People Operations Manager in London

The People Operations Manager leads the People Operations team to deliver high-quality, impactful, efficient support across all day-to-day People activities and the overall support function. This role is responsible for developing and coaching the team to perform at a high standard, reporting into the Senior People Operations and Reward Manager.

Working collaboratively across the wider People function and with cross-functional stakeholders, the People Operations Manager ensures the delivery of a seamless and consistent employee experience. The role is focused on continuous improvement, both for the employee’s internal customer contact from the people function and proactively identifying opportunities to enhance processes. Driving the modernisation and digitalisation of People systems to reduce inefficiencies and eliminate outdated or overly complex practices.

A key aspect of the role is establishing clear service level agreements (SLAs) and performance standards, and using data, metrics, and feedback to monitor team effectiveness. The People Operations Manager produces regular performance reports and uses insights to drive service improvements and operational excellence. The role will help design, shape and deliver the people strategy, including workforce planning to deliver the people business objectives within budget.

The successful candidate is a strong communicator who builds trust and rapport quickly across all levels of the organisation. They demonstrate excellent team leadership skills, time management, resilience, and the ability to perform under pressure. With advanced MS Office skills and strong analytical capability, they are confident in interpreting and presenting data to support informed, data-driven decision-making and champion a user-centric approach to our People services functions.

• Payroll & Operational Support
• Provide oversight and operational support for payroll processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance.
• Partner with Finance and Reward teams to support pay cycles, reviews, and statutory requirements.
• Lead IR35 Compliance and regulation.
• Escalation points of contact for people process related matters such as family leave/long term sick.
• Partner with FHS/GDPR team to ensure people compliance governance.
• People Systems & Development
• Lead the development, optimisation, and integration of People systems (e.g., EBS, Fresh, Oracle, HRIS platforms).
• Drive system enhancements to improve efficiency, user experience, and data accessibility.
• Identify and implement automation opportunities, including AI-driven solutions, to streamline People Operations processes.
• Develop and maintain self-service tools (knowledge base, The Island, FAQs, People Guides).
• Reduce dependency on manual support by improving access to information.
• Drive adoption of digital tools and employee self-service capabilities.
• Monitor performance against SLAs and drive continuous improvement.
• Manage relationships with external vendors where required.
• Design and optimise key employee lifecycle moments (onboarding, promotions, exits, etc.).
• Employment Legislation & Policy Management
• Partner with ER Manager to proactively monitor changes in employment legislation and ensure timely updates to contracts, policies, procedures, and internal guides.
• Partner with ER Manager to ensure policy governance, ensuring alignment with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Provide guidance to stakeholders on policy interpretation and application.
• Ensure systems and policies support equitable and inclusive practices.
• Data & Reporting
• Lead People data reporting, delivering accurate and insightful analytics to support decision-making.
• Assist in analysing the data provided to identifying and mitigating risks to the delivery of our wider strategic, financial and business objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement in data development, dashboards, and reporting capabilities.
• Ensure high standards of data integrity, accuracy, and governance across all People systems.
• Use employee feedback (surveys, lifecycle data, exit insights) to drive improvements.
• Support DEI initiatives through accurate data reporting and process alignment.
• Reward & Compensation Support
• Partner with Reward teams on pay review processes, including compliance with National Minimum Wage (NMW) and Gender Pay Gap (GPG) reporting.
• Support the development and execution of compensation frameworks and initiatives.
• Compliance, Governance & Audit
• Own the People Data Record of Processing Activities (ROPA), ensuring GDPR compliance.
• Lead and manage People Operations audits, ensuring readiness and adherence to internal and external standards.
• Ensure robust governance and compliance across all People Operations processes.
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Partner closely with Reward and other key stakeholders to mitigate risks and prevent single points of failure.
• Partner closely with business partner team and recruitment team to ensure processes are efficient and simple.
• Act as a key liaison between HR, IT, Finance, and Legal teams to ensure alignment and operational excellence.
• Equip managers with tools, guidance, and data to effectively manage their teams.
• Deliver training or workshops on people topics.
• Commercial Deliverables
• Support in building, developing and implementing the People Strategy.
• Design and lead the people data development and reporting strategy.
• Build and develop the team to proudly operate as the face of the People Team- delivering a clear, consistent, and efficient first line of support for all people queries.
• Take a relentlessly solution-oriented approach to problem solving – continuously improving processes, policies and communication to make them simpler and more effective.
• Ruthlessly prioritise to focus on what matters most and maximise impact.
• Provide data, and identify trends and proactively recommend improvements to enhance the overall people experience.
• Maintain high standards of accuracy, confidentiality, and consistency.
• Partners with leadership to ensure workforce planning supports commercial priorities.
• Evaluates return on investment on people initiatives (e.g., training, benefits, hiring strategies).
• Communicates people-related risks and opportunities in business terms.

About Us
We’re a much-loved brand with an exciting future. Our Islanders are a diverse bunch of bright, talented people who love working together – and are proud of the work they do. Progression here can take you in all kinds of directions. This is what a career at River Island is like. And this is where yours starts.

This role is based at our Head Office in West London.

What we can offer you:
Generous 50% staff discount so you can treat yourself to the latest products, and a bargain staff shop on site! Reducing Islanders everyday expenses through discounts, benefits, financial advice, wellbeing solutions and more through the Retail Trust. A free onsite gym, subsidised restaurant & café to fill your needs. Various social events to socialise throughout the year. Every family is unique, we support Islanders with all different family setups enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption & fertility treatment. We also work closely with the Retail Trust to create dedicated support for our Islanders. Flexible working, on top of payday and summer early finish Fridays. Give as you earn scheme, a ‘Giver Island’ day each year and receive matched funding. Support with upskilling through on the job training and qualifications. A succession plan if you want to progress. A generous bonus scheme & private pension plan. The choice to opt in for healthcare through our provider AXA. 25 days paid holiday, exclusive of Bank Holidays. With the added option to purchase additional holiday twice a year for whatever the need!

Keeping You Safe
At River Island we are committed to the safeguarding of all of our employees regardless of age or job role. We will fulfil our obligation under the Prevent duty which seeks to stop extremism and extremist views from materialising in our business. We promote and encourage the belief in British Values- including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. To find out more, please visit.

Our Island is made up of a diverse community, where we all belong and feel part of something bigger. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We will consider flexible working requests for all roles unless operational requirements prevent otherwise. To find out more about this interview process, check out our hiring process below.