People Operations Manager

About Bedford

Bedford is one of Anaplan's largest and longest-running Gold partners, recognised year after year for excellence and innovation. As we grow across EMEA, we look for people who are curious, take ownership and go Beyond the Expected - for one another, for our customers and for our partners.

Our culture is built on partnership, innovation, customer focus, humility and teamwork. If that sounds like you, Bedford will feel like home.

Role Opportunity

Sitting within the People Team and working closely with the Lead HR Business Partner, you will lead the day-to-day delivery of our People operations across the Group, supporting colleagues across EMEA and India. You will own the employee lifecycle, payroll inputs, benefits, HR systems, people data and policy, while acting as the first point of contact for day-to-day operational People queries. You will also support managers with routine employee relations casework under the direction of the Lead HR Business Partner, ensuring matters are handled consistently, accurately and in line with Bedford’s policies and processes.

You will have day-to-day supervisory responsibility for one to two direct reports and will drive continuous improvement across our systems and processes across the Group.

Few roles offer this breadth. It will suit a dependable, proactive and hands-on HR professional who is comfortable taking ownership, using their initiative and making an impact from day one.

Reports to: Lead HR Business Partner

Location: UK-based. Remote, with occasional travel

Direct Reports: 1 to 2

What to Expect

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of People Operations across all Bedford entities, ensuring a consistent, responsive and compliant service.
• Provide day-to-day support and direction to one to two direct reports, helping to prioritise workloads, review work and resolve queries.
• Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day People Operations queries from managers and employees, resolving routine matters and escalating more complex or sensitive issues.
• Own the end-to-end employee lifecycle, from offers, contracts and onboarding through to contractual changes, family leave and offboarding.
• Coordinate monthly payroll inputs with Finance, and own benefits administration across all jurisdictions, including enrolments, renewals and provider relationships.
• Maintain policies, templates and country handbooks, and coordinate UK visa sponsorship and right-to-work processes with our external immigration provider.
• Maintain the HRIS as the single source of truth and lead system improvement projects that reduce manual administration and improve the employee and manager experience.
• Support internal, client-led and statutory audits, along with data protection and compliance requirements relating to People processes and records.
• Contribute to group-wide engagement, wellbeing, HR and CSR initiatives.

HR Advisory and Casework

• Under the direction of the Lead HR Business Partner, support managers with employee relations casework, including performance, probation, absence and flexible working matters.
• Provide practical guidance on routine cases, maintain accurate documentation and escalate complex, sensitive or high-risk matters where appropriate.
• Support the delivery of the annual People calendar across the Group, including performance reviews, salary and promotion cycles, engagement surveys and associated action plans.
• Build effective relationships with managers, providing broader People support as required.
• Support the Internal Recruiter and hiring managers with senior, newly created or more complex vacancies, including role scoping, selection and offer processes.

Person Specification

Essential

• Demonstrable experience at HR Manager or People Operations Manager level, with broad generalist responsibility across multiple countries and legal entities.
• Experience implementing or significantly improving an HR system, workflow or process automation.
• A strong track record of delivering an accurate, responsive operational HR service across the employee lifecycle, including payroll coordination and benefits administration.
• Strong HRIS capability, with experience maintaining data integrity and improving system functionality, workflows and reporting.
• Strong working knowledge of UK employment law, with practical experience of applying employment requirements in at least two other jurisdictions.
• Sound employee relations judgement, with experience coaching managers on performance, probation, absence and flexible working, and the confidence to know when to escalate.
• Experience supervising or supporting team members day to day, including prioritising workloads and providing practical guidance.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities autonomously in a remote-first, international environment, and to handle confidential information with discretion.
• CIPD Level 5, or an equivalent level of professional HR knowledge and experience.

Desirable

• Experience in professional services, consulting or another project-based delivery environment.
• Exposure to supporting internal or client-led audits, including collating People data and documentation.

Why Join Us?

You will have a varied role in an international business, with the scope to make a visible impact across our People function. We are remote-first and believe people should work where they feel most productive, with occasional travel for in-person collaboration and company events.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave, plus 8 UK bank holidays
• Pension scheme: 5% employee and 3% employer contribution on qualifying earnings
• Private medical insurance through Bupa
• Medicash health cash plan towards everyday dental, optical and physiotherapy costs
• YuLife wellbeing platform
• Monthly mobile phone allowance of £100
• Employee Assistance Programme, offering confidential support for employees and their families
• Access to learning and development tools
• Bonusly recognition rewards and vouchers
• Death in Service cover of four times annual salary

Salary Range

£50,000 – £60,000, reflecting the successful candidate's experience, skills and technical expertise.

Company policy statement

To protect the company's legitimate business interests and the interests and wellbeing of current staff, the company reserves the right to lawfully undertake proportionate pre-employment checks and ongoing diligence, both before the commencement of your employment and periodically during your employment.