Senior People Manager (Mat Cover)

AKQA; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Map Project Office, part of the AKQA Group and WPP, is hiring a People Manager on a fixed-term maternity cover for 6 months. The role partners with studio leadership to elevate the employee experience and drive performance across markets.

You will oversee onboarding, payroll (ADP), learning initiatives, and employee relations while ensuring policy compliance and a strong leadership culture. Hybrid in-office days apply.

Qualifications

• Experience in HR management/business partnership for a creative or professional services business.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills.
• Ability to partner with remote teams across markets.
• Independent, multi-tasking and able to prioritise with strong follow-through.
• Ability to drive people initiatives and performance discussions.
• Experience with payroll processes and onboarding of contract workers.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leadership to design and deliver people initiatives aligned to business objectives.
• Drive employee engagement, retention and growth using surveys and analytics.
• Standardise processes, policies, and onboarding across studios.
• Foster a culture of strong managers and performance reviews.
• Oversee performance management, payroll processing, and learning programs.
• Advise on global mobility, visas and immigration with external partners.
• Ensure compliance with local legislation and collaborate with legal.

Skills

People management

HR business partnering

Executive communication

Remote collaboration

Onboarding & mobility

Payroll administration

Change management

Tools

ADP Payroll

Job description

At Map Project Office (part of the AKQA Group and WPP), we design products that make life feel simpler, smarter, and more human. From everyday objects to next-gen tech, our work sits at the intersection of design and innovation. We turn bold ideas into things people love to use. But what really defines Map is our culture. We're a curious, collaborative team who believe the best ideas come from working openly together. Whether it's partnering with start-ups or world-leading brands, we thrive on solving tough challenges and pushing design in new directions.

As People Manager, you will help to advance a world class employee experience for Map Project Office employees – current and future. You will have an excellent knowledge of industry best practices, but also push boundaries to bring to life the employee experience vision.

The People Manager will partner with the studio leadership team and global People team to drive business performance through our people.

This is a Fixed Term Contract position for Maternity Cover for 6 months

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Partner with leadership to proactively design and deliver people initiatives that support the business objectives.
• Utilise tools such as the employee engagement survey to help drive employee engagement, retention and growth of our teams.
• Partner with the global People team to identify, develop, and implement standardised processes, policies, and procedures to help drive a premium employee experience.
• Partner with the business to create a culture of strong managers and leaders who prioritise performance and career management discussions.
• Oversee the bi- annual performance management process and collaborate with managers to ensure a thorough and effective review process.
• Build solid relationships with employees and managers to create an employee-oriented culture that emphasises quality, continuous improvement, and employee engagement.
• Analyse trends and metrics to recommend and implement gold-standard tools, practices and systems that attract, develop, and retain top talent.
• Support the Talent Acquisition team in the process of hiring full-time and contract workers and execute the full onboarding process to create a thorough candidate experience.
• Manage employee relations matters, organise and implement learning and development programs, and execute other special projects.
• Process and review monthly payroll using ADP
• Advise employees and line managers on global mobility, visas, and immigration issues. Liaise with People colleagues from other studios on secondments and seek advice from external immigration partners where necessary.
• Ensure all processes and policies are compliant with local legislation; partner with legal team where appropriate.
• Share knowledge and best practices within the People team, as well as broadly within the organisation to ensure that people practices are highly effective and valued.
• Responsible for ad hoc Finance matters including acting as audit/ bank contact, coordinating annual audit, and creating annual core services budget.
• Manage office responsibilities including leading security & safety measures, organising events, maintaining studio design and partnering with suppliers and landlord.
• Perform other job-related duties as required

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Experience in an HR management/business partnership role, supporting a creative and/or professional services business.
• Strong executive presence and communication skills.
• Ability to partner with remote teams in different markets.
• Ability to work independently, multi-task and prioritise workload with strong follow-through.
• Interest in taking the initiative to continually improve all People programs, policies, and processes.
• Ability to adapt to frequently changing schedules and priorities and experience in operating in a dynamic, fast-paced environment where change is constant and demanding, and clear structure/process may not be apparent.
• Pragmatic and outcome-oriented, leveraging data to tell a story and make recommendations.

We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we've adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company - powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.