People Operations Lead

About the role We’re looking for a brilliant People Operations Lead to own the day-to-day running of our People function at Oliver’s Travels. This is a standalone, hands-on role responsible for making sure our People fundamentals run brilliantly across the entire employee lifecycle – from recruitment and onboarding through to employee relations, performance, payroll, policies, systems and offboarding. You’ll be the first point of contact for our employees and managers and will have real ownership of making sure things happen properly, consistently and on time. We’re looking for someone who spots what needs doing, gets ahead of it and sees things through without needing to be chased. You’ll also constantly look for ways we can work better – simplifying processes, making better use of our systems and automating repetitive admin wherever possible. You’ll report to our Head of Operations & People, who will retain responsibility for the overall People strategy and direction. There are no line management responsibilities, so this is a great role for someone who genuinely loves the hands-on side of People and wants real ownership of a People operation. What you’ll be doing People Operations & Employee Lifecycle Own the full employee lifecycle, including offers, contracts, onboarding, probation, contractual changes and offboarding. Be the first point of contact for day-to-day People queries from employees and managers, taking ownership through to resolution. Own the People inbox and make sure employees and managers receive timely, helpful and consistent support. Manage sickness absence, flexible working requests and other employee leave, ensuring the right processes and documentation are followed. Prepare and maintain People documentation, including contracts, letters, references, templates and employee records. Manage right-to-work checks and support visa and sponsorship administration where required. Proactively keep on top of probation dates, reviews, contract changes, leave, key deadlines and other People actions. Keep our People policies, templates and processes practical, accurate and up to date. Employee Relations Be the first point of contact for employee relations matters and confidently guide managers through day-to-day People issues. Manage employee relations cases including absence, performance, conduct, grievances and other employee concerns. Support managers with effective and timely conversations, including giving feedback, managing performance and addressing issues early. Prepare clear and accurate documentation and maintain appropriate records throughout employee relations processes. Know when something needs escalating and work closely with the Head of Operations & People on more complex or sensitive cases. Recruitment & Onboarding Own the day-to-day recruitment process across the business, working closely with hiring managers from role approval through to offer. Manage our ATS (Teamtailor),…