Senior People Partner (12 Month Fixed-Term Contract - Maternity Cover)

We’re looking for a Senior People Partner to join Ometria’s People team ahead of a planned period of maternity leave. This is a senior individual contributor role — broad, hands-on and genuinely varied. You’ll cover everything from managing complex employee relations cases to owning our HRIS, partnering with managers across five countries and helping us embed AI into how our People function works. You’ll be working in a small, high-trust team where everyone gets stuck in, including the senior team. The role sits at the centre of the business — advising managers, keeping our people infrastructure running and acting as a key support to the CPO. We’re targeting a start in mid-October to allow enough time for a proper handover. This is also a well-timed moment to join as Ometria is launching a new product and with it, a new internal startup team — there’s a real opportunity to help shape how that team is established from a people perspective.

Key outcomes:

• Managers are well supported — you’re their first call on people matters, and they trust your advice.
• Employee relations cases are handled effectively, protecting both employees and the business.
• Our people systems and processes are accurate, current and continuously improving.
• The business stays compliant and audit-ready across all relevant people obligations.
• AI and automation are embedded into how the People team works, reducing manual effort over time.

What you’ll be working on:

• People partnering and employee relations: Act as the first point of contact for managers dealing with people matters, from performance and absence through to disciplinary and grievance situations. Advise managers with confidence and good judgment — coaching them through difficult situations rather than just issuing instructions, and helping them build their own capability over time. Spot and diagnose people issues early, whether that’s something a manager is dealing with in their team or something about how the manager themselves is operating. Coordinate with our external employment law advisors on complex cases, and keep the CPO and relevant SMT members appropriately informed. Monitor employment law changes across our operating regions and flag any implications for policy, process or manager practice to the CPO.
• People operations: Own and manage HiBob — maintaining accurate records, processing contract changes, managing onboarding and offboarding, and keeping holiday allowances and documentation current. Coordinate day-to-day payroll changes with our finance team. Support the CPO on salary benchmarking cycles and benefits provider renewals. Maintain health and safety compliance for our London office. Own document hygiene across people records — ensuring the business is audit-ready at all times and supporting our SOC2, ISO and finance audit cycles. Liaise with our Employer of Record (EOR) providers across Germany, Portugal, Spain and North America to understand local employment requirements, stay aligned on process and handle any country-specific people matters as they arise.
• AI and process improvement: Take a leading role in embedding AI tools and automation across the People function — identifying processes that can be streamlined or eliminated and building better ways of working. Bring fresh eyes to how we do things and a genuine interest in doing them better.
• New product team establishment: Contribute to building the people foundations for a new internal startup team launching as part of Ometria’s next product chapter.

Benefits:

• 30 days holiday + 1 day on your birthday (plus bank holidays).
• Health Insurance (Bupa).
• Mental Health Support (Spill, Calm).
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Enhanced Financial Benefits (Salary Sacrifice Pension, DIS, Income Protection).
• Professional Development Fund.

Requirements:

• Experienced in lean, high-growth environments — you have 5+ years in a generalist People/HR role, ideally in a small or scaling tech business where the team is lean and everyone is expected to do a bit of everything, including the senior people.
• High EQ and discretion — you handle sensitive matters carefully. You know when to act and when to escalate, and people trust you with information that matters.
• Compliance-aware — you understand the importance of keeping the business compliant and audit-ready. You stay across employment law changes in the regions you support, you maintain clean records and you know how to work with external advisors and EOR providers to get the right answer in each country.
• AI-forward — you’re curious about how AI and automation can take work off your plate and improve what the People function delivers. You’re willing to try things, iterate and let go of processes that no longer make sense.
• Adaptable — priorities change quickly here. You’re comfortable with that and you work with pace and good judgment in environments that aren’t perfectly defined.
• A people partner who makes managers better — you’ve worked closely with managers across a range of situations and they’ve been better for it. You build trust quickly, you spot issues early — in their teams and sometimes in them — and you help them work through it. You don’t need to be an employment lawyer; you need to know how to get the right advice and apply it with good judgment.
• Operationally excellent — you take genuine ownership of the systems and processes in your remit. Things don’t fall through the cracks on your watch.