Senior Strategy Manager, People Strategy & Operations

Xero Limited; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Xero Limited in Sydney, Australia, is seeking a Senior Strategy Manager, People Strategy & Operations, to turn the people strategy into actionable initiatives. You will own cross-functional projects, shape governance, and present to the Executive Leadership Team and board.

You’ll work in a hybrid Sydney-based role, coaching junior staff, and advancing processes through technology and AI to unlock faster decision-making and scalable impact.

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives from problem definition through to implementation, ideally in consulting, or strategy and operations, transformation within a technology or SaaS environment.
• Strong structured problem-solving skills and ability to turn a complex, ambiguous challenge into a clear plan with measurable outcomes.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders, translating data into clear recommendations, facilitating alignment and guiding discussions to resolution.
• Comfort moving between technical/system-focused problems and organizational/people-focused ones, and continuously raising the bar on how work gets done.
• Coaching others and developing junior staff in analytical thinking, project approach, and strategic execution.
• Genuine curiosity about how technology and AI can reimagine people processes and an inclination to rethink problems, not just solve them.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex strategic and operational projects end-to-end, from problem definition through to implementation and measurable outcomes.
• Build and tighten the operating rhythm for the People Team, creating streamlined and more automated ways of working to support better decision-making.
• Prepare analysis, strategic narratives, and recommendations for Xero's Executive Leadership Team and board.
• Reimagine key People processes using technology and AI to create better, faster ways of working.

Job description

The role and its impact

As a Senior Strategy Manager, People Strategy & Operations, you will turn Xero’s people strategy into action. Reporting to the General Manager of People Strategy & Operations (who also serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO), you’ll own the delivery of complex strategic and operational initiatives across the People Team. Your work will span process and system redesign, capability building, organisational change, board paper development, and governance. You’ll bring structured thinking and analytical rigour to cut through ambiguity, simplify complexity, and remove the blockers that slow teams down.

This is a senior individual contributor role with a high degree of autonomy. You won’t manage a team directly, but you will coach and develop more junior staff across the function, shaping how they approach problems, build recommendations, and deliver outcomes. If you’re someone who thrives on making sense of messy, cross‑functional challenges and turning them into clear plans that people can act on, this role will give you the platform to do exactly that.

The team and how they connect

The People Strategy & Operations team sits at the centre of the People Team, working across every part of the function to translate Xero's people strategy into coordinated execution. The GM also serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO, which means you’ll be close to the conversations that shape how Xero invests in its people. You’ll partner with HR leaders, senior stakeholders across the business, and the Executive Leadership Team to keep complex work moving and decisions well‑informed.

Initially, you will focus on

• Leading complex strategic and operational projects end-to-end, from defining the problem through to implementation and measurable outcomes
• Building and improving the operating rhythm for the People Team, creating streamlined and increasingly automated ways of working that support better decision‑making
• Preparing analysis, strategic narratives, and recommendations for Xero's Executive Leadership Team and board
• Reimagining key People processes using technology and AI to create better, faster ways of working

Where and how you can work

This role is based in our Sydney office with hybrid working arrangements. We value the collaboration and connection that comes from time together in person, and we trust you to manage your time in a way that works for you and your team.

Here are some of the things we're looking for

• Your background includes leading complex cross‑functional initiatives from problem definition through to implementation, ideally in consulting, or strategy and operations, transformation within a technology or SaaS environment
• You bring strong structured problem‑solving skills and can independently take a complex, ambiguous challenge and turn it into a clear plan with measurable outcomes
• Working with senior stakeholders comes naturally to you, whether that’s translating messy data into compelling recommendations, facilitating alignment, or managing discussion through to resolution
• You're comfortable moving fluidly between technical, system‑focused problems and organisational, people‑focused ones, and you Go Further by continuously raising the bar on how work gets done
• Coaching others energises you. You enjoy developing more junior staff in analytical thinking, project approach, and strategic execution, helping the people around you grow
• You have a genuine curiosity about how technology and AI can reimagine people processes, and you Go Bold by rethinking problems rather than just solving them

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.