People Operations Lead

About the role

We’re looking for a brilliant People Operations Lead to own the day-to-day running of our People function at Oliver’s Travels.

This is a standalone, hands-on role responsible for making sure our People fundamentals run brilliantly across the entire employee lifecycle – from recruitment and onboarding through to employee relations, performance, payroll, policies, systems and offboarding.

You’ll be the first point of contact for our employees and managers and will have real ownership of making sure things happen properly, consistently and on time. We’re looking for someone who spots what needs doing, gets ahead of it and sees things through without needing to be chased.

You’ll also constantly look for ways we can work better – simplifying processes, making better use of our systems and automating repetitive admin wherever possible.

You’ll report to our Head of Operations & People, who will retain responsibility for the overall People strategy and direction. There are no line management responsibilities, so this is a great role for someone who genuinely loves the hands-on side of People and wants real ownership of a People operation.

What you’ll be doing

People Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Own the full employee lifecycle, including offers, contracts, onboarding, probation, contractual changes and offboarding.

• Be the first point of contact for day-to-day People queries from employees and managers, taking ownership through to resolution.

• Own the People inbox and make sure employees and managers receive timely, helpful and consistent support.

• Manage sickness absence, flexible working requests and other employee leave, ensuring the right processes and documentation are followed.

• Prepare and maintain People documentation, including contracts, letters, references, templates and employee records.

• Manage right-to-work checks and support visa and sponsorship administration where required.

• Proactively keep on top of probation dates, reviews, contract changes, leave, key deadlines and other People actions.

• Keep our People policies, templates and processes practical, accurate and up to date.

Employee Relations

• Be the first point of contact for employee relations matters and confidently guide managers through day-to-day People issues.

• Manage employee relations cases including absence, performance, conduct, grievances and other employee concerns.

• Support managers with effective and timely conversations, including giving feedback, managing performance and addressing issues early.

• Prepare clear and accurate documentation and maintain appropriate records throughout employee relations processes.

• Know when something needs escalating and work closely with the Head of Operations & People on more complex or sensitive cases.

Recruitment & Onboarding

• Own the day-to-day recruitment process across the business, working closely with hiring managers from role approval through to offer.

• Manage our ATS (Teamtailor), job adverts, applications, screening, interview coordination and candidate communication.

• Manage offers, references, right-to-work checks and contracts.

• Own the onboarding process, working with managers and IT to make sure everything is ready for new starters and they have a brilliant introduction to OT.

• Continuously look for ways to make our recruitment and onboarding processes simpler and more effective.

Performance & Development

• Own the operational delivery of our performance and development cycles, making sure reviews happen consistently and on time.

• Keep on top of probation reviews and ensure managers are having the right conversations at the right time.

• Support managers with performance conversations, development plans and the practical application of our performance processes.

• Coordinate company learning and development activity and support the delivery of internal development initiatives and programmes.

Payroll, Benefits & People Systems

• Own monthly payroll inputs, ensuring starters, leavers, salary changes, bonuses, deductions and other changes are accurate and submitted to Finance on time.

• Manage the day-to-day administration of our employee benefits and act as the main point of contact for employee queries and providers.

• Own our HRIS (Humaans) and ATS (Teamtailor), ensuring employee data is accurate and our systems are being used effectively.

• Maintain accurate People data and provide reporting and insights when required.

• Work closely with Finance and IT to ensure People processes and data flow smoothly between teams.

• Maintain accurate, organised and confidential employee records in line with GDPR and our data protection requirements.

Process Improvement & Compliance

• Make sure our core People processes remain compliant with UK employment law and HR best practice.

• Regularly review how we work and identify unnecessary admin, duplication or processes that could be simpler.

• Make the best possible use of our People systems, automation and AI to reduce repetitive work and improve the employee and manager experience.

• Build and improve workflows and processes rather than simply accepting “the way we’ve always done it”.

• Keep up to date with relevant employment law changes and make sure our policies, processes and documentation evolve accordingly.

What we’re looking for

You’ll be an experienced HR/People generalist who genuinely enjoys the operational side of People.

You’re highly organised, proactive and happiest when things are running brilliantly. You don’t wait to be told that a probation is overdue, a process isn’t working or a manager needs support – you spot it, take ownership and get it sorted.

You’ll also have:

• Strong generalist HR/People experience, ideally gained in a fast-paced SME, scale-up or similarly evolving business.

• Good working knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.

• Experience independently managing employee relations cases and advising managers.

• Experience owning end-to-end People processes across the employee lifecycle.

• Strong HR systems experience and confidence using technology to improve how things work.

• Excellent organisation and attention to detail, with the ability to keep multiple priorities moving at once.

• Confidence working with People data, spreadsheets and reporting.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Sound judgement and the ability to handle sensitive and confidential matters with discretion.

• A practical, solutions-focused approach – you’re comfortable getting into the detail and getting things done.

• The confidence to work independently while knowing when to escalate or ask for support.

• Curiosity about automation and AI and how they can make People processes simpler and better.

• A CIPD qualification would be welcome, but it isn’t essential – we care much more about the practical HR experience you bring and what you’ve actually owned and delivered.

We welcome and encourage candidates to apply even if they don’t meet every listed requirement.

Oliver’s Travels is an equal-opportunity employer. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know so we can make sure you’re able to participate fully.