Senior Executive - HR

WPP; Chennai District; Hybrid; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

WPP is seeking a Senior Executive – People Operations to drive daily HR operations, ensuring seamless onboarding, data integrity, and employee lifecycle management. This role handles transactions, acts as the first contact for queries, and supports the lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding.

Ideal candidates have 4–7 years in HR operations, experience with Workday, and a detail-oriented, proactive mindset.

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of hands-on experience in HR Operations / Shared Services.
• Experience in SSC/BPO/ITES multinational environments is advantageous.
• Bachelor’s degree in HR/Management; MBA in HR is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with Workday is highly preferred; strong data accuracy.
• Excellent communication and ability to handle highly confidential employee data.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-one onboarding for all new hires with a welcoming experience.
• Collect, verify, and archive joining documents; manage employee IDs and files.
• Track the background verification process with vendors and flag issues.
• Monitor probation timelines; coordinate evaluation forms and letters.
• Manage end-to-end exit process in Workday and coordinate clearances.

Skills

HR Operations

Workday

Employee Lifecycle

Data Integrity

Education

Bachelors in HR/Management

MBA in HR (added advantage)

Tools

Workday

Job description

Job Description:

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.

We work with the world's most valuable brands and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.

Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow.

For more information, visit WPP.com.

Why we're hiring:

The Senior Executive – People Operations will be the engine of our daily People operations, ensuring seamless execution of the employee lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding. This person will manage transactional People processes, maintain data integrity in our systems, act as the first point of contact for employee queries and support the employee lifecycle. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented, proactive, and customer-centric HR professional looking to grow their career in HR operations.

What you'll be doing:

Onboarding, BGV & Employee Lifecycle Management

• Coordinate and implement the day-one onboarding process for all new hires, ensuring a welcoming and professional experience.
• Collect, verify, and accurately archive physical and digital joining documents. Manage Employee ID creation and maintain digital / physical copy of employee files.
• Track the BGV process with the third-party vendor and follow up with candidates for missing documents. Highlight red flags to the respective Manager and to Asst Manager People Ops.
• Track probation timelines, coordinate evaluation forms with managers, and issue confirmation/extension letters in a timely manner.
• Manage end-to-end exit process within Workday, coordinating with departments such as IT, Finance, Administration, etc. for clearances and providing FNF inputs to payroll and issuing Experience and Relieving letters to the exiting employee.

Payroll Support & Benefits Administration

• Collate, organize, and prepare monthly payroll inputs (new joiners, exits, loss of pay, master data updates) for review by the Assistant Manager.
• Act as the first line of support for all employee queries.
• Assist employees with regards to Group Medical (GMC) and Group Term Life (GTL) insurance policies. Coordinate claim queries with the Vendor.

Database Management & Reporting

• Perform daily data entry and transactions in the HRIS (Workday), ensuring 100% accuracy of employee records, supervisor changes, and transfers.
• Maintain daily/weekly trackers and generate standard HR reports (attrition, headcount, joiners/exits) to support HR metrics and SLAs.
• Retrieve and organize employee files and documentation during internal and external audits.

General Operations

• Coordinate the exit clearance process, including documentation on clearance formalities.
• Ensure employee queries are resolved within established SLAs.
• Support the People Operations team in organizing org-level engagement initiatives and administrative tasks as needed.

What you'll need:

Skills And Competencies

• Experience: 4 to 7 years of hands-on experience in HR Operations / HR Shared Services.
• Industry Experience: Prior experience working within Shared Services (SSC), BPO, ITES, or multinational environments is a strong advantage.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in HR/Management stream (Post-Graduation/MBA in HR is an added advantage).
• Hands-on experience and operational knowledge of Workday is highly preferred.
• Strong eye for detail with a low tolerance for errors in data entry and documentation.
• Willingness to learn AI and find opportunities to improve delivery and / or accuracy with the use of AI
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to collaborate with stakeholders at all levels.
• Empathy and patience when dealing with employee queries and resolving issues.
• Ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment to meet daily and monthly deadlines.
• Absolute integrity and capability to handle highly sensitive and confidential employee data.

Who you are:

You're open:

We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic:

We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary:

we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

What we'll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.

Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.

Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?

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

WPP 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.

Please read our Privacy Notice (https://www.wpp.com/en/careers/wpp-privacy-policy-for-recruitment) for more information on how we process the information you provide.

Requirements: