Senior Manager, People Operations

Role Overview

• Lead and develop the People Operations team, setting clear priorities, driving accountability, and fostering a high-performance, service-oriented culture.
• Own and continuously improve core people operations processes, ensuring they are scalable, efficient, and consistently delivered across the organisation.
• Drive operational rigour, including documentation, SLAs, governance frameworks, and process standardisation.
• Act as the primary escalation point for people operations issues, ensuring timely and effective resolution.
• Identify and implement opportunities to leverage AI and automation across people operations processes (e.g. query handling, reporting, workflows), improving efficiency and service quality.
• Partner with People, IT and Legal teams to ensure responsible, ethical, and compliant use of AI in people processes.
• Oversee the people tech stack (including hiBob, CultureAmp, and Ashby), ensuring optimal usage, data integrity, and continuous improvement, and continuously evaluate emerging technologies.
• Drive adoption of AI-enabled tools within the People team, building capability and confidence across the function.
• Partner with People Business Partners and business leaders to ensure operational delivery aligns with business needs.
• Lead data-driven reporting and insights, enabling better decision-making and tracking operational performance.
• Manage and optimise vendor relationships, including benefits providers and payroll partners, ensuring quality and value.
• Oversee global payroll delivery, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and continuous process improvement.
• Ensure compliance with local regulations and maintain robust, up-to-date people policies and procedures.
• Support the implementation and ongoing management of benefits programmes, ensuring operational efficiency and employee understanding.
• Drive and support cross-functional projects, ensuring timely delivery and strong execution discipline.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of people operations specialists, building robust career pathways and succession plan.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to build and run efficient, scalable operational processes in a fast-paced or high-growth environment.
• Evidence of practical AI / automation deployment in a People Ops or comparable operational context, with a pragmatic, outcomes-focused approach.
• Strong people management experience, with a track record of developing high-performing teams.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise effectively and manage multiple workstreams.
• Strong operational mindset, with attention to detail and a focus on process discipline and continuous improvement.
• Comfortable with data: you track performance, spot patterns, and translate operational complexity into clear, actionable insights.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across all levels of the organisation.
• Clear and confident communicator, able to translate operational complexity into simple, actionable insights.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and drive outcomes.
• Experience with HR systems (hiBob desirable) and global operations (payroll, compliance, benefits).
• Additional language skills are a plus: German, Dutch, Polish, or Czech.

Benefits

• Company pension contributions at 5%.
• Individualised training budget for you to learn on the job and level yourself up.
• Discounted holidays for you, your family and friends.
• 25 days of holidays per annum (plus 8 public holidays) increases by 1 day for every second year of service, up to a maximum 30 days per annum.
• Ability to buy and sell annual leave.
• Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan and eye care vouchers.