Independent HR consultant based in Sunderland, working with businesses and leadership teams across the North East of England.

HR consultancy for businesses and leadership teams across the North East of England

Cut the noise. Fix what matters.

Straight-talking HR and people operations support for businesses and leadership teams who need to make sense of complexity and get things moving.

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I work with senior leaders, HR teams and business owners dealing with pace, pressure and the kind of people challenges that don’t sit neatly in a slide.

By the numbers

  • 25+ years in HR leadership across complex, regulated and high-change environments.
  • 750 people integrated in a £500m acquisition with annualised attrition kept under 13%.
  • Over 100 branches closed with fair, compliant consultation, delivering £9m in annualised Opex savings.
  • 70+ recruitment and process improvements delivered in six months, eliminating admin errors over two consecutive quarters.
  • External agency usage reduced to 1%, avoiding over £400,000 a year in third-party recruitment costs.
“Bright, quick-thinking and commercially sharp. Tim makes sense of chaos, fixes inefficiency and gets teams delivering at pace.” Group HR Director
“Learns fast, understands the bigger picture and builds strong relationships at every level. Tim is an HR leader who improves how the business works.” CEO
“Authentic, empowering and driven by integrity. Tim simplifies complexity and removes blockers so people can focus on what matters.” Leadership Award Nomination, 2024
“You changed things for the better. The whole atmosphere lifted when you took over.” HR Services Team Member, 2025

Most leaders know exactly where they want to get to. What gets in the way is everything in the middle: mixed messages, competing priorities, clunky processes, legacy decisions and the day-to-day noise.

That is the space I work in. Helping you make sense of it, cut it back to the essentials and move things forward with confidence.

Who I work with

I work with owner-managed businesses and leadership teams who need senior HR support without adding another permanent role to the payroll.

  • Businesses across the North East of England, including Sunderland, Newcastle and Durham, that need practical HR support they can pick up and use.
  • Businesses without in-house HR, or where HR is one part of someone’s already busy day job.
  • Leaders dealing with TUPE transfers, restructures, redundancies or tricky employee relations.
  • Growing companies that need the HR basics in place – contracts, policies and ways of working that actually fit how they run the business.

What this looks like in practice

Making a £500m acquisition land cleanly

Led the people workstream for a £500m acquisition, integrating around 750 people and keeping annualised attrition under 13% through clear comms, steady leadership and practical support for leaders on the ground.

Turning a contact centre round

Redesigned a contact centre pay and contract model, cutting attrition from 40% to 12% and stabilising performance so customers felt the difference, not just the org chart.

Closing 100 branches without burning trust

Supported the closure of over 100 retail stores with fair, compliant consultation, delivering £9m in annualised Opex savings while protecting dignity and minimising legal risk.

Getting governance off the spreadsheet

Strengthened HR governance and risk frameworks so people-related risks were genuinely understood and acted on, not just tracked for committee.

What I do

Four types of work, often running together.

Most work falls into the areas below. In real life they blend together, which is fine. The aim is simple: get you to a clearer, steadier place and give you practical options you can act on.

People strategy

People Strategy

Cutting the plan back to what actually matters and helping you make it real.

People operations

People Operations

Fixing the basics so your organisation stops tripping over its own processes.

Change, M&A and ER

Change, M&A and Employee Relations

Support through the heavy stuff: restructures, integrations and the people issues that keep leaders awake.

Executive coaching

Executive Coaching

A calm, honest space to think, get perspective and work out the next move.

Interim leadership

Interim HR & People Operations

Stepping in as interim HR or People Operations leadership for 3–6 months, with stability, clarity and a clean handover built in.

Looking for an HR consultant in the North East? See how I support businesses across Sunderland, Newcastle and Durham.

Ready to cut through the noise?

If something here sounds close to what you're facing, have a look at what I do, or just drop me a note and tell me what's happening. Short and simple works best.

Services Talk it through