Our client, a global design and technology agency in London, is looking for a temp-to-perm Talent Operations Lead. This person will serve as the regional Human Resources and People Operations subject matter expert for the United Kingdom and Canada, ensuring a seamless, compliant and employee-focused experience across the full employee lifecycle. This role will own and drive core talent operations processes including onboarding, payroll coordination, benefits administration, leave management and compliant offboarding, while partnering closely with leaders, employees, vendors and external advisers. The Talent Operations Lead will also provide employee relations support, including grievance handling, investigations, redundancy programmes and guidance on complex employment matters. As the regional expert, this individual will leverage deep knowledge of UK and Canadian employment law, HR systems, compliance requirements, compensation and benefits programmes, workforce data and financial processes to ensure operational excellence, mitigate risk and support organisational growth. Expertise in payroll, HRIS, employee lifecycle management, leave administration, benefits, compliance and cross-functional partnership is essential for success in this role.

• Hourly Rate: £24-26/hour
• Location: Shoreditch, London (2-3 days/week onsite)
• Duration: Temp-to-perm

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary People Operations and HR subject matter expert for employees and managers across the UK and Canada.
• Manage end-to-end employee lifecycle processes, including onboarding, role changes, promotions, transfers, leave administration and offboarding.
• Coordinate payroll activities with internal stakeholders and external payroll providers to ensure accurate and timely payroll processing.
• Administer and support employee benefits programmes, ensuring compliance with local legislation and vendor requirements.
• Oversee leave of absence processes, including statutory and company-sponsored leave programmes, ensuring compliance with applicable employment legislation.
• Ensure all employment practices, documentation, policies and procedures comply with UK and Canadian employment laws and regulatory requirements.
• Lead compliant offboarding activities, including resignations, dismissals, redundancy programmes, exit documentation and final pay coordination.
• Provide employee relations support by managing grievances, investigations, disciplinary matters, performance-related processes and workplace concerns in partnership with leadership and legal counsel where appropriate.
• Support organisational change initiatives, including restructures and redundancy processes, while ensuring legal compliance and a positive employee experience.
• Maintain and optimise HRIS data integrity, employee records, workflows and reporting capabilities.
• Develop, document and continuously improve People Operations policies, processes and standard operating procedures.
• Partner with Finance to support headcount planning, payroll reconciliations, benefits invoicing, budgeting and other people-related financial processes.
• Analyse workforce data and metrics to identify trends, provide insights and support business decision-making.
• Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers, including payroll, benefits and immigration partners.
• Support internal audits, compliance reviews and statutory reporting requirements.
• Coach and advise managers on employee relations matters, HR policies and employment law best practices.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal and business leaders to deliver a consistent and scalable employee experience across both regions.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in HR Operations, People Operations or Human Resources roles within a multinational organisation.
• Deep expertise in UK employment law, including grievance, disciplinary, redundancy, working time, leave and termination requirements.
• Strong knowledge of Canadian employment legislation across multiple provinces, including employee relations, leave programmes, payroll and termination requirements.
• Demonstrated experience managing the full employee lifecycle across both the UK and Canada.
• Proven employee relations experience, including grievances, workplace investigations, disciplinary processes and redundancy programmes.
• Extensive experience with payroll coordination, benefits administration, leave management and HR compliance.
• Advanced knowledge of HRIS platforms and employee data management.
• Experience supporting compensation, benefits, workforce planning and people-related financial processes.
• Strong analytical skills with experience using workforce data and reporting to drive business insights and decisions.
• Excellent project management, organisational and process improvement capabilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence and advise stakeholders at all levels.
• High attention to detail, sound judgement and the ability to manage sensitive and confidential information.
• Proven ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience supporting geographically dispersed workforces across multiple countries and time zones.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of the organisation.

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