People Services Manager

Brand New Exclusive Opportunity

People Services Manager Nottinghamshire - Hybrid / Flexible Working Up to £65,000 + strong benefits package covering annual leave and family-friendly benefits, health and wellbeing support, pension and financial benefits, lifestyle schemes, employee discounts and ongoing investment in professional development. Permanent & Full Time (37.5hrs per week)

If your idea of a great People function is one that is service-led, forward-thinking and constantly looking for better ways of doing things, this could be a really interesting opportunity. This isn't a traditional, policy-heavy HR role. In fact, we're looking for someone who thinks quite differently to that. We have been exclusively retained to work with a growing organisation whose People team is built around service. Their approach is to promote a mature environment, give managers and employees the tools to help themselves, and make People processes as simple, accessible and effective as possible.

A lot of great work has already been done, so you'll inherit strong foundations. This isn't about coming in and starting again; it's about taking what's there and asking: How can we make this even better?

That could mean improving a process, making better use of data, joining systems together, introducing automation or exploring how AI could remove unnecessary administration. Equally, it could simply mean making something easier for an employee or manager to navigate. As People Services Manager, you'll be at the centre of that.

You'll take ownership of the day-to-day People Services function, leading a small team and ensuring colleagues and managers receive an accurate, efficient and genuinely helpful service across the employee lifecycle. The focus is on self-service, service excellence and continuous improvement - making it easy for people to access what they need, when they need it.

The role

You'll lead a small People Services team with responsibility spanning HR administration, payroll oversight, HR systems, benefits, L&D administration, compliance and the wider employee lifecycle. Payroll is processed within the team, so you won't personally be sitting running payroll each month. You will, however, have overall oversight and final sign-off, so being meticulous and comfortable around payroll is important. You'll also own the HRIS and the quality of the people data behind it, alongside supporting the continued development of the organisation's wider People systems. There is an exciting systems integration piece ahead, and technology, automation and AI are very much on the agenda. The business wants someone who gets excited by efficiency and naturally looks at a clunky process and thinks, there has to be a better way of doing this. You'll also use data, colleague feedback and service measures to spot trends and identify where the People Services experience could be improved.

Who are we looking for? We're looking for someone with strong experience across People Services, People Operations or HR Shared Services who understands what brilliant internal service looks like. You'll need experience leading and developing a team, alongside good knowledge of the employee lifecycle, HR systems and payroll processes. But your mindset is just as important as your experience. We want someone who is people-first but commercially minded; relaxed in their approach but rigorous when it matters. Someone who doesn't believe good HR means creating another policy or process every time something happens.

You'll have a genuine customer-service mentality and understand that great service doesn't always mean doing everything for someone. Sometimes it's about giving people the right information, tools and confidence to self-serve. You'll be calm, pragmatic and incredibly detail-focused, particularly around payroll and people data, and comfortable managing competing priorities without becoming flustered. Most importantly, you'll be curious. You'll question why things are done a certain way, challenge unnecessary complexity and be genuinely interested in how systems, data, automation and AI can create a better People experience.

This could be a brilliant move for a People Services Manager, People Operations Manager, HR Operations Manager or HR Shared Services Manager who wants to work within a People function that genuinely thinks differently. If you're someone who naturally asks "how could we make this simpler, quicker and better?", I'd love to speak to you.

Please apply or contact Zoey Bellenger at SF Partners for a confidential conversation