according to the structure, size and priorities of the organisation. Two businesses can recruit someone with the same HR title and expect them to contribute in different ways.

The Same HR Title Can Mean Different Things

One HR Manager may focus on employee relations, policy development and leadership support. Another may spend more time on recruitment, onboarding, workforce planning and operational people management.

Retailers, brands, suppliers and importers can also structure HR differently.

A founder-led brand may require broader responsibility within a lean structure. A larger retailer may require support across stores, head office functions and regional teams. An importer or supplier may involve communication across operational, sourcing and commercial departments.

The title provides a starting point. The context explains what the position is expected to achieve.

HR Responsibilities Change as Careers Progress

HR careers can develop through roles including:

  • HR Assistant
  • HR Coordinator
  • HR Advisor
  • Senior HR Advisor
  • HR Manager
  • Senior HR Manager
  • Head of HR

As careers progress, responsibility can extend beyond administration and employee support into leadership partnering, organisational development, workforce planning, management coaching and wider business influence.

HR Salaries Reflect Responsibility, Experience and Market Demand

Salary expectations are influenced by workforce size, organisational complexity, leadership exposure, location and market demand.

Typical salary ranges across parts of the UK fashion and lifestyle sector include:

  • HR Assistant: £25,000–£30,000
  • HR Coordinator: £28,000–£35,000
  • HR Advisor: £32,000–£40,000
  • Senior HR Advisor: £40,000–£50,000
  • HR Manager: £40,000–£60,000
  • Senior HR Manager: £60,000–£75,000
  • Head of HR: £75,000+

Salary ranges updated August 2026

Salary ranges are indicative. Offered salaries must reflect the final contracted hours, the applicable age band and UK National Minimum Wage requirements.

How We Approach HR Recruitment

Understanding What You're Looking For

For a business, we start with why you're recruiting and what the HR professional needs to contribute. This can include workforce structure, management challenges, growth plans, employee relations, reporting lines, communication expectations and the purpose of the hire.

For a professional, we explore what you're doing now and what you want next, including career ambitions, leadership exposure, people management, organisational development, working environment and future responsibilities.

Because HR responsibilities differ between businesses, we consider experience in the context of workforce structure, organisational complexity, responsibilities and working environment rather than relying on title alone.

A job title or CV gives us information. The conversation gives us the context needed to use it.

Finding HR Professionals and Opportunities

For clients, what we learn helps us identify HR professionals whose experience gives us a reason to have a conversation.

For professionals, it helps us identify opportunities that may support what you're looking for next.

Not every person identified leads to a conversation. Not every opportunity discussed leads to representation.

Discover how we approach our Process.

Before We Make a Recommendation

Finding an HR professional is not the same as recommending one.

Every recommendation is shaped by conversations, questions and assessment throughout our process. Recommendations reflect what we learn about the position, organisation, individual and circumstances surrounding the decision.

The opportunity is discussed with the candidate first. We don't represent someone for a role until they have agreed that they want us to do so.

Read the guidelines behind our Recommendation Standard.

Clients and Candidates Decide What Happens Next

We make the recommendation. Clients and candidates decide what happens next.

A client may want to interview, ask questions or not proceed. A candidate may continue, need more information or decide the opportunity isn't for them.

Where both sides continue, we support interviews, feedback and offer discussions through to the start.

If either side doesn't want to proceed, we understand why and agree what happens next.

FAQ

What Does an HR Professional Do?

HR professionals support areas including recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, workforce communication, policy implementation, management guidance and organisational development. Their responsibilities depend on the organisation and level of the position.

Do HR Roles Differ Between Smaller Brands and Larger Retailers?

Yes. Smaller organisations may require broader responsibility across several areas. Larger retailers and group structures can involve greater workforce complexity, multi-site support or more defined HR responsibilities.

What Helps HR Professionals Progress into Leadership Positions?

Progression can involve greater responsibility for employee relations, workforce planning, management support, organisational development and influencing decisions across an organisation.

Hiring an HR Professional?

Start a conversation about what you’re looking for. You can either Submit a Vacancy→ or Contact Us→

Considering Your Next HR Opportunity?

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