People Operations Assistant

LHH; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A well-established charitable organisation in Edinburgh seeks a temporary People Operations Assistant to enhance their People & Culture Directorate. You will provide high-quality support throughout the colleague lifecycle, from recruitment to payroll. Applicants should have a proven background in HR practices and experience delivering customer-focused services. Strong relationship-building skills are essential. This temporary position requires immediate availability or a quick start date.

Qualifications

• Experience coordinating and delivering People activities across the full colleague lifecycle.
• Strong practical understanding of HR practices.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities to tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Provide practical support and first-line advice across recruitment and onboarding.
• Coordinate day-to-day People Operations activities.
• Support recruitment and payroll processes.

Skills

People Operations

Customer-focused service

Relationship-building

HR practice

Operational mindset

Education

Relevant professional qualification

Job description

LHH is delighted to be supporting our client, a well-established charitable organisation providing specialist support services across Scotland, as they recruit a temporary People Operations Assistant to join the People & Culture Directorate.

We are seeking a People Operations professional to deliver a high‑quality, customer‑focused service across both charities. This is a key role within the People Operations function, providing practical support and first‑line advice to colleagues and managers across the full colleague and volunteer lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, development, workforce planning and payroll. You will play an important part in ensuring an efficient, accurate and positive colleague experience at every stage.

Working closely with the People Operations Team Leader and the wider People & Culture team, you will coordinate day‑to‑day People Operations activity, maintain robust people data and systems, produce reports, support recruitment and payroll processes, and help drive continuous improvement through streamlined processes and effective self‑service solutions. You will collaborate across teams, contribute to projects that support the People Strategy, and help foster a professional, inclusive culture aligned with their Strategic Intent.

We are looking for someone with experience at a similar level, coordinating and delivering People activities across the full colleague lifecycle, with a strong practical understanding of HR practice, supported by a relevant professional qualification or equivalent experience. You will bring an operational, total‑workforce mindset and have experience delivering high‑quality, customer‑focused services for diverse groups such as employees and volunteers, often across multiple priorities and to tight deadlines.

The role requires strong relationship‑building skills, with the ability to work effectively with internal stakeholders at all levels, including senior leaders, as well as external partners. You will be curious about the challenges facing the Charities, proactive in identifying opportunities for collaboration and improvement, and motivated by strengthening People Operations practices. Experience in the not‑for‑profit or charitable sector would be an advantage.

This is a temporary role so candidates should be immediately available or able to start at short notice.