Head of HR Operations
Lead and continuously improve the firm's HR operational infrastructure, governance and service delivery, ensuring consistent, compliant and scalable people operations globally.
Team
The Kennedys HR team is over 85 strong, based across the five regions – APAC, EMEA, US, LATAM and UK – and supports the firm worldwide with all people‑related matters.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the delivery of high‑quality, consistent HR operational services across the employee lifecycle, creating effective experiences for employees and managers.
* Set and uphold clear service standards, monitoring performance through SLAs, issue resolution metrics and feedback loops, and driving continuous improvement.
* Ensure consistency, compliance and strong operational governance across core HR processes (onboarding, data changes, off‑boarding and contractual documentation), reviewing and improving end‑to‑end processes.
* Regularly review operational risks, controls and policy application to ensure processes are robust and compliant with regulatory and audit requirements, leading and delivering reviews and improvements as required.
* Ensure the HR operational model scales with firm growth and organisational change, translating strategic requirements into practical, deliverable operational solutions.
* Drive process excellence and innovation, including standardisation, automation and the reduction of manual activity where appropriate.
* Own the HR reporting and analytics framework, ensuring data quality, integrity and consistency across regions.
* Use people data and insight to support decision‑making, identify trends and risks, and anticipate firm and employee needs, providing regular, actionable reporting to leadership.
* Lead the development and maintenance of HR knowledge bases, workflows, process guides and toolkits to enable effective manager and employee self‑service, ensuring materials are practical, current and actively used.
* Ensure operational processes are clearly documented, understood and embedded across the firm, with accountability for adoption, not just design.
* Partner closely with Regional HR Directors to support front‑line HR delivery and embed operational excellence, remaining actively involved in resolving operational challenges where escalation is required.
* Act as a key partner to IT, Finance and other Business Services teams to ensure HR operations are aligned to wider firm infrastructure and controls.
Key Skills & Experience
* Leadership experience in HR Operations / People Infrastructure within a global, multi‑region organisation.
* Demonstrated ability to operate at both strategic and hands‑on levels, leading delivery while retaining accountability for outcomes.
* Deep expertise in HR operational models, governance, data and service delivery.
* Strong understanding of HR systems and digital enablement.
* Proven track record of building scalable, efficient operating models and driving continuous improvement.
* High commercial acumen with the ability to balance service quality, risk, costs with employee engagement.
* Confident leader with the credibility to partner across HR, IT, Finance and Risk.
Metrics to Measure Success
* Service performance and stakeholder satisfaction.
* Quality, consistency and compliance of HR operations.
* Data accuracy and effectiveness of people insight.
* Reduced manual processing and improved scalability.
* Successful embedding of new systems into HR operations.
* Scalable delivery aligned to headcount and cost targets.
Key Relationships
* Global HR Leadership Team and Regional HR Directors.
* IT, Finance, Risk & Compliance.
* Business Services leadership.
Kennedys is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. We expect all employees to comply with relevant policies and procedures within their jurisdiction, including Information Security, Data Protection and Quality Management, and to complete all mandatory training when requested.
#J-18808-Ljbffr