Human Resources Specialist

Morgan McKinley; Dublin; On-site; EUR 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Morgan McKinley is seeking a highly organised HR Operations Specialist – EMEA to join our Employee Services team in Ireland. You will be the first point of contact for employees and managers across multiple countries, handling front-line operational HR support and end-to-end case management.

In a structured, SLA-driven environment, you will manage lifecycle queries, payroll liaison, data accuracy, and GDPR compliance, documenting processes and contributing to regional HR projects.

Qualifications

• 2–4+ years of hands-on HR operations or shared services experience.
• Experience supporting multi-country employee populations across EMEA.
• Strong knowledge of GDPR and data privacy in HR processes.
• Experience using modern HRIS platforms (e.g., Workday).

Responsibilities

• Serve as the frontline HR contact for employees and People Leaders in the EMEA region.
• Manage Tier 1–2 HR cases within SLAs and document case details.
• Coordinate lifecycle tasks: onboarding, contracts, transfers, leaves, and offboarding.
• Partner with payroll teams and benefits providers to resolve queries.
• Ensure data integrity and compliance with local labour laws and GDPR.
• Contribute to SOPs, knowledge base, and regional HR projects.

Skills

HR operations

Multi-country experience

English communication

Tools

Workday

SAP SuccessFactors

Oracle HCM

Job description

We are seeking a highly organised, proactive, and detail-oriented HR Operations Specialist – EMEA to join our Employee Services team. In this role, you will be the primary point of contact for employees, People Leaders, and Centres of Excellence (COEs) across the EMEA region, providing front-line operational HR support and end-to-end case management.

Operating within a structured, SLA-driven service delivery model, you will manage employee lifecycle queries, maintain accurate workforce data, support local payroll and benefits administration, and ensure full compliance with regional regulations (including GDPR). The ideal candidate brings strong operational discipline, hands‑on experience with modern HR platforms, and the adaptability required to navigate the nuanced employment landscapes of multiple EMEA countries.

Key Responsibilities

Case Management & Service Delivery

• Manage, prioritise, and resolve Tier 1 and Tier 2 HR cases and tickets within established Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and quality standards.
• Provide clear, prompt, and empathetic guidance to employees and managers on company policies, HR procedures, and statutory guidelines.
• Ensure disciplined case documentation, ticket categorisation, root‑cause tracking, and timely escalations to COEs or regional HR leaders where appropriate.

Employee Lifecycle Administration

• Execute end-to-end operational tasks across all employee lifecycle stages: onboarding, contract generation, probation tracking, internal transfers, leave management, and offboarding.
• Process employee master data changes, compensation updates, and status transitions within HRIS systems with high data integrity.
• Liaise directly with regional payroll teams and external vendors to address payroll queries, track attendance/overtime inputs, and facilitate monthly cut‑off reconciliations.
• Coordinate benefits enrollment, changes, and queries in collaboration with local benefits providers.

Compliance & Data Integrity

• Maintain strict adherence to local labour laws, internal audit controls, and international data privacy regulations, including GDPR.
• Conduct regular data audits within core HR systems to uphold data hygiene and reporting readiness.
• Manage statutory record‑keeping and archiving in alignment with country‑specific retention guidelines.
• Identify operational bottlenecks, recurring inquiries, or process gaps, and propose proactive solutions to streamline workflows.
• Create, update, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), process maps, and internal HR knowledge base articles.
• Collaborate on regional HR operations projects, system integrations, and process harmonisation initiatives across EMEA entities.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Professional Experience: 2–4+ years of hands‑on experience in HR Operations, HR Shared Services, Employee Services, or HR Administration.
• Regional Scope: Direct experience supporting multi‑country employee populations across the EMEA region.
• Service Center & Ticketing Experience: Proven track record working within an SLA‑driven case management environment (e.g., ServiceNow, Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, or Jira Service Management).
• HRIS Proficiency: Solid working knowledge of enterprise HRIS platforms, particularly Workday (or SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM).
• Compliance Knowledge: Sound working knowledge of statutory HR principles, basic employment regulations across key EMEA jurisdictions, and data protection requirements (GDPR).
• Core Competencies:
• Exceptional attention to detail and strong documentation discipline.
• Ability to manage high ticket volumes independently while balancing conflicting priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to distill complex policies into clear instructions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional proficiency in an additional European language (e.g., German, French, Dutch, or Spanish).
• Experience participating in HR process standardisation, system migrations, or knowledge‑base builds.
• Foundation knowledge of local statutory benefits and payroll mechanics across key European hubs (e.g., UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, or France).