People Operations Director in London

AXA is a global leader in insurance and financial services, dedicated to helping customers protect what matters most to them. As the sixth-largest insurance company in the world, we provide a wide range of services, including health, car, home, and business insurance. We support millions of customers worldwide, helping them navigate life's uncertainties with confidence.

AXA UK Support Functions look after our three customer-facing business units, providing the infrastructure and expertise to make sure we can be there for our customers. We are seeking a strategic People Operations Director to join our People Leadership team here at AXA UK. While this role is responsible for the day-to-day running of the function, it comes with a key focus on modernising processes, systems, and service delivery to create a scalable, efficient, and human‑centric operational ecosystem.

Key responsibilities include driving automation, AI‑enabled improvements, and self‑service solutions to enhance operational effectiveness. You will shape a high‑performance, future‑focused People Operations model that reduces complexity and emphasises enabling self‑serve capabilities and simplicity across the organisation.

• Lead the design, governance, and delivery of technologically advanced People Operations services across AXA UK, ensuring seamless integration with organisational objectives and digital standards.
• Own the operational service design and user experience strategy across People Operations, ensuring colleague and manager interactions are simplified, connected and aligned to modern digital service expectations.
• Establish clear operational governance, prioritisation and demand management frameworks to align People Operations activity to business and employee needs.
• Drive strategic initiatives centred on automation, AI enablement, and process digitisation within People Operations, leveraging emerging technologies to optimise efficiency and a self‑serve employee experience.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive People Operations strategy and digital roadmap, prioritising high‑impact automation and AI‑driven solutions to enhance operational agility, scalability and overarching employee experience.
• Oversee the continuous development and refinement of enterprise HR systems, including the Workday platform, ensuring they support integrated, scalable and future‑proof HR service delivery.
• Lead the redesign and optimisation of the People Operations service catalogue within a robust service management framework, ensuring consistent, transparent, and high‑quality service provision through innovative technological solutions.
• Lead the deployment of digital workflow automation and self‑service tools, transforming the People Operations function into a highly agile, employee‑centred, tech‑enabled service.
• Responsible for driving the development and adoption of self‑serve capabilities to enhance efficiency, empower employees, and deliver a seamless HR experience across the organisation.
• Develop and maintain digital knowledge management systems and operational playbooks to promote best practices, enable rapid onboarding and ensure consistency across the employee lifecycle.
• Collaborate with People Insights and analytics teams to support operational reporting, performance dashboards and MI, utilising data‑driven insights to identify opportunities for continuous process improvement and strategic decision‑making.

AXA work smart, empowering our people to balance their time between home and the office in a way that works best for them, their team and our customers. You’ll work at least two days a week (40%) away from home, moving to three days a week (60%) in the future. Away from home means attending the office, visiting clients or attending industry events.

Your skills & experience:

• Deep expertise in HR systems and platforms, with a strong track record of managing and optimising large‑scale HR technology ecosystems, particularly Workday.
• Extensive experience in designing and executing innovative People Operations service delivery models at an enterprise level, ensuring alignment with organisational goals and future‑ready workforce strategies.
• Proven success in leading large‑scale automation, AI‑driven enablement, and digital process simplification initiatives within People Operations, leveraging cutting‑edge technologies such as machine learning, intelligent workflows, and data analytics to deliver measurable operational efficiencies, enhanced employee engagement, and a seamless, digitally‑enabled experience.
• Demonstrated ability to standardise, digitise, and automate all people operational processes, ensuring operational excellence, compliance and scalability.
• Exceptional project management and strategic planning skills, with the ability to oversee platform enhancements, integrations and technological initiatives from conception to execution.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication capabilities, adept at influencing senior leadership, cross‑functional teams and external partners to drive change and innovation.
• Proven ability to translate business, employee and stakeholder needs, by prioritising initiatives that enable self‑service, streamline processes, enhancing their experience overall.
• Demonstrated leadership in managing large teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and guiding organisational change within complex matrixed environments.

As a precondition of employment for this role, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer and don’t discriminate against employees or potential employees based on protected characteristics.