Head of Human Resources Operations

Location: Central London (4 days per week in office)

Contract: Full-time, Permanent

About the Opportunity

We are partnering with a leading global private education group to appoint a Head of HR Operations. Operating across multiple countries and employing a diverse international workforce, the organisation is entering an exciting phase of growth and transformation.

This is a critical leadership role responsible for shaping and delivering a best-in-class HR operations function that supports thousands of employees across a complex, multi-site environment. Reporting to the HR Director with a dotted line to the Chief People Officer, you will lead the HR Operations team, drive continuous improvement, enhance service delivery, and ensure robust governance, compliance, and employee lifecycle management across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the global HR Operations strategy, ensuring the delivery of an efficient, scalable and commercially focused people service.
• Oversee all aspects of the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, contracts, payroll governance, benefits, mobility, employee records, and offboarding.
• Provide leadership to a high-performing HR Operations team, creating a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and exceptional service delivery.
• Drive the optimisation and development of HR systems (SuccessFactors), data management, reporting capabilities and people technology infrastructure.
• Establish and maintain robust controls and governance frameworks to ensure compliance with employment legislation, GDPR, safeguarding requirements and organisational policies.
• Partner closely with senior business leaders to ensure HR operations effectively support organisational growth, transformation and workforce planning objectives.
• Lead business-critical HR transformation and change initiatives, identifying opportunities to streamline processes, improve employee experience and increase operational effectiveness.
• Utilise people analytics and workforce data to provide insights, influence decision-making and support strategic business objectives.
• Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers, ensuring value for money and high-quality service delivery.
• Act as a key member of the wider People Leadership Team, contributing to the overall people strategy and organisational success.

About You

You are a strategic and operational HR leader with experience managing complex HR functions within large, fast-paced and multi-site organisations. This role has 6 direct reports in a business headcount c1300, you must have team leadership experience and have operated in a similar sized business. Ideally you will have worked within sectors such as retail, hospitality, leisure, consumer-facing businesses, education, or other large-scale multi-site organisations , where operational excellence and customer-centric service are fundamental to success.

You will bring:

• Proven experience operating at Head of HR Operations, Senior HR Operations Manager, Shared Services Leader, or equivalent level.
• Experience leading HR operations within complex, multi-site environments with headcounts c1000+
• Strong knowledge of HR operations, governance, employment legislation, people systems and employee lifecycle management.
• Demonstrated success leading HR transformation, process improvement and service excellence initiatives.
• Experience managing and developing high-performing operational teams.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance strategic priorities with operational delivery.
• Expertise in HR technology, data governance, reporting and people analytics.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and partner effectively with senior leaders.
• CIPD qualified (Level 7 preferred) or equivalent professional experience.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a highly respected international education organisation at a key stage of its growth journey. You will play a pivotal role in shaping the future HR operating model, leading transformational change and delivering an exceptional employee experience across a global and diverse workforce.

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