HR Operations Manager, EMEA in City of London

Korn Ferry is a global consulting firm that powers performance. We unlock the potential in your people and unleash transformation across your business—synchronizing strategy, operations, and talent to accelerate performance, fuel growth, and inspire a legacy of change.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Vice President – Human Resources, EMEA, as Human Resources Operations Manager, EMEA you will be responsible for managing the end-to-end delivery of HR activities to approximately 3,000 employees across 32 EMEA countries. Working closely with in-country HR Business Partners, Office Managers, Finance and other in-country resources, the role will have responsibility for the provision of day-to-day support to employees and/or HR activities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Generalist Human Resources
  • Manage the end-to-end employee life-cycle administration, including offer letters, contracts, references, resignation letters, employment confirmation letters, etc.
  • Oversee and manage the UK & EMEA shared mailboxes.
  • Develop and implement people policies, procedures, and process improvements on a continual basis.
  • Develop and deliver HR training sessions aligned to prevalent external influences or internal capability needs.
  • Develop and roll-out a HR Calendar incorporating wellness, training and educational sessions on prevalent topics.
  • Manage the HR onboarding and induction/offboarding process across EMEA.
  • Act as a subject matter expert for Maternity, Paternity, and/or Adoption queries, and manage end-to-end parental leave processes.
  • Oversee pre-employment screening adjudication for new hires across EMEA.
  • Manage the administration of the Company’s annual (and ad hoc) Bonus, Promotion, and Salary Review processes.
  • Handle invoice administration related to HR activities (e.g., legal invoices, benefits invoices).
• Employee Relations
  • Act as the subject matter expert for and manage employee relations activities, including grievances, disciplinary actions, performance management, flexible working, and managing sickness absence.
  • Participate in informal/formal employee relations processes, including investigations, documentation, and hearings.
  • Support complex organizational change projects, including redundancy, restructuring, and TUPE.
  • Review and develop company policies and procedures in line with legislative changes.
  • Support the Vice President – Human Resources, EMEA, and in-country HR Business Partners on complex Employee Relations matters.
• Payroll & Benefits
  • Act as a subject matter expert and point of escalation for complex employee benefit queries and manage employee benefit claims where appropriate.
  • Oversee the timely completion of the ‘Payroll Tracker’ within relevant EMEA countries to ensure all employee variable data is included in time for payroll cut-off each month.
  • Support the EMEA Payroll Team with HR-related queries during the monthly payroll processing schedule.
  • Manage the UK employee benefits platform (Benefex), including annual benefit enrolment processes and system enhancements.
  • Ensure all new starters are added to, and leavers are removed from, relevant company benefit schemes across EMEA in a timely manner each month.
• People leadership
  • Act as People leader for junior members of the HR Operations Team (from HR Administrator through to Senior HR Advisor).
  • Onboard, train and develop direct reports, to support their progression as HR professionals within the business.
  • Ensure all global people and talent initiatives are completed with or by the team as appropriate.
  • At all times demonstrate best practices relating to People Management.
• Reporting & Audit
  • Prepare and maintain agreed business reports (e.g., special compensation, provider reports, internal leadership reports).
  • Support the preparation and delivery of ad-hoc report requests, including internal and external audit reports and data requests.
• HRIS and Compliance
  • Act as a HCM and PSCF Initiator for EMEA, supporting the HRIS function with initiating new hires and processing leavers.
  • Ensure employee personal information is up to date and support employees in making changes via the Employee Self-Service (ESS) system.
  • Support global HRIS initiatives, acting as a champion of HR systems, new system implementation, and system utilization.
  • Ensure HR & HRIS functions comply with SOX obligations.
• Cross-Functional Partnering
  • Partner with internal teams (Finance, Talent Acquisition, IT, Operations) on cross-functional activities across the employee life-cycle.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure process compliance and continuous improvement/efficiency.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS

• Educated to degree level or above.
• Level 5 CIPD qualified or above.
• At least 5 years of prior experience in a generalist Human Resources advisory role.
• Experience managing a small team and prior individual line management experience.
• Business acumen and high client-service orientation.
• Situational and cultural adaptability.
• Ability to organize and shape practical solutions to complex problems.
• Excellent communication and community-building skills at all levels.
• Detail-oriented and able to work in a fast-paced environment with constantly changing priorities.
• Strong knowledge of UK Employment Law and ACAS guidelines.
• Experience with redundancy, restructuring, and TUPE processes.
• Experience with UK and/or EMEA payroll processing.
• Experience administering employee benefit schemes across the UK and/or EMEA.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Problem-solving skills and the ability to provide solutions.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and written).
• Ability to influence others and gain the trust and support of key stakeholders.