People Operations Manager in Birmingham

People Operations Manager (Multi-Site)

Reports to: Head of People and Culture | Location: Remote, with travel to our hotels and head office when required

Profile

At Brightstar, people come first. Always. Our People and Culture function plays a critical role in creating an environment where our teams feel supported, informed, and able to do their best work. This role sits at the heart of that experience.

You will act as a trusted, approachable People operations partner to our hotels and central teams. You will take genuine ownership of the full range of ER matters, coach and support managers with care, and help our leaders make decisions that are fair, sound, and right for both our people and the business. Reporting to the Head of People and Culture, you will be the go-to person supporting our hotels with the full range of day-to-day people-related topics.

This is a true generalist role. You will bring order, pace, and consistency to our HR processes while leading on casework, advising the business directly, and partnering across all sites to reduce risk, improve performance, and support growth.

Our Culture — Heart and Hustle

At Brightstar, we are Hotels with Heart and Hustle. We have been putting hospitality first since 2020, and we are proud to be an award-winning management company known for delivering outstanding quality for our guests and exceptional returns for our hotel owners.

Heart means we genuinely care — about our guests, our owners, and each other. Hustle means we are ambitious, adaptable, and always looking for smarter ways to turn good into great. Our HEART Values

• Have fun
• Enjoy your work
• Act with integrity
• Reach for more
• Take care

As our People Operations Manager, you will be a role model and guardian of this culture across every site, helping our teams feel valued and supported and making sure our people practices reflect the heart and hustle that set Brightstar apart.

Objectives of this role

• Be a warm, approachable point of contact for HR across all Brightstar properties and central teams.
• Handle employee relations matters with fairness, care, and integrity, always doing the right thing for our people and the business.
• Coach and support managers so they feel confident, capable, and well looked after when handling people matters.
• Ensure People systems and data are accurate, compliant, and easy to use.
• Deliver a strong onboarding and employee lifecycle experience.
• Support leaders to focus on their teams by removing administrative friction.
• Use data and insight to improve processes, engagement, and retention.

Key Responsibilities

People

• Lead on all employee relations matters, disciplinaries, grievances, performance, absence, capability, and conflict resolution, across our hotels and central teams.
• Manage ER cases from start to finish, coaching and supporting managers through investigations, hearings, and difficult conversations.
• Act as the first point of contact for People and Culture enquiries.
• Manage the People inbox and telephone queries, providing timely responses.
• Provide first-line People guidance and escalate matters where required.
• Support full employee lifecycle from recruitment activity across hotels and central teams, to Coordinate onboarding to ensure new starters feel welcomed and supported. through to Administering changes to employment terms and manage leaver processes, exit interviews and analyse feedback.
• Support recognition schemes, pay reviews, bonuses, and employee benefits.
• Support engagement surveys, learning activity, and People events.
• Champion Brightstar's Heart and Hustle culture and values, and a positive employee experience at every touchpoint.

Quality

• Ensure People processes are consistent, compliant, and aligned to Brightstar standards.
• Maintain accurate people records across the HRIS and connected systems.
• Ensure Right to Work checks and mandatory training compliance are completed.
• Conduct regular audits of people files and system data.
• Keep up to date with UK employment law and ensure our practices remain compliant across all sites.
• Assess and reduce tribunal and legal risk, escalating appropriately and knowing when to seek specialist input.
• Lead on grievance and disciplinary documentation, involving external HR specialists only where genuinely needed.
• Ensure documentation and correspondence meet brand and legal standards.
• Maintain People dashboards and provide clear, accurate reporting.
• Use Culture Amp and HRIS data to monitor onboarding quality and engagement.
• Continuously improve People systems, processes, and employee experience.

Profit

• Maintain efficient and scalable People administration processes.
• Support leaders by reducing manual work through system optimisation and automation.
• Ensure accurate and timely data flow to Payroll for starters, changes, and leavers.
• Identify process improvements that reduce errors, rework, and cost.
• Support workforce data reporting to inform people and cost decisions.
• Use People systems effectively to support productivity and operational efficiency.

Responsible Business

• Ensure People practices support a safe, fair, and inclusive workplace.
• Maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information with care and integrity.
• Support compliance with employment legislation and internal policies.
• Promote wellbeing through effective onboarding, learning, and engagement activity.
• Support community and charitable initiatives across Brightstar.
• Ensure ethical and responsible use of People data and systems.
• Live our Heart and Hustle culture and HEART values every day, setting a warm, professional, and trusted standard.

Skills and Qualifications

• Proven HR generalist experience, ideally supporting multiple sites or locations.
• Strong, hands-on employee relations expertise, including managing disciplinaries, grievances, performance, absence, and complex casework independently.
• Sound and up-to-date knowledge of UK employment law and its practical application.
• Experience coaching and advising managers at all levels with confidence and credibility.
• Experience of change processes
• A CIPD qualification is desirable but not essential.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and influence across all levels.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage a varied caseload at pace.
• Commercial awareness and the ability to link people decisions to business outcomes.
• Confident using HRIS and HR systems, together with good general IT skills (Microsoft Office);
• Comfortable working remotely, with willingness to travel to our hotels and head office when required, and flexibility for occasional evenings, weekends, and bank holidays and UK-wide meetings.
• Experience in hospitality, retail, or another multi-site, fast-paced sector is an advantage.
• A warm, positive approach and a genuine fit with our Heart and Hustle culture and HEART values.

What We Offer

As part of our Central Team, you'll enjoy a rewards and benefits package designed to recognise and look after you:

• Competitive salary, based on your experience.
• Performance bonus of up to 25% of salary, based on individual and business performance.
• Private healthcare, plus a 24/7 virtual GP
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme supporting your mental, physical, and financial wellbeing.
• Life and legacy planning tools, and a Death in Service benefit for added peace of mind.
• 25 days' holiday plus 8 bank holidays (pro rata for part-time).
• Extended leave milestones, a 2-week paid recharge break at 3 years and a 4-week paid sabbatical at 5 years.
• Work from anywhere in the UK for up to 2 weeks a year.
• IHG hotel and portfolio discounts for personal travel.
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme via Octopus EV (eligibility applies).
• Recognition through annual awards, length-of-service awards, and birthday and Christmas gifts.

The above responsibilities are intended to describe the general nature of the role and are not intended to be an exhaustive list.