Head of People Operations

260 Circles Life Asia Technology Pte. Ltd; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Circles is seeking a Head of People Operations to evolve our People Experience engine into an ultra-scalable, automated operating model. Reporting to the CPO, you will fuse rigorous operations with a frictionless journey for candidates, employees and line managers.

You will establish data governance with People Tools & Analytics, drive AI-powered workflows, and oversee payroll, mobility, visas, travel, workplace and vendor governance, ensuring global compliance across APAC and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Lifecycle Governance & Scalable Service Delivery: End-to-End Experience Engineering for pre-onboarding, mobility, total rewards, and offboarding.
• Automation, AI & Process Modernization: Embed AI into daily workflows; paperless ops and dynamic document assembly.
• Payroll & Rewards Operations: Lead payroll inputs, change reconciliations, and vendor oversight in tandem with Finance.
• TA-to-Ops Hand-off: Collaborate with Talent Acquisition for clean candidate transitions and analytics hygiene.
• Workplace, Travel & Vendor Governance: Global travel policy, hybrid workplace operations, cross-border partnerships.
• Audit, Compliance & Governance: Enforce compliance with SOPs and regional policies.

Job description

About the Company

Founded in 2014, Circles is a global technology company reimagining the telco industry with its innovative SaaS platform, empowering telco operators worldwide to effortlessly launch innovative digital brands or refresh existing ones, accelerating their transformation into techcos. Today, Circles partners with leading telco operators across multiple countries and continents, including KDDI Corporation, Etisalat Group (e&), AT&T, and Telkomsel, creating blueprints for future telco and digital experiences enjoyed by millions of consumers globally. Besides its SaaS business, Circles operates three other distinct businesses: Circles.Life: A wholly-owned digital lifestyle telco brand based in Singapore, Circles.Life is powered by Circles' SaaS platform and pioneering go-to-market strategies. It is the digital market leader in Singapore and has won numerous awards for marketing, customer service, and innovative product offerings beyond connectivity. Circles Aspire: A global provider of Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) solutions. Its cloud-based Experience Cloud platform enables enterprises, service providers and developers to deliver and scale mobile, messaging, IoT, and connectivity services worldwide. Jetpac: Specializing in travel tech solutions, Jetpac provides seamless eSIM roaming for over 200 destinations and innovative travel lifestyle products, redefining connectivity for digital travelers. Jetpac was awarded Travel eSIM of the Year. Circles is backed by renowned global investors, including Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia), Warburg Pincus, Founders Fund, and EDBI (the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board), with a track record of backing industry challengers.

About the Role

We have reached an exciting inflection point in our journey. Having successfully built strong foundational building blocks, we are scaling rapidly across global markets. We are looking for an operational powerhouse and strategic architect as our Head of People Operations to evolve our current setup into an ultra-scalable, automated, and hyper-efficient operating model. Reporting directly to the CPO, this is far more than traditional HR operations. You will engineer a modernized People Experience engine that marries strict operational rigor with a frictionless journey for candidates, employees, and line managers. With closely with our People Tools & Analytics function, you will establish bulletproof data governance at the entry point so they can deliver predictive workforce insights, while you leverage AI and advanced automation to power daily workflows and employee support.

Key Responsibilities

• Lifecycle Governance & Scalable Service Delivery
  End-to-End Experience Engineering: Architect and optimize every critical employee milestone - pre-onboarding and mobility to role transitions, total rewards changes, and offboarding.
  Tiered Support & SLAs: Establish a tiered People Services model (Tier 0 self-service to Tier 2 specialist escalation) with crisp SLA tracking to handle first-line employee and manager requests seamlessly.
  Data Discipline for Analytics (Key Stakeholder Partnership): Serve as a key customer and input owner for the People Tools & Analytics team. Ensure total data integrity, prompt input capture, and system accuracy at the operational level so the Tools & Analytics team has clean, trustworthy data pipelines to build strategic dashboards and insights.
• Automation, AI & Process Modernization
  Workflow Automation & AI Integration: Systematically eliminate manual overhead by embedding AI tools into daily workflows—including AI-powered employee support, dynamic document assembly, and smart routing.
  Tech Stack Execution: Utilize and optimize our core technology ecosystem (Workday, DocuSign, TruTrip), working alongside the People Tools & Analytics team (who manage core system architecture/tooling strategy) to execute smooth, paperless operational workflows.
• Operational & Rewards Precision
  Flawless Payroll & Rewards Operations: Lead accurate payroll inputs, change reconciliations, and external vendor oversight in tight synchronization with Finance.
  Talent & Rewards Execution: Oversee operational delivery for promotions, compensation cycles, equity administration, and mobility/visa requests. Partner closely with our Total Rewards CoE on the implementation of compensation and benefits programs and changes.
  TA-to-Ops Hand-off: Partner with Talent Acquisition to establish clean candidate transitions and recruitment analytics hygiene.
• Workplace, Travel & Vendor Governance
  Global Travel Operations: Own global travel administration and policy governance utilizing TruTrip, balancing policy compliance, safety, and traveler convenience.
  Workplace Operations: Direct physical and hybrid workplace operations to create safe, collaborative, and highly efficient environments.
  Vendor Operations: Manage cross-border partners across EOR services, benefits, mobility, and facilities to optimize cost and performance.
• Audit, Compliance & GovernanceGlobal Controls: Enforce rigorous statutory compliance, labor policy controls, and audit readiness across all active regions (APAC and globally).
  Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Draft, standardize, and maintain centralized, clear policy and process documentation.

Circles is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, disability or age.

Data Protection and Privacy Statement

By submitting an application for this position, you, as the applicant, or your authorised representative(s), consent to Circles' Candidate Data Protection and Privacy Policy. You also agree to the collection, use, and/or disclosure of your personal data by us solely for recruitment purposes as specified in the Policy. You acknowledge that you have read and understood the Policy, are aware of your rights regarding your personal data, and accept the terms relating to international data transfers, where applicable. You further understand that you may withdraw consent at any time, which may affect our ability to consider your application. In instances where your personal data or application is submitted by a third party, it is understood that such third party has been duly authorised by you to disclose the relevant personal data and provide consent on your behalf, and that you have been made aware of this Policy. To all recruitment agencies: Circles will only acknowledge resumes shared by recruitment agencies if selected in our preferred supplier partnership program. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Circles, employees or any other company location. Circles will not be held accountable for any fees related to unsolicited resumes not uploaded via our ATS.

Company Overview

Founded in 2014, Circles is a global technology company reimagining the telco industry with its innovative SaaS platform, empowering telco operators worldwide to effortlessly launch innovative digital brands or refresh existing ones, accelerating their transformation into techcos. Today, Circles partners with leading telco operators across multiple countries and continents, including KDDI Corporation, Etisalat Group (e&), AT&T, and Telkomsel, creating blueprints for future telco and digital experiences enjoyed by millions of consumers globally. Besides its SaaS business, Circles operates three other distinct businesses: Circles.Life: A wholly-owned digital lifestyle telco brand based in Singapore, Circles.Life is powered by Circles' SaaS platform and pioneering go-to-market strategies. It is the digital market leader in Singapore and has won numerous awards for marketing, customer service, and innovative product offerings beyond connectivity. Circles Aspire: A global provider of Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) solutions. Its cloud-based Experience Cloud platform enables enterprises, service providers and developers to deliver and scale mobile, messaging, IoT, and connectivity services worldwide. Jetpac: Specializing in travel tech solutions, Jetpac provides seamless eSIM roaming for over 200 destinations and innovative travel lifestyle products, redefining connectivity for digital travelers. Jetpac was awarded Travel eSIM of the Year. Circles is backed by renowned global investors, including Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia), Warburg Pincus, Founders Fund, and EDBI (the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board), with a track record of backing industry challengers.