People Operations Lead - #191579

Location: Solihull (Hybrid – 2 days/week in the office)

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 dependent on experience

Fixed Term - 12 Months Opportunity

Are you an experienced HR Operations leader who thrives in a fast-paced, high-volume environment? Do you have a track record of leading operational teams, driving service excellence, and ensuring compliance with GDPR and Subject Access Request (SAR) processes?

We are seeking an experienced HR People Operations Lead to oversee the day-to-day delivery of a large-scale HR Helpdesk and People Services operation. This is a key leadership role responsible for managing operational performance, developing high-performing teams, strengthening stakeholder relationships, and ensuring an exceptional employee experience across the business.

About the Role

Reporting to the People Operations Delivery Manager, you will lead the operational running of the UK HR Helpdesk function, ensuring service levels, KPIs and customer expectations are consistently achieved. You will be responsible for managing a team operating within a fast-paced shared services environment, balancing service delivery, compliance requirements, continuous improvement initiatives and business change activity.

A critical aspect of the role will be ensuring all GDPR and Subject Access Request (SAR) processes are managed effectively, maintaining robust controls, governance and compliance standards whilst minimising organisational risk.

You will also work closely with internal stakeholders and external partners, driving operational improvements, enhancing customer service and identifying opportunities for automation and process optimisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the UK HR Helpdesk and People Services support function.
• Manage, coach and develop operational teams within a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Ensure delivery against service level agreements, KPIs and quality standards.
• Act as the escalation point for complex HR operational issues and service challenges.
• Oversee GDPR compliance and manage Subject Access Requests (SARs), ensuring robust governance and adherence to regulatory requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including process optimisation and automation opportunities.
• Utilise operational data and trend analysis to identify issues, improve service delivery and support business decision-making.
• Build strong relationships with key stakeholders and external partners, ensuring effective service delivery and collaboration.
• Lead operational projects and support the successful implementation of new services and business change initiatives.
• Develop performance reporting and dashboards to provide clear visibility of operational performance and service outcomes.

About You

We are looking for an operationally focused leader with significant experience managing HR service delivery teams in a complex and fast-moving environment.

You will bring:

• Proven experience leading teams within a fast-paced operational, HR Shared Services or customer service environment.
• Strong understanding of HR operations, employee lifecycle processes and service delivery best practice.
• Demonstrable experience managing GDPR compliance and Subject Access Request (SAR) processes.
• Experience driving operational performance through KPIs, SLAs and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and build relationships at all levels.
• Experience leading operational change, process improvement and automation projects.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use data to drive decision-making.
• Experience working with HR systems and case management platforms.
• Strong people leadership skills with a passion for developing and coaching teams.

Why Apply?

This is an excellent opportunity to join a highly visible People Services function where you will have the opportunity to shape service delivery, improve operational performance and lead a team through an exciting period of transformation and continuous improvement.

What we offer:

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Pension – 6%
• Chance to contribute to innovation in the public services
• A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
• Serco discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping discounts, and discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
• A range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family such as Employee Assistance Programme, Simply Health Cash Plans, and more.
• A wealth of career development training to suit your future aspirations. These range from role specific training, leadership coaching, formal study and much more to support you to build your career with Serco.
• A safe and supportive culture.

About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment.

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.