Senior People Operations Manager - 12 Month FTC
Your team:
We are the People Operations team, dedicated to driving operational excellence and supporting our colleagues across News UK. Our purpose is to deliver seamless, high-quality service, maintain robust data integrity, and implement innovative tools to empower our workforce.
Your role:
As our Senior People Operations Manager, reporting directly to the Director of People Operations, you will play a pivotal role in mentoring a talented team and driving improvements. This is a fantastic opportunity to optimise workflows, champion data integrity, and make a tangible impact across a leading media business.
Day to day you will be responsible for:
Team Management & Delivery: Direct management and coaching of the operational team to ensure high-quality service delivery.
Stakeholder Management: Building strong, trusted relationships with HR Business Partners (HRBPs), internal teams, and third-party vendors.
Compliance & Risk Mitigation: Monitoring and maintaining absolute compliance against internal, external, and SOX standards.
Operational Expertise: Serving as the subject matter expert on core People systems, administrative workflows, and operational efficiency.
Immigration & Mobility Oversight: Managing right-to-work frameworks and immigration compliance for the business.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnering closely with London-based People teams and stakeholders to align operational workflows.
Process Review & Optimisation: Proactively review, design, and optimise administrative workflows. Establish clear protocols, gain stakeholder buy-in, and maintain high standards of delivery.
Data Integrity Management: Ensure robust frameworks are in place for accurately capturing and updating People data within our systems.
Tactical Planning & Escalation: Lead the tactical day-to-day planning for the team and act as the primary point of escalation for complex operational or tier-2 employment issues.
Change Implementation: Support the roll-out of new ways of working and operational tools, helping stakeholders transition smoothly to new processes.
SLA & Performance Monitoring: Monitor team performance against Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and internal metrics, implementing targeted action plans to address any service gaps.
Immigration Sponsor Compliance: Monitor and maintain our strict immigration compliance obligations as a Grade A sponsor.
Workday Implementation Support: Actively partner with and support the Director of People Operations to successfully deliver and embed Workday across News UK.
What we're looking for from you:
Excellent Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain complex processes to stakeholders.
Systems & Data Acumen: Strong working knowledge of HRIS platforms (ideally Workday) and core People operations data.
Process Design Experience: A proven track record of reviewing, mapping, and improving administrative workflows for better efficiency.
Compliance Knowledge: Clear understanding of compliance requirements, including SOX and data privacy standards (e.g., GDPR / Article 52).
Employment Law & Immigration: Solid working knowledge of UK employment law and right-to-work/sponsor licence regulations.
Problem-Solving Skills: Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data to analyse and solve operational challenges.
People Management: Proven experience directly managing, mentoring, and developing team members.
Project Delivery: Experience contributing to or leading components of People programmes and change management initiatives.
News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi-format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun. Rethinking continually the business of storytelling, we represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter.
At News UK, we embrace a hybrid work model, currently requiring a minimum of three days per week in the office. This approach fosters collaboration, innovation, and team spirit within our workspace. Certain roles may necessitate additional in-office days; please discuss this with your recruiter for specific requirements.
Life at News
Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.
We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation reflects the diversity of the people we reach. Whether through age, gender, ethnicity, disability, social class or sexuality, we are committed to representing the rich variety of voices that make up our society. And we champion a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive as we continue to innovate and drive long term sustainable growth. This is done through our Diversity Strategy.
At News UK, we take pride in our exceptional employee-led networks that bring together individuals with shared interests and create a vibrant sense of community. We believe our networks play a vital role in fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture at News UK. Groups that we support include the African & Caribbean Network, Parents and Carers, and LGBTQ+ group News Is Out, and the Apprentice Society.
Benefits
Some of our benefits include:
Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions
Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly in person/ virtual exercise classes
‘Bikes for Work’ and ‘Electric Car’ scheme
Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books
Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks
Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities
Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling
A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%
Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access
25 days holiday, plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year
