People Operations Manager

Overview of the role 

Phoenix is a leading UK IT solutions and managed service provider, with a deep specialism in the public sector. We work with organisations across government, healthcare, defence, public safety, education, housing, and the charity sector - helping them modernise with confidence across cloud, data and AI, cyber security, and managed services. 

Through strategic partnerships with the world's leading technology providers - and a trusted place on the major public sector frameworks - our work has a direct impact on the services that millions of people rely on every day. 

Due to continued growth, we are hiring a new People Operations Manager to lead the People Operations pillar of the People team. 

What will you be doing? 

• Lead, motivate and develop the People Operations team, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality, professional and commercially focused people service across the organisation. 

• Provide coaching, guidance and development opportunities to team members, managing performance, workload priorities and succession planning to build a high-performing function. 

• Act as the subject matter expert for complex employee relations matters, providing advice and support to managers on disciplinary, grievance, capability, absence management and dismissal cases. 

• Serve as the escalation point for high-risk and sensitive employee relations issues, ensuring consistent, fair and legally compliant outcomes across the business. 

• Partner with managers and business leaders to improve employee performance, engagement, wellbeing and overall organisational effectiveness. 

• Oversee the day-to-day delivery of People Operations activities across the entire employee lifecycle, including onboarding, probation management, contract administration and employee records management. 

• Lead the effective use and ongoing development of HR systems, including Dayforce, ensuring data accuracy, process efficiency and meaningful people reporting. 

• Identify, implement and drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance people processes, service delivery and the employee experience. 

• Develop, review and implement people policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with employment legislation, GDPR and organisational requirements. 

• Support audits, governance activities and reporting requirements, maintaining robust people processes and controls. 

• Work collaboratively with key stakeholders to deliver people initiatives, organisational change programmes and wider people strategies. 

• Analyse trends relating to employee relations, sickness absence, engagement and turnover, identifying risks and recommending appropriate interventions. 

• Champion employee wellbeing, engagement and inclusion initiatives, helping to create a positive, supportive and high-performing workplace culture. 

• Act as a trusted advisor to managers, providing expert people guidance and helping to foster a consistent and positive employee experience throughout the organisation. 

Why should you apply? 

At Phoenix, our ambition is to be the UK's leading IT solutions and managed service provider - and we know that only happens because of our people. Culture isn't an afterthought here; it's the thing we work hardest on. 

We're proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work®, and to be recognised on their UK Best Workplaces lists for Women, Wellbeing, and Development. These aren't badges we chase - they're the result of how we genuinely choose to treat each other, and how seriously we take our colleagues' careers, health, and lives outside of work. 

When you join Phoenix, you can expect: 

• A culture built on trust and belonging: set out clearly in our Culture Blueprint, lived day-to-day, and reflected in our consistently strong colleague feedback. 

• Real investment in your development: structured learning pathways, funded industry certifications, mentoring, and the encouragement to stretch into new areas. 

• A workplace that takes wellbeing seriously: from mental health support and flexible working to active employee networks and a leadership team that listens. 

• A commitment to equity and inclusion: where we actively work to make Phoenix a brilliant place to build a career, whoever you are. 

• Work that matters: supporting the public sector organisations that keep the UK running, from government and healthcare to defence, public safety, education, housing, and the charities serving the most vulnerable in our communities. 

• Working with the best of the industry: alongside genuine experts, and with strategic partnerships across the world's leading technology providers, you'll be at the front of the conversations shaping how UK public services modernise. 

We believe in encouraging, supporting, and skilling our people up so that you can be the very best you can be at work - and we'd love you to consider being part of it. 

Take a look at our Culture Blueprint to get a real sense of who we are. 

What are we looking for? 

The right person for this role will be an experienced People leader with a strong background in employee relations, team management and partnering with senior stakeholders. They will have proven leadership experience within a medium-sized, professional organisation, be confident using people data and insights to drive decision-making, and combine strong commercial awareness with a proactive, solutions-focused approach. Their ability to balance strategic thinking with operational delivery will be key to success in the role. 

Key Skills & Experience: 

• Significant experience operating in a senior People role, such as People Operations Manager, HR Manager or People Business Partner, within a medium-sized organisation of approximately 200-1,000 employees. 

• Proven leadership experience managing and developing multi-person HR/People teams, with a strong track record of coaching, performance management, succession planning and building high-performing functions. This is not a step-up opportunity and requires established people leadership capability. 

• Extensive experience managing complex and high-risk employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, performance, absence management and dismissal processes, with sound judgement and a thorough understanding of legal risk. 

• Strong knowledge of UK employment law, HR best practice and organisational governance, with experience developing, implementing and reviewing people policies and procedures. 

• Demonstrable experience partnering with senior managers and business leaders, influencing decision-making and providing commercially focused people advice in a fast-paced environment. 

• Experience leading and supporting organisational change programmes, people initiatives and continuous improvement projects that enhance organisational effectiveness and employee experience. 

• Strong analytical and data-driven approach, with experience producing and interpreting people metrics, dashboards, workforce reports and HR insights to support business decisions and identify trends. 

• Experience using HR systems and workforce reporting tools, ideally including Dayforce or similar platforms, ensuring data integrity, reporting accuracy and process efficiency. 

• Previous experience withi