Our Client

Our client, a global design and technology agency in London, is looking for a temp-to-perm Talent Operations Lead.

This person will serve as the regional Human Resources and People Operations subject matter expert for the United Kingdom and Canada, ensuring a seamless, compliant and employee-focused experience across the full employee lifecycle. This role will own and drive core talent operations processes including onboarding, payroll coordination, benefits administration, leave management and compliant offboarding, while partnering closely with leaders, employees, vendors and external advisers. The Talent Operations Lead will also provide employee relations support, including grievance handling, investigations, redundancy programmes and guidance on complex employment matters. As the regional expert, this individual will leverage deep knowledge of UK and Canadian employment law, HR systems, compliance requirements, compensation and benefits programmes, workforce data and financial processes to ensure operational excellence, mitigate risk and support organisational growth. Expertise in payroll, HRIS, employee lifecycle management, leave administration, benefits, compliance and cross-functional partnership is essential for success in this role.

Hourly Rate:

£24-26/hour

Location:

Shoreditch, London (2-3 days/week onsite)

Duration:

Temp-to-perm

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the primary People Operations and HR subject matter expert for employees and managers across the UK and Canada.
• Manage end-to-end employee lifecycle processes, including onboarding, role changes, promotions, transfers, leave administration and offboarding.
• Coordinate payroll activities with internal stakeholders and external payroll providers to ensure accurate and timely payroll processing.
• Administer and support employee benefits programmes, ensuring compliance with local legislation and vendor requirements.
• Oversee leave of absence processes, including statutory and company-sponsored leave programmes, ensuring compliance with applicable employment legislation.
• Ensure all employment practices, documentation, policies and procedures comply with UK and Canadian employment laws and regulatory requirements.
• Lead compliant offboarding activities, including resignations, dismissals, redundancy programmes, exit documentation and final pay coordination.
• Provide employee relations support by managing grievances, investigations, disciplinary matters, performance-related processes and workplace concerns in partnership with leadership and legal counsel where appropriate.
• Support organisational change initiatives, including restructures and redundancy processes, while ensuring legal compliance and a positive employee experience.
• Maintain and optimise HRIS data integrity, employee records, workflows and reporting capabilities.
• Develop, document and continuously improve People Operations policies, processes and standard operating procedures.
• Partner with Finance to support headcount planning, payroll reconciliations, benefits invoicing, budgeting and other people-related financial processes.
• Analyse workforce data and metrics to identify trends, provide insights and support business decision-making.
• Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers, including payroll, benefits and immigration partners.
• Support internal audits, compliance reviews and statutory reporting requirements.
• Coach and advise managers on employee relations matters, HR policies and employment law best practices.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal and business leaders to deliver a consistent and scalable employee experience across both regions.