People Operations Manager - Maternity Cover

People Operations Manager required in London

Earn up to £55,000 dependent on experience

Hybrid working (3–4 days per week in the London office)

12 Month Fixed Term Contract

We're looking for an experienced, commercially focused People Operations Manager to join an exciting team on a 12-month fixed-term contract. This is a fantastic opportunity to partner with operational leaders across London, Italy, Spain and Portugal, delivering both strategic and operational HR support that drives business performance and creates an outstanding employee experience.

Working closely with senior leaders, you'll provide expert guidance across the full employee lifecycle while championing employee engagement, talent development, employee relations and continuous improvement in a fast-paced, multi-site environment. This role is ideal for a proactive HR professional who enjoys influencing stakeholders, solving complex people challenges and balancing strategic initiatives with operational delivery.

As People Operations Manager you'll be

Partner with the Head of Operations and operational leaders to deliver strategic and operational HR support aligned with business objectives.

Build trusted relationships with managers, providing commercially focused coaching and advice on people matters.

Manage onboarding, inductions and support an exceptional new starter experience.

Support talent development through performance management, succession planning and career development initiatives.

Lead and advise on a wide range of employee relations matters, including disciplinary, grievance, absence management, performance, capability and redundancy processes, ensuring a fair, consistent and legally compliant approach.

Support investigations and manage complex employee relations cases from start to finish.

Partner with leaders on organisational change, restructures, workforce planning and site mobilisations.

Support annual performance, salary review and reward processes.

Produce, analyse and interpret people metrics, payroll reporting and workforce data to provide insight and support business decisions.

Identify opportunities to improve HR processes, policies and ways of working, driving continuous improvement across the function.

Promote compliance with company policies, UK employment legislation and HR best practice.

Collaborate with stakeholders across multiple countries and functions to deliver positive people outcomes and a consistent employee experience.

To succeed as People Operations Manager you'll

3-5 years' experience in a generalist HR role, such as HR Business Partner, People Partner or HR Manager, with exposure across the full employee lifecycle.

Previous experience within a multi-site hospitality, catering, retail or other fast-paced service-led environment is highly desirable.

Strong employee relations experience, with confidence managing complex ER cases including disciplinaries, grievances, performance management, restructures and redundancies.

Excellent knowledge of UK employment legislation and the ability to provide pragmatic, commercially focused advice.

Experience supporting organisational change, workforce planning and business transformation initiatives.

Confident influencing, coaching and challenging stakeholders at all levels, building credible and trusted relationships.

Commercially minded, with the ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational delivery.

Proactive, solutions-focused and able to anticipate business needs before they arise.

Strong analytical skills, with experience using HR metrics and people data to influence decision-making.

Experience working with HR systems and supporting payroll processes would be advantageous.

Comfortable working autonomously while collaborating effectively across geographically dispersed teams.

CIPD Level 5 qualified (or working towards) is desirable.

If you're an experienced HR professional looking for a varied regional role where you can influence business decisions, manage complex people matters and make a real impact across multiple locations, we'd love to hear from you.