People Operations Associate - 6 Month FTC

Aztec Group; Fareham; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus scheme

Flexible, hybrid working

Ability to work abroad for up to 3 we​

Generous holiday allowance

Pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Life assurance (death in service and I

Worldwide travel insurance

Health and wellbeing programmes

On-site parking

Job summary

Aztec Group in Fareham is seeking a People Operations Associate to support onboarding, offboarding, and internal lifecycle activities. This fixed-term role focuses on executing structured, operational tasks, data accuracy, and compliance while contributing to a positive colleague experience.

You will learn foundational HR knowledge and progressively develop professional expertise. Working with the Senior Associate and People Services Operations Manager, you will handle case management, payroll

Qualifications

• Experience in a fast paced operational /employee administration environment.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to follow structured processes and guidance.
• Clear and professional written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence working with systems and data; strong MS Office capability specifically Excel & Planner.
• Demonstrates ownership, curiosity, and a willingness to learn
• An understanding of the core elements of policies, processes and procedures
• Strong interpersonal skills, and a proven ability to develop good working relationships, as an individual and as a collaborative member of a team
• Ability to demonstrate a customer service mindset, with a passion for and commitment to improving the employee experience, anticipating the needs of our customers.
• Familiarity with Workday or another HRIS/HCM system.

Responsibilities

• Working with and under the direction of the Senior Associate and People Services Operations Manager/s.
• Operational Effectiveness
• Accurately complete day-to-day activities in line with documented procedures, SLAs, jurisdictional legislation and internal controls.
• Take responsibility for defined areas of specialism including ongoing regular meetings and associated follow up activities, keeping the Senior Associate updated on progress and flagging any input required.
• Complete onboarding and offboarding processes, including pre-employment screening, right-to-work checks, contractor administration, and leaver documentation.
• Administer/initiate internal lifecycle changes, such as job changes, promotions, secondments, time off and leave of absence requests ensuring timely completion and data accuracy.
• Service Delivery & Case Management
• Respond to colleague and manager queries via cases, or inbox management tools, including cases where we respond on behalf of another People Team or the case is passed to us to respond.
• Proactively self-assign cases, tasks, and emails that are linked to own activities/areas of responsibility
• Escalate non‑standard queries, exceptions, or potential risks to Senior Associates in a timely and clear manner.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders, COEs, and approved external suppliers to support the delivery of People Operations.
• Deliver work to agreed timelines, maintaining high standards of professionalism and customer service, whilst managing relevant stakeholder expectations.
• Ensuring timely and accurate completion of relevant monthly payroll impacting/deadline driven tasks.
• Quality, Risk & Controls
• Follow internal policies, procedures, and governance requirements when completing tasks and maintaining systems.
• Complete defined checks and validations, highlighting discrepancies or issues to Senior Associates, ensuring data and payroll integrity and GDPR compliance.
• Continuous Improvement & Learning
• Contribute ideas to improve efficiency, accuracy, and colleague experience within existing processes.
• Actively build HR, HRIS (Workday), and operational knowledge through hands on experience and knowledge sharing among the team
• Potential to support a small project relevant to the People Operation remits and assist with cyclical projects such as pay review and promotions.

Skills

Operational experience

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Teamwork & collaboration

Customer service mindset

Data handling

Ownership & curiosity

HR policies & procedures understanding

HRIS familiarity

Tools

Excel

Planner

Workday

Job description

At Aztec, we’re committed to building and nurturing a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone feels valued, respected, and able to grow. We know that different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences strengthen our business and we welcome applications from all individuals. So, if your experience doesn’t exactly match with every part of the job description, but you are excited about the role, we would still like to hear from you. If you are passionate, curious, innovative and data driven, you could still be a good fit.

About The Role

The People Operations Associate is a key member of the People Operations team, responsible for delivering accurate, timely, and high-quality employee lifecycle services across the Aztec Group. This is a fixed term role that will support Onboarding & Offboarding and the Internal Lifecycle team and focuses on executing structured, operational activities and contributes to a positive colleague experience, ensures data accuracy and compliance, and actively develops foundational HR knowledge and professional expertise.

Key Responsibilities

Working with and under the direction of the Senior Associate and People Services Operations Manager/s.

Operational Effectiveness

• Accurately complete day-to-day activities in line with documented procedures, SLAs, jurisdictional legislation and internal controls.
• Take responsibility for defined areas of specialism including ongoing regular meetings and associated follow up activities, keeping the Senior Associate updated on progress and flagging any input required.
• Complete onboarding and offboarding processes, including pre-employment screening, right-to-work checks, contractor administration, and leaver documentation.
• Administer/initiate internal lifecycle changes, such as job changes, promotions, secondments, time off and leave of absence requests ensuring timely completion and data accuracy.

Service Delivery & Case Management

• Respond to colleague and manager queries via cases, or inbox management tools, including cases where we respond on behalf of another People Team or the case is passed to us to respond.
• Proactively self-assign cases, tasks, and emails that are linked to own activities/areas of responsibility
• Escalate non‑standard queries, exceptions, or potential risks to Senior Associates in a timely and clear manner.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders, COEs, and approved external suppliers to support the delivery of People Operations.
• Deliver work to agreed timelines, maintaining high standards of professionalism and customer service, whilst managing relevant stakeholder expectations.
• Ensuring timely and accurate completion of relevant monthly payroll impacting/deadline driven tasks.

Quality, Risk & Controls

• Follow internal policies, procedures, and governance requirements when completing tasks and maintaining systems.
• Complete defined checks and validations, highlighting discrepancies or issues to Senior Associates, ensuring data and payroll integrity and GDPR compliance.

Continuous Improvement & Learning

• Contribute ideas to improve efficiency, accuracy, and colleague experience within existing processes.
• Actively build HR, HRIS (Workday), and operational knowledge through hands on experience and knowledge sharing among the team
• Potential to support a small project relevant to the People Operation remits and assist with cyclical projects such as pay review and promotions.

Essential

Skills, Knowledge & Experience:

• Experience in a fast paced operational /employee administration environment.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to follow structured processes and guidance.
• Clear and professional written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence working with systems and data; strong MS Office capability specifically Excel & Planner.
• Demonstrates ownership, curiosity, and a willingness to learn
• An understanding of the core elements of policies, processes and procedures
• Strong interpersonal skills, and a proven ability to develop good working relationships, as an individual and as a collaborative member of a team
• Ability to demonstrate a customer service mindset, with a passion for and commitment to improving the employee experience, anticipating the needs of our customers.
• Familiarity with Workday or another HRIS/HCM system.

Desirable

• Exposure to HR administration/operations or shared services environments.

Benefits

We understand that everyone has different needs, and that’s why our employee package includes a variety of benefits. In addition to a competitive salary, here are some examples of the benefits that we may offer for our permanent roles:

• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Flexible, hybrid working
• Ability to work abroad for up to 3 weeks per annum
• Generous holiday allowance
• Pension scheme
• Private medical insurance, including eye care
• Life assurance (death in service and critical illness benefit)
• Worldwide travel insurance
• Health and wellbeing programmes
• On-site parking