Head of Human Resources Operations

Instant Impact; Województwo mazowieckie; Hybrid; PLN 260,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual discretionary bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Company pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Flexible working from day one

Enhanced family leave & carers leave

Annual sports allowance €200

Job summary

Instant Impact, partnering with a leading professional services firm, seeks a Head of HR Operations GBS to oversee global HR admin and business support services for lawyers and business teams. You will lead operational excellence, service delivery, and stakeholder engagement across geographies, aligning with GBS and HR leadership.

You will drive process improvement, digitalisation (OneHR/Oracle), governance, and workforce planning, while building a high-performing team and embedding a

Qualifications

• Significant experience in managing operations within shared services, business services, or professional services.
• Proven leadership in large operational teams.
• Strong knowledge of shared services principles, service management, and best practices.
• Experience establishing and monitoring KPIs, SLAs, and performance frameworks.
• Lean Six Sigma or continuous improvement qualifications preferred.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Experience in international, matrix-managed organisations.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication.

Responsibilities

• Set and communicate the vision, strategy and operating model for GBS HR Operations.
• Lead process standardisation, improvement and transformation initiatives.
• Oversee day-to-day GBS HR Operations across all functions and geographies.
• Monitor SLAs, KPIs and quality, and design a QA model.
• Manage escalations with payroll partners and outsourcing providers.
• Build and develop a high-performing HR Operations team and governance cadence.
• Foster a client-focused culture and provide pastoral support to Warsaw-based team.

Skills

Operations leadership

Shared services

KPIs & SLAs

Stakeholder management

English proficiency

Tools

OneHR (Oracle)

Job description

Instant Impact is working in partnership with a leading professional services firm to support their ambitious plans for growth, transformation and operational excellence.

Role Overview

The Head of HR Operations GBS is responsible for overseeing the delivery of high-quality administrative and business support HR services to lawyers and business operations teams globally. The role is accountable for operational excellence, service delivery, people leadership, continuous improvement, and stakeholder management. The successful candidate will work closely with GBS leadership, HR leadership, HR process excellence teams, and IT to drive performance, efficiency, and service quality, while ensuring that GBS is positioned as a trusted strategic partner to the firm’s global business.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Change

• Set and communicate the vision, strategy and operating model for GBS HR Operations, aligned with the firm’s strategic agenda.
• Act as a change leader, introducing new HR technologies and service models and identifying opportunities to expand the services delivered through the centralised model.
• Build the reputation and profile of the HR GBS team, representing it at the core management forums of both GBS and HR.

Service Delivery and Operational Excellence

• Oversee the day-to-day running of GBS HR Operations across all administrative functions and geographies, allocating resources to meet changing business demands.
• Set, monitor and report on SLAs, KPIs and quality metrics, including designing and implementing a quality assurance model.
• Manage escalations and resolve complex operational issues, working closely with internal payroll teams and external outsourcing partners.
• Build, lead and develop a high-performing team of team leaders and administrative professionals, owning workforce planning, recruitment, performance management and succession planning.
• Foster a client-focused culture of accountability, inclusiveness, engagement and continuous learning.
• Provide pastoral care to Warsaw-based HR team members who report to line managers in other countries.

Continuous Improvement and Transformation

• Lead process standardisation, improvement and transformation initiatives, embedding best practice from across the business services industry.
• Drive the digitalisation and automation of HR services, partnering with the HR Systems Manager to maximise the OneHR (Oracle) experience.
• Support the transition of new administrative services into GBS.

Governance, Finance and Stakeholder Management

• Ensure compliance with firm policies, regulatory requirements, confidentiality obligations and information security standards, maintaining robust controls and up-to-date process documentation.
• Manage resource plans, contribute to budgeting, monitor operational costs and report on performance to senior leadership.
• Build strong relationships with partners, lawyers and business leaders across jurisdictions, leading regular governance meetings and service reviews.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Significant experience in managing operations within a shared services, business services, professional services, or legal environment.
• Proven leadership experience in managing large operational teams.
• Strong knowledge of shared services principles, service management, and operational best practices.
• Experience in establishing and monitoring KPIs, SLAs, and performance management frameworks.
• Demonstrated success in leading process improvement and transformation initiatives.
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience of working in a complex, international, matrix-managed organisation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Preferred

• Experience working within a law firm or professional services organisation.
• Familiarity with legal support functions and legal operations.
• Lean Six Sigma or other relevant continuous improvement qualifications.
• Experience in implementing workflow, automation, or service management technologies.
• Additional European language skills would be an advantage.

This role requires the candidate to work from Warsaw office at least 3 days a week.

• Annual discretionary bonus scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Life assurance
• Company pension scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Flexible working available from day one
• Enhanced family leave policies, plus up to 5 days’ carers leave
• Annual sports allowance of €200

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