Senior People Services Hub Operations Manager Press Tab to Move to Skip to Content Link

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About the Role

You will be responsible for the oversight and effective delivery of operational HR services across the employee lifecycle — from recruitment administration through to retirement and exit. Reporting to the Director of the People Services Hub, the Senior People Services Hub Operations Manager plays a pivotal role within the Leadership Team.

Leading a team of experienced managers across Recruitment Operations, Tier 1 Advisory, and Tier 2 Advisory, the role will ensure high-quality, efficient, and consistent service delivery that meets both University and People Services priorities and supports an excellent employee and manager experience.

This is a senior operational role requiring a dynamic and experienced leader who can drive performance, lead through change, and embed a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration. Working closely with colleagues across People Services, Digital Services, and the wider University to ensure that the People Services Hub remains responsive, compliant, and aligned to evolving organisational needs.

Key Responsibilities

The main themes are:

Leadership & Strategic Delivery

• Lead HR operations across recruitment and advisory teams.
• Translate university goals into actionable HR plans.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for operational issues.
• Foster a culture of accountability, performance, and customer focus.

Service Transformation & Change

• Drive service redesign and transformation initiatives.
• Enhance HR systems (e.g., SAP SuccessFactors, AI tools).
• Promote innovation using feedback and industry benchmarks.

Governance, Compliance & Risk

• Ensure compliance with employment law, GDPR, and internal controls.
• Maintain data integrity and manage operational risks.

Performance Management & Insight

• Develop KPIs and metrics to track HR service performance.
• Use stakeholder feedback to improve service delivery and user experience.

People & Stakeholder Management

• Lead and develop Operations Managers and their teams.
• Build collaborative relationships across university departments.

External Provider Oversight

• Manage outsourced services (e.g., Occupational Health, EAP).
• Ensure service quality and alignment with staff wellbeing needs.

Please see the full Job Description here: Job Description for a complete list of key responsibilities.

Skills and Experience

You will bring extensive experience in leading large-scale People Operations or HR Shared Services functions, with a proven track record of delivering high-quality, efficient, and user-focused services across the employee lifecycle.

They will be a credible and inspirational operational leader, skilled at building engaged, high-performing teams and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and service excellence. With strong experience in driving change and operational transformation, you will bring the confidence and capability to lead teams through complexity, whilst maintaining service continuity and quality.

A highly effective communicator and collaborator, you will demonstrate the ability to build strong, trusted relationships across functions, levels and disciplines. Comfortable operating at pace, managing competing priorities, and influencing stakeholders to align around shared goals.

Combining a people-first mindset with a strong grasp of systems, data and governance, and be confident in using insight to drive performance, innovation, and compliance within a complex organisational context.

Demonstrates behaviours aligned with the OU's values: Inclusive, Innovative and Responsive.

Desirable

Experience in Higher Education or public sector environment

Essential Requirements

Flexible working:We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Work location:It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be approximately twice per month in line with team on site presence.

How to apply: To apply for this role please submit your CV clearly outlining how you meet the skills and experience required for the role.

Early closing date:We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications.

Contact us

If you have any queries or questions about the recruitment process, or regarding your application,please contact:Careers@open.ac.uk .

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The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength.We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.

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