People Operations Regional Lead​/Manager; EMEA)

Role Overview

The EMEA People Operations Lead / Manager is a “playercoach” responsible for driving operational excellence, transformation, and scalable HR service delivery across the UK and EU in addition to leading a team.

This role serves as the regional expert for People Operations (POPs), owning execution of end‑to‑end employee lifecycle processes while also leading complex transformation initiatives, including AI and automation, case and knowledge management, regulatory programs (SMCR), and cross‑functional change.

The ideal candidate brings deep hands‑on HR operations experience, thrives in ambiguity, and is comfortable both designing the solution and doing the work. This role partners closely with HR Business Partners (HRBP), functional teams, business groups (Compliance, Legal, Technology), and Global POPs colleagues to deliver consistent, compliant, and data‑driven outcomes.

• Serve as the People Operations subject‑matter expert for the UK and EU, owning regional execution, risk management, and operational consistency.
• Lead and personally execute end‑to‑end employee lifecycle transactions, including onboarding, role changes, extensions, transfers, exits, and special employment scenarios.
• Ensure operational excellence across service delivery, timeliness, accuracy, employee experience, and compliance.
• Act as a senior escalation point for complex or sensitive operational matters.

• Own and continuously improve case management processes, including intake models, escalation paths, SLAs, and quality standards.
• Lead knowledge management strategy and execution, ensuring documentation is accurate, accessible, governed, and actively maintained.
• Personally document and update process flows, decision trees, SOPs, and controls, not delegating documentation as an afterthought.

• Lead and deliver HR transformation initiatives, including process redesign, automation, and digitization across the employee lifecycle.
• Drive adoption of AI‑enabled solutions and workflow automation to reduce manual effort, improve quality, and scale service delivery.
• Partner with Technology teams on enhancements to Service Now and supporting tools.

• Lead and/or execute the UK SMCR HR operations program, including annual cycles, coordination with Compliance and HRBPs, process documentation, and audit readiness.
• Ensure EMEA employment operations are compliant with local regulatory, employment, and controls requirements.
• Maintain defensible documentation and data integrity to support audits and regulatory reviews.

• Deliver complex, cross‑functional projects spanning HR, Compliance, Legal, Finance, Technology, and external vendors.
• Translate regulatory, business, or people requirements into clear operational solutions.
• Manage multiple work streams simultaneously with strong prioritization and execution discipline.

• Leverage operational data, metrics, and trends to identify risks, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.
• Build and use dashboards, reporting, and analytics to drive decision‑making and influence stakeholders.
• Move the function from activity‑based reporting to outcomes‑based insights.

• Act as a hands‑on contributor and people leader, balancing execution with coaching and development of team members.
• Set a high bar for accountability, quality, and follow‑through.
• Foster a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and operational rigor.

• 8–12+ years of progressive experience in People Operations or HR Operations, supporting end‑to‑end employee…