People Operations Manager

Key Responsibilities

Operational Excellence & Process Ownership

• Own and optimise end-to-end People lifecycle processes (onboarding, offboarding, employee changes, probations, contracts, references, etc.), with a focus on designing processes that are built for automation.
• Drive continuous process improvement initiatives with AI and automation as primary levers to drive efficiency, scalability and employee experience.
• Proactively identify opportunities to automate manual workflows and leverage AI‑enabled solutions to improve workflow automation and self‑service, reducing manual effort and improving service quality.
• Ensure compliance requirements and regulatory obligations (including SMCR) are consistently met and embedded within People processes.
• Maintain scalable, well‑documented People Operations processes, policies and knowledge bases.
• Partner closely with Finance and Payroll to ensure accurate data flows, strong operational controls and seamless pay‑related processes.

People Technology

• Act as owner and subject matter expert for core People systems including HRIS (HiBob), ATS, performance platforms and wider People technology stack.
• Drive system optimisation, adoption, automation and cross‑system integrations to improve operational efficiency and data accuracy.
• Own the People team’s AI tooling roadmap: identify where AI can meaningfully improve how the team operates.
• Manage People systems governance, ensuring data integrity, compliance and effective system controls across the employee lifecycle.
• Manage relationships with third‑party People vendors, including renewals, contract management and ongoing performance optimisation.
• Partner closely with Finance, Payroll and wider business stakeholders to ensure seamless system operations and accurate people data across all platforms.

Employee Experience & Service Delivery

• Oversee the People inbox/service desk and ensure timely, high‑quality support to employees and managers.
• Lead People Operations service delivery, identifying bottlenecks and proactively improving turnaround times.
• Work with the Office Team to ensure a seamless operational experience for employees.

Reward & Benefits

• Partner with Payroll and People Partners on the execution of pay cycles.
• Implement changes and updates made to our compensation and benefits structure.
• Monitor benefits take‑up and keep up‑to‑date with external market trends.
• Implement compensation and organisational changes accurately across People systems, ensuring supporting documentation, employee records and internal processes are updated in a streamlined and efficient manner.

People Team Collaboration

• Line manage and develop People Coordinator, fostering high performance and operational excellence, including building their confidence and capability with AI tools and automation as part of their development.
• Act as a trusted partner to People and Talent Partners and wider organisation on People processes and policy interpretation.
• Support People Team initiatives, People Ops roadmap delivery and wider cultural/engagement initiatives.
• Contribute to broader People Team project work.

Experience

• 5+ years’ experience as an owner in the People Operations space, ideally within a fast‑paced scale‑up or similar environment.
• Demonstrable experience using AI tools to meaningfully improve People Operations – not just awareness, but hands‑on delivery.
• Previous experience supporting People Operations in a Financial Regulated environment (knowledge of SMCR) is desirable.
• Advanced proficiency with Excel/Google Sheets.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Demonstrable experience owning and improving People processes at scale.
• Strong HRIS experience (HiBob preferred; experience with workflows, automations or integrations is a plus).
• Solid understanding of UK employment law, compliance requirements and best‑practice People Ops governance.
• Experience managing or coaching junior team members.

Skills & Mindset

• Highly organised, process‑driven and able to simplify complexity.
• A genuine curiosity about AI and emerging People technology, with the confidence to experiment, evaluate and embed new tools pragmatically.
• A continuous improvement mindset with proven ability to streamline, automate and optimise workflows.
• Strong data literacy – comfortable working with reports, dashboards and People metrics.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Thrives in a fast paced, evolving environment with shifting priorities.
• A proactive, low‑ego team player who drives clarity and operational excellence and is keen to collaborate with other team members.

What’s in it for you?

• Opportunity to join a fast‑growing, award‑winning and super ambitious company.
• Work with a friendly team of highly motivated individuals.
• Be in an environment where you are listened to and can actually have an impact.
• Thriving collaborative and inclusive company culture.
• Competitive remuneration package.
• Company pension scheme.
• Company bonus scheme.
• Hybrid working environment.
• Home office furniture allowance.
• Personal Annual Learning and Development budget.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• Health Cash Plan (cashback on visits to the dentist & opticians etc).
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Wellhub subscription to a variety of gyms and wellbeing apps.
• Enhanced parental pay & leave.
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays with additional days added with length of service.
• This is a hybrid role. Our office is in London, by the Oxo Tower.

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