People Operations Specialist

Carwow; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (2 days from home)

Competitive salary

Matched pension contributions

Share options

Bupa Private medical and dental

Life Assurance

Monthly coaching sessions with Spill

Enhanced holiday package

28 days annual leave

1 day for wedding

4 weeks up to abroad work option

Job summary

Carwow is seeking a People Operations Specialist to own UK payroll end-to-end and be the trusted first contact for pay, benefits and lifecycle matters. You’ll work in a fast-moving scale-up, delivering accurate, timely payroll and guidance with a focus on reliability.

You’ll handle benefits administration, drive process improvements, and leverage AI tooling to speed up admin while maintaining privacy and compliance across the employee experience.

Qualifications

• 3–4 years' experience in a People Operations / HR administration / payroll role in a scale-up or fast-paced environment.
• Hands‑on experience processing UK payroll and solid UK payroll knowledge.
• Exceptional attention to detail and high level of organisation.
• Strong communication skills and ability to handle confidential information.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end processing of our monthly UK payroll accurately and on time.
• Serve as the point of contact for the payroll provider and resolve queries.
• Ensure payroll compliance with UK legislation and manage year‑end processes.
• Be the first responder for employee questions on payroll, benefits and lifecycle matters.
• Administer benefits programmes and support renewals and improvements.
• Deliver a smooth employee lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding.
• Maintain accurate HR data and produce clear reports; use AI/tools to improve efficiency.

Skills

UK payroll

People Operations

Attention to detail

Organisational skills

Communication

AI tools

Tools

Hibob

Spreadsheets

Job description

OUR MISSION

To become the car-changing destination of choice. By combining technology, media and deep automotive expertise, we've turned how people buy, sell, advertise and lease cars on its head.

What started as a simple reviews site is now one of the largest online car-changing destinations in Europe. Last year alone we grew over 50% with nearly £3bn worth of cars bought on site, while £1.8bn of cars were listed for sale through our Sell My Car service.

In 2024 we went big and acquired Autovia - creators of AutoExpress and Evo magazines - doubling our audience overnight. Together we now have one of the biggest YouTube channels in the world with almost 10m subscribers and over 1.1 billion annual views, while we sell 1.2 million print copies of our magazines and have an annual web content reach over 350million.

And we’re a long way from done!

YOUR MISSION

Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and the People Operations team is the engine that keeps their experience running smoothly. As our People Operations Specialist, you'll own the accurate, on-time running of our UK payroll and be the trusted first point of contact for employees' questions on pay, benefits, and everything across the employee lifecycle.

This is a hands-on, detail-driven role for someone who takes real pride in getting things right, thrives in a fast-moving environment, and genuinely enjoys making colleagues feel looked after. You are comfortable handling administrative tasks as part of your responsibilities. You'll be the person who turns it into something reliable, organised, and even better than you found it, using AI and smart tooling to work faster and smarter.

The level and remit are shaped around your experience. There's clear room to grow from confidently owning day-to-day processes towards independently running our more complex ones and driving improvements across the team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Payroll:

• Own the end-to-end processing of our monthly UK payroll accurately and on time, from gathering inputs (new starters, leavers, changes, bonuses/commission, absence) through to submission and reconciliation.

• Act as the point of contact for our payroll provider, resolving queries and making sure everything ties out each cycle.

• Ensure payroll compliance with UK legislation (PAYE, NI, pensions auto-enrolment, statutory pay) and keep on top of changes.

• Maintain meticulous payroll records and support year-end processes (P60s, P11Ds and similar).

Employee queries & support:

• Be the friendly, reliable first responder for employee questions on payroll, benefits, and lifecycle matters, resolving them promptly and clearly so everyone feels supported.

• Advise employees on people policies and processes, escalating the genuinely complex or sensitive with good judgement and discretion.

• Spot recurring questions and turn them into self-serve answers, FAQs, and clearer documentation.

Benefits:

• Administer our benefits programmes day to day, including enrolments, changes, leavers, and provider liaison.

• Help employees understand and make the most of what's on offer.

• Support benefits renewals and improvements, keeping records accurate throughout.

Employee lifecycle:

• Deliver a smooth, engaging experience across the full lifecycle, including onboarding, contractual changes, family leave, and offboarding.

• Prepare accurate documentation (contracts, letters, changes to terms) and keep our HRIS (Hibob) clean and up to date at all times.

• Make sure every touchpoint feels considered, so people have a great experience from day one to their last day.

Data, systems & admin:

• Keep our people data accurate, consistent, and audit-ready. You'll treat data quality as non-negotiable.

• Produce clear, reliable reports and pull basic insights to support decision-making.

• Use AI tools and automation to reduce manual effort, speed up admin, and improve accuracy.

Continuous improvement:

• Take ownership of your processes and proactively look for ways to make them simpler, faster, and more reliable.

• Suggest and implement improvements to workflows and documentation, leaving things better than you found them.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• 3–4 years' experience in a People Operations / HR administration/payroll role, ideally within a scale-up or high-growth, fast-paced, high-pressure environment.

• Hands‑on experience processing UK payroll and a solid working knowledge of UK payroll and employment fundamentals.

• Exceptional attention to detail. Accuracy is the thing you're known for, and you double-check by instinct.

• Not put off by admin. You find satisfaction in doing high‑volume, detailed work well and consistently.

• Highly organised. You juggle multiple priorities and deadlines calmly and never let things slip.

• Solution‑oriented. You take problems off people's plates, research answers independently, and come up with fixes, not just flags.

• Comfortable with AI. You actively use AI tools to work more efficiently and are keen to find new ways to apply them.

• Strong communicator. Warm, clear, and helpful, with the discretion to handle sensitive and confidential information.

• Confident with people systems and spreadsheets, and quick to pick up new tools.

BONUS POINTS

• Experience supporting benefits administration and renewals.

• Experience with Hibob and Bob payroll

• Exposure to multi‑country / international People Operations.

• Relevant qualifications (e.g. CIPD, payroll certification) welcomed but not essential.

INTERVIEW PROCESS

• Introductory call with our Talent team

• Online interview with the Hiring Manager

• Values Interview

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU

• Hybrid working (2 days working from home)

• Competitive salary

• Matched pension contributions

• Share options - when we thrive, so do you!

• Bupa Private medical and dental insurance, for peace of mind, plus eyecare vouchers

• Life Assurance

• Monthly coaching sessions with Spill - our mental wellbeing partner

• Enhanced holiday package, plus Bank Holidays

• 28 days annual leave

• 1 day for your wedding

• 1 day off when you move house - because moving is hard enough without work!

• For your third year anniversary, get 30 days of annual leave per year

• For your tenth year anniversary, get 35 days of annual leave per year

• Option to buy 3 extra days of holiday per year

• The option to work from abroad up to 4 weeks

• Inclusive parental, partner and shared parental leave, fertility treatment and pregnancy loss policies

• Bubble childcare support and discounted nanny fees for little ones

• Up to £500/€550 home office allowance for that massage chair you’ve been talking about

• Generous learning and development budget to help you master your craft

• Regular social events: tech lunches, coffee with the exec sessions, lunch 8 learns, book clubs, social events/anything else you pester us for

• Refer a friend, get paid. Repeat for infinite money

Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our culture. We know that diverse teams are strong teams, so we welcome those with alternative identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply for this position. We make recruiting decisions based on experience, skills and potential, so all our applicants are treated fairly and equally.

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