People Operations Senior Associate

Company Description: Systemiq is the system change company, working to accelerate the transition to a net-zero, nature-positive and more inclusive economy. As a certified B Corp, we partner with business, finance, policymakers and civil society to transform five interconnected systems: energy, nature and food, materials and circularity, sustainable finance, and urban transformation.

We bring together strategy, policy, market design and capital mobilisation to deliver tangible results in the real economy. Founded in 2016, Systemiq has grown to a global team of more than 300 people across Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, the Netherlands, the UK and the US, united by a singular focus on sustainability.

 People Operations Senior Associate - Interim - London, UK

Open to FTC or contractor - 3-6 months interim support

Role Overview

Our People team plays a central role in helping Systemiq attract, support and develop exceptional people around the world.

We're looking for an experienced temporary People Operations Senior Associate to join our London office for approximately 3-6 months. This is a broad, hands-on international People Operations role supporting our UK and European operations, as well as Kenya. You will help ensure that our day-to-day People Operations continue to run effectively

We need someone who can hit the ground running: an experienced People Operations professional who understands the employee lifecycle, is confident working across multiple European jurisdictions and can independently manage day-to-day operational matters while recognising when something needs to be escalated.

The role covers employee lifecycle administration, contracts and employment documentation, payroll and benefits administration support, HRIS and data management, global mobility and immigration coordination, employee and manager queries, and People reporting. Priorities will flex depending on business needs, so you'll need to enjoy variety, be comfortable switching between priorities and take ownership for getting things done accurately and on time.

The role reports to the Head of People Operations & Reward.

Key Responsibilities

People Operations & Employee Lifecycle

• Take day-to-day operational ownership of employee lifecycle activities across the UK and Europe, with additional support for Kenya, including onboarding, probation, contractual changes, leave and absence, and offboarding.
• Prepare and coordinate employment contracts, amendments, extensions, changes to working hours, reference letters and other employment documentation.
• Coordinate onboarding for new hires, ensuring employees, managers and relevant internal stakeholders know what is required and that documentation, systems and processes are completed on time.
• Coordinate leaver processes, including documentation, system updates, payroll and benefits notifications and other offboarding requirements.
• Act as a first point of contact for day-to-day People Operations queries from employees and managers, resolving routine matters independently and escalating more complex employee relations or legal issues appropriately.
• Manage the day-to-day People Team ticketing system, including monitoring the queue, triaging and routing queries to the appropriate People team member, and helping ensure requests are progressed promptly.
• Take ownership of People Operations tickets, responding to and resolving queries within agreed service levels and response times, following up where needed and escalating more complex matters appropriately.
• Administer leave, absence and other employee lifecycle processes in line with local requirements and Systemiq policies.
• Maintain accurate and complete employee records and documentation.

Payroll, Benefits & Global Mobility Support

• Provide day-to-day administrative and coordination support to the Global Payroll & Benefits Manager.
• Prepare and collate employee changes and payroll information, ensuring inputs are accurate, complete and submitted within agreed timelines.

Help maintain payroll records, trackers and supporting documentation, and follow up on outstanding information with employees, managers and internal stakeholders.

Support the administration of employee benefits, including joiners, leavers and changes, and help respond to routine employee queries.

Liaise with payroll and benefits providers on routine administrative matters, escalating queries or issues to the Global Payroll & Benefits Manager where appropriate.

Support the coordination of international mobility, relocation and immigration administration, working with employees and external providers as required.

Help keep payroll, benefits and mobility processes organised, documented and running smoothly.

HR Systems, Data & Reporting

• Maintain accurate and timely employee data within our HR systems and ensure appropriate supporting documentation is retained.
• Carry out regular data checks and proactively resolve discrepancies or missing information.
• Produce routine People data and reports for internal stakeholders.
• Support the transition to our new HR system, including data validation, testing, process documentation and other implementation activities where required.
• Help ensure People processes and data remain controlled and accurate during the transition between systems.

People Processes & Continuous Improvement

• Support the operational coordination of performance, promotion and other People processes, ensuring actions and documentation are completed accurately and on time.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, standardise and improve People Operations processes.
• Document processes and contribute to the development of more efficient and scalable ways of working.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the People, Finance and Operations teams and with external payroll, benefits, immigration and legal providers.

Support other People projects and priorities where required.

Essential Experience

We are looking for someone with enough practical experience to operate with a high degree of independence from the outset. You will ideally have:

• Strong practical experience in People Operations, HR operations or HR administration within an international organisation.
• Hands-on experience supporting the employee lifecycle in the UK and multiple European countries.
• Practical experience of employment contracts and contractual changes, onboarding, absence, employee records and offboarding.
• Experience supporting payroll and/or benefits administration, including collating employee changes, maintaining accurate records and working to monthly deadlines.
• Strong HRIS experience, including maintaining employee data, carrying out data checks and producing reports.
• A good practical understanding of where employment practices and requirements differ between European countries, together with the judgement to recognise when local specialist advice is required.
• Experience responding directly to employee and manager queries and resolving routine operational issues independently.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.
• Strong written and spoken English.
• Confidence working independently while keeping relevant stakeholders informed.

Desirable Experience

• Direct People Operations experience in France, Germany and/or the Netherlands, in addition to the UK.
• Experience working across several European jurisdictions simultaneously.
• Experience in consulting, professional services or another fast-paced international organisation.
• Experience with Sage People, HiBob or similar HRIS platforms.
• Experience supporting an HRIS implementation, migration or significant HR data project.

Experience working with external payroll, benefits, immigration and employment-law providers.

Experience coordinating international mobility, immigration or employee relocations.

Additional European language skills, although these are not essential.

About You

You'll enjoy working in a collaborative, international environment where priorities can change and no two weeks look exactly the same.

You'll be someone who:

• takes ownership and gets things done without needing close supervision;
• is organised and prioritises effectively;
• works collaboratively with their team and the wider business;
• Is transparent about timelines and delivering reliably and will know when to escalate accordingly;
• combines strong attention to detail with an understanding of the wider employee and business impact;
• is comfortable making sensible operational decisions within your area of expertise;
• knows when to resolve something yourself and when an issue needs to be escalated;
• communicates confidently and warmly with employees and managers at all levels;
• can manage several countries, processes and deadlines at the same time;
• enjoys solving problems rather than simply administering processes;
• is comfortable working with HR systems and data;
• adapts quickly to new systems, processes and ways of working; and
• looks for opportunities to make People Operations simpler, more efficient and more reliable.

What We Offer

Joining Systemiq means becoming part of a global, mission-driven organisation working to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy.

This interim role offers the opportunity to work across a genuinely international People Operations environment at an important point of transformation for the team. You'll work closely with colleagues across our international offices and play an important role in keeping our People Operations running effectively while we introduce new systems and ways of working.

Diversity & Inclusion
At Systemiq, we absolutely believe diverse perspectives are essential to driving system change. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where people feel respected, supported and able to do their best work.

Click here to view our Data Policy.