People HR Operations Specialist

Job Profile Summary:

To deliver accurate, efficient, and compliant People Operations support, with a primary focus on the Bulgaria office, covering the full employee lifecycle from onboarding through to offboarding. This role has a strong operational and administrative core, including background screening register reviews, contract checking, and leave of absence (LOS) calculations. The role will also provide People Operations support across Europe and act as cover for the UK team as required, with the opportunity to build foundational People Partnering exposure over time as capability develops.

 

Specific Responsibilities:

Staff Lifecycle & Operations

• Support end-to-end employee lifecycle processes including onboarding, employee changes, leave management, and offboarding, with primary responsibility for the Bulgaria office
• Provide employee lifecycle support across other European locations as required
• Coordinate new hire onboarding activities locally, maintaining employee records and benefits management, ensuring all required documentation is completed and passed to the UK People Operations team for system processing;
• Employee reference generation
• Prepare and deliver induction sessions for new hires, ensuring a positive and consistent first-week experience
• Act as the primary point of contact for communicating employee changes (e.g. transfers, compensation changes, organisational updates, contract amendments) to the UK People Operations team for processing in HR systems
• Ensure changes are communicated accurately and in a timely manner, with all relevant documentation provided to support processing
• Own the end-to-end administration of contingent worker onboarding (secondees, consultants, contractors, POIs), including documentation and system setup
• Maintain accurate contingent worker data in Workday, including tracking and updating end dates
• Process contingent worker lifecycle changes directly, including extensions, role changes, and terminations
• Ensure contingent worker records remain audit-ready and compliant with internal policy

Background Screening & Contract Administration

• Review and maintain the background screening register for Bulgaria, ensuring checks are tracked, completed, and compliant with internal procedures
• Escalate any screening issues or delays in line with established process
• Check employment contracts for accuracy prior to issue, ensuring terms align with approved offers and internal policy

HR Data, Reporting & Compliance

• Support regular data quality checks for the Bulgaria population, flagging discrepancies to the UK People Operations team for correction
• Support internal and external audits by preparing required documentation
• Ensure compliance with local labour law, data privacy regulations, and company policy across the jurisdictions supported
• Contribute to annual HR processes and regional compliance activities as required

Payroll Coordination

• Gather and communicate accurate payroll-related information (e.g. employee changes, new hires, terminations, leave records) to the relevant team for processing
• Act as the local point of contact for payroll queries, liaising with the global payroll team to ensure timely and accurate processing

European & UK Cover

• Provide People Operations support across European locations, adapting to local requirements and working practices as needed
• Act as cover for the UK People Operations team during periods of absence or high volume, supporting core operational tasks (e.g. first-line queries, local coordination)
• Build working knowledge of UK and broader European employment processes to enable effective cover and cross-regional support

First-Line Support & Query Handling

• Act as the first point of contact for routine employee queries relating to HR processes, policies, and documentation
• Provide day-to-day support to employees on standard HR procedures and processes, escalating more complex or sensitive matters to the Head of People Operations & Systems or Head of People Operations

Process Improvement

• Support the implementation and continuous improvement of HR documentation, templates, and operational workflows
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency and consistency of operations across Bulgaria and the wider European region
• Maintain audit-ready employee files and documentation locally

Key Skills & Experience:

• Experience in HR Operations, HR Administration, or a similar operational HR role
• Strong working knowledge of employee lifecycle processes and HR data management

• Confident using Workday for contingent worker transactions (onboarding, data maintenance, terminations)
• Experience with background screening processes and contract administration
• Effectively leverages Man Group's in-house AI tools and other technology solutions to enhance work quality, productivity, and decision-making in day-to-day responsibilities
• Demonstrates working knowledge of AI capabilities and limitations; critically evaluates AI-generated outputs, applies human judgment appropriately, and adheres to AI governance and policies
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail, particularly with contracts, screening, and leave calculations
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion
• Strong organisational skills, able to manage multiple concurrent tasks and deadlines across regions
• Clear, professional communication skills for handling employee queries directly
• Understanding of local labour law and data privacy requirements relevant to Bulgaria
• Flexibility and adaptability to support employees and processes across multiple European jurisdictions and provide UK cover as needed

Desirable:

• Working knowledge of UK and/or other European employment processes and practices
• Interest in developing broader People Partnering skills over time
• Experience supporting payroll administration or coordination with a global payroll team
• Exposure to HR audit processes and compliance documentation
• Appetite to expand into additional Workday transaction processing as the role develops