People Operations Manager

AG Barr; Cumbernauld; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading beverage company in Cumbernauld seeks a People Operations Manager who will lead a team in managing payroll and People administrative processes. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in People Operations, excellent knowledge of UK employment law, and strong leadership skills. Responsibilities include overseeing payroll, ensuring compliance, and fostering a high-performance culture. This role offers a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package, including a bonus linked to business performance and generous holiday allowance.

Benefits

Uncapped business performance bonus

Defined contribution pension

Up to 34 days holiday

Flexible holiday trading

Healthcare cash plan

Life assurance

Free AG Barr products

Qualifications

• Proven experience in People Operations or HR management.
• Demonstrable experience in running monthly payroll processes.
• Solid understanding of UK statutory payments and employment law.
• Experience in designing People governance and process documentation.
• Excellent attention to detail and numerical accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of People Operations Coordinators.
• Oversee the payroll process and ensure compliance.
• Implement governance and SOPs for People administration tasks.
• Identify opportunities to streamline operational processes.
• Report on key metrics to drive continuous improvement.

Skills

People Operations management

Payroll processing

UK employment law knowledge

Leadership skills

Analytical skills

Tools

HRIS proficiency

Job description

Job Title: People Operations Manager

Location: Cumbernauld

Are you ready to Be Your Best Barr None?

Lets Grow!!!

We are all about Being Your Best Barr None and having a career with real Moments that Matter!

Employing around 850 people across the UK, we are proud to be a responsible business that takes care of our people, values diversity, gives something back to our communities and works to minimise our environmental impact.

For 150 years AG Barr has been building great brands and is home to some of the nations favourite flavours.

At our core is IRN-BRU, launched in 1901 and still going strong today, the vibrant RUBICON fruit based brand, Boost making every moment better with a caffeine kick, hydration hit or tasty treat, and FUNKIN where real fruit means authentic taste.

We also have a number of exciting owned brands within our portfolio including MOMA, which crafts quality oats into great tasting oat drinks and porridges.

There's never been a better time to join us!

What we’re looking for…

Our People Operations Manager leads our People Operations team in all day-to-day activity of The People administrative processes as well as a critical focus on accurate and timely payroll management. This is a hands‑on management role that requires strong technical People knowledge, attention to detail, a commitment to team development, and a continuous improvement mindset to embed robust governance and enhance service delivery.

As our People Operations Manager you will…

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of People Operations Coordinators, providing daily guidance, setting performance goals, and conducting regular 1:1 meetings and performance reviews.
• Manage the team's workflow and workload, ensuring all tasks are completed accurately and within service level agreements (SLAs).
• Foster a high‑performance culture focused on accuracy, compliance, and exceptional customer service.
• Oversee the end‑to‑end administration of the employee lifecycle, actioned by the team. The activities the team manage include:
  • Onboarding: Drafting offer letters, completing pre‑employment checks.
  • Mid‑Cycle Changes: Managing contract variations, promotions, internal transfers, maternity/paternity/shared parental leave, and long‑term sickness administration.
  • Offboarding: Processing leavers, managing exit documentation, and coordinating final payments.
• Own the monthly payroll process end‑to‑end, working closely with the external payroll provider and the team to deliver flawless monthly payrolls.
• Understand and provide expert UK payroll knowledge to support the team in delivering the monthly payroll (the processing of payroll inputs, changes, and queries, ensuring absolute accuracy and compliance with tax (PAYE), national insurance, and statutory requirements.)
• Develop and implement robust governance, controls, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all People and Payroll administration tasks.
• Ensure all People documentation (contracts, letter templates, forms) are legally compliant and consistently applied.
• Identify opportunities to streamline and automate People operational processes to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and enhance the employee experience.
• Lead projects focused on system improvements, documentation clarity, and process redesign.
• Develop and report on key People operations metrics (e.g., data accuracy, payroll error rate) to drive continuous improvement initiatives.

What you’ll bring...

• Proven experience in a hands‑on People Operations, HR Shared Services, or HR Administration management role.
• Deep, demonstrable experience and strong technical knowledge of running monthly payroll (either in‑house or via a bureau).
• Solid understanding of UK employment law and statutory payments (SSP, SMP, SPL, etc.).
• Experience in designing and implementing People governance, controls, and process documentation (SOPs).
• Strong proficiency in using an HRIS, with advanced data management and reporting skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and numerical accuracy.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and stakeholder management skills.
• Analytical and problem solving skills

You will also demonstrate our AG Barr behaviours of Being Honest, Accountable, Connected and Brave.

What we offer…

We believe in creating a diverse and inclusive culture where your voice can be heard. Our skilled, loyal and committed people are critical to the future success of AG Barr which is why we are continually investing in our employees to develop their talent.

We look after our employees by offering a competitive salary and benefits package which includes:

• Uncapped bonus linked to business performance
• Defined contribution Pension
• Up to 34 days holiday (depending on shift pattern)
• Flexible holiday trading
• Flexible cash pot to spend on benefits
• Healthcare Cash Plan
• Flexible benefits e.g. discounts & cashbacks, gym memberships, technology purchases etc
• Life assurance
• Save as you earn scheme
• Staff sales discount
• Free AG Barr products throughout your working day and staff sales
• Annual salary review
• Ongoing professional development and access to Learning and Development programmes and content

And much more!

To find out more about what it is like to work for AG Barr, please visit our careers platform here.

We are an equal opportunities employer and happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments that may be needed for successful candidates with a disability, health or mental health condition.

While we have highlighted our ideal requirements for this role, we are realistic that the successful candidate probably won’t meet every single requirement in this advert, but we are big advocates of people growing in role. So even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to submit an application – you may be just what we are looking for! Apply now!

Speculative CVs from agencies will not be accepted.

Latest closing date for applications is 19th January

Please note, we may close vacancies early where we receive significant numbers of applications, so apply now!

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