HR Operations Manager in Milton Keynes

While professional experience and qualifications are key for this role, make sure to check you have the preferable soft skills before applying if required.

Location: Milton Keynes

Function: Group HR

Reporting to: Group HR Director

Team: HR Assistants

Build an HR Operations function that works brilliantly. We’re looking for an experienced HR Operations Manager to lead and develop our transactional HR service across Dandara Group. Supporting our UK Housebuilding, Colby River and Dandara Living Developments businesses, you’ll bring our transactional HR activity together into one consistent, efficient and professional Group HR Operations service. This is a hands-on operational leadership role for someone who loves getting the fundamentals of HR right. You’ll take ownership of the processes, systems, data and controls behind the employee lifecycle ensuring contracts are accurate, employee changes happen when they should, HR data can be trusted and managers and employees receive a consistently high-quality service. Just as importantly, you’ll lead and develop our HR Assistants, creating a team with clear responsibilities, strong cross-cover and a genuine right-first-time culture.

What you'll be doing

• Leading HR Operations: You’ll lead, coach and develop our HR Assistants as one Group HR Operations team, establishing clear responsibilities, workflows and service standards. You'll allocate workload across the Group, build knowledge and cross-cover within the team and create an environment where accuracy, responsiveness and accountability matter.
• Owning the employee lifecycle: You’ll oversee the quality and timely delivery of our core HR transactions, including:
• Offers, contracts and onboarding
• Probation administration
• Promotions, transfers and contractual changes
• Family leave and absence administration
• Leaver processes
• Employee records and document control
• References and employment correspondence
• Payroll notifications and employee changes
• Approvals, authorisations and supporting documentation
• You’ll introduce appropriate checks and controls to make sure our employee documentation is accurate and right first time.
• Improving how we work: This isn't simply about maintaining existing processes. You’ll review how transactional HR currently operates across the Group and identify where we can simplify, standardise and improve. You’ll map processes, remove unnecessary duplication and manual activity, introduce clear service standards and establish sensible boundaries between HR Operations, HR Business Partners, Resourcing, Payroll and line managers. We also want someone who is curious about how AI and automation can make HR administration faster, simpler and more reliable.
• Making our HR data dependable: You’ll take operational ownership of the quality and integrity of employee data within our HR system, currently COINS. That means ensuring employee information is accurate, complete and updated on time, introducing validation and reconciliation controls and carrying out regular data-quality audits. You'll also take ownership of producing accurate and consistent HR management information and reporting.

What we're looking for

• You’ll already have strong experience within HR Operations, HR administration or an HR shared-services environment, ideally supporting multiple sites or businesses.
• We’re particularly interested in someone who can demonstrate:
• Strong knowledge of end-to-end employee lifecycle administration
• Experience leading and developing an operational HR team
• Excellent attention to detail and a strong right-first-time mindset
• Experience managing HR systems and employee data
• Strong process improvement and problem-solving skills
• Experience introducing controls, service standards and quality checks
• Confidence producing and quality-assuring HR reports and management information
• Good knowledge of HR policies, employment documentation, confidentiality and data protection
• The confidence to challenge inconsistent ways of working and establish clear responsibilities
• A practical approach to automation, technology and AI
• Experience using COINS HR would be advantageous, but isn't essential.

What success looks like

Over your first 6-12 months, you'll have brought our HR Assistants together as a cohesive Group HR Operations team and created clear, consistent ways of working across our businesses. Our employee lifecycle processes will be standardised, contracts and documentation will be more consistently right first time, our HR data will be trusted and stakeholders will know exactly what they can expect from HR Operations. Most importantly, you'll create a dependable and scalable operational HR service that allows our HR Business Partners to spend less time checking administration and more time partnering with the business.

If you're an HR Operations professional who enjoys creating order, improving processes, developing people and making sure the detail is right, we'd love to hear from you.

What's in it for you?

• £Competitive basic based on experience
• Bonus Scheme
• Car Allowance
• 33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays)
• Private Medical Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme - EAP
• Health Hero digital doctor - 24 hr virtual help and appointments
• Health Assured Wisdom App
• 3x salary life assurance (paid option to increase to x4)
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Employer matched pension scheme of up to 5%
• Flexible benefits including shopping vouchers, airport parking and reduced gym membership

No Agencies please.