Head of HR Operations

Artis Recruitment; Newport; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Artis Recruitment in Newport is seeking an experienced Head of People Shared Services to provide stable leadership to a transforming function, focusing on operational continuity and service performance while supporting a team through change.

Reporting to the People Services and Operations Director, you will oversee People Connect, HR technology, data and management information, ensuring a responsive, consistent and high-quality service. You will act as senior escalation point for complex issues.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading operational shared services or People Operations.
• Strong HR administration knowledge and lifecycle processes.
• Proven ability to manage customer-facing support teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide stable leadership to People Shared Services during a transition.
• Ensure operational continuity, performance, and delivery of improvements.
• Lead for service delivery, governance, and risk control.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Change management

HR operations

Data-driven service delivery

Tools

HR systems

MI reporting

Service management

Job description

Our client are looking to appoint an experienced Head of People Shared Services to provide strong, stable leadership to its People Shared Services function during a period of transition.

This is an important leadership opportunity for an experienced People Operations or Shared Services professional who can quickly establish themselves, maintain operational excellence and support a team through change. Based in Newport with 2 days per week on site.

Reporting to the People Services and Operations Director, you will have responsibility for the effective day-to-day leadership of People Shared Services, encompassing People Connect, people technology, data and management information.

The focus of the role is very much on operational continuity, service performance and the delivery of agreed improvements already underway, rather than defining the future strategic direction of the function.

You will provide visible and supportive leadership to the Shared Services team, ensuring colleagues and managers receive a responsive, consistent and effective service. You will also act as a senior escalation point for complex service delivery matters, using your experience and judgement to resolve issues and maintain high standards.

We are looking for an experienced operational leader who can quickly take ownership of a complex People Shared Services environment and provide stability, pace and direction.

You will ideally bring:

• Proven experience leading operational shared services, People Operations or business services functions.
• A strong understanding of HR administration, employee lifecycle processes and service delivery environments.
• Experience managing customer-facing support teams.
• Good knowledge of HR systems, technology-enabled processes and service management.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to work across a broad range of stakeholders.
• Experience using data and management information to monitor and improve service performance.
• A proven ability to lead teams through periods of change whilst maintaining operational stability and service quality.

Experience within an HR/People People Operations environment would be particularly valuable, alongside experience managing outsourced providers or technology suppliers. Experience of supporting service transformation or continuous improvement programmes would also be advantageous.

What will make you successful?

This role will suit someone who is comfortable operating at pace, can quickly understand a complex operational environment and knows how to balance customer experience, service delivery, risk and control.

You will be a visible and credible leader who can bring the team with you through a period of transition, ensuring priorities are clear and operational performance remains strong.

Success will be measured through the continued achievement of service levels and KPIs, high-quality customer service, effective data and governance controls, successful delivery of agreed improvements and the active management of operational risk.

Most importantly, you will ensure that service continuity is protected, the team feels supported and Shared Services continues to be a valued and effective partner to the wider organisation.