People Operations Manager

Lanes Group is a leading nationwide utility services provider with over 4,500 dedicated employees. Our diverse subsidiaries drive our success across various sectors, contributing to a remarkable turnover of over £500 million. We are committed to excellence and innovation, ensuring we provide industry leading services to our clients and stakeholders.

Purpose of the role:

The People Operations Manager leads the delivery of high-quality, compliant, and customer-focused people operations across the organisation. The role is accountable for the effective running of People Operations our HR shared services, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and a positive employee experience throughout the employee lifecycle. 

 

Operating across multiple sites, the People Operations Manager leads the People Operations team, acts as the primary escalation point for complex operational people matters, serving as a subject matter expert (SME) and escalation point for People Advisors, offering expert guidance on first-line management queries and supporting the effective resolution of low-level employee relations cases.

 

Working closely with the People Business Partners, Employee Relations, Centres of Excellence, and People Data & Governance teams, the role balances operational efficiency, risk management, and employee advocacy while ensuring people processes enable business performance at scale. 

Key responsibilities:

People Operations & Service Delivery 

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of People Operations / HR Shared Services, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, consistency, and legal compliance.  

• Oversee core people processes including recruitment administration, onboarding, employee lifecycle changes, leavers, records management, and benefits administration, ensuring alignment with UK employment law and internal policy.  

• Ensure a consistent employee and manager experience across all People Operations touchpoints while managing risk appropriately.  
• Act as the operational and employment law escalation point for People Advisors and People Operations Coordinators on complex queries, cases, issues, or exceptions to process. 

Operational Leadership & Team Management  

• Lead, motivate, and develop a high-performing People Operations team, creating a positive and service-led culture.  

• Build employment law capability, best practice and confidence within the team through coaching, quality assurance, and knowledge sharing.  

• Set clear objectives, monitor performance, and provide regular feedback, coaching, and development support.  

• Ensure team capability, capacity, and skill levels align with business demands, service expectations, and compliance requirements.  

• Foster accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the team. 
  

Process Excellence, Governance & Continuous Improvement 

• Ensure people operations processes are compliant with UK employment law, GDPR, and internal policy. 

• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, quality, and employee experience through standardisation and continuous improvement. 

• Develop, maintain, and embed clear procedures, service standards, and knowledge resources. 

• Work with HR systems owners and providers to optimise HR technology and data quality. 
  

People Data, Metrics & Insight 

• Monitor People Operations performance using KPIs, SLAs, and service metrics.  

• Analyse trends, volumes, risks, and bottlenecks to inform resourcing and improvement activity. 

• Provide regular reporting and operational insight to the People & Culture leadership team. 

• Act as a subject-matter expert for people operations data and process insight. 
  

Collaboration with HR & the Business 

• Work closely with HR Business Partners to ensure seamless end-to-end delivery of people support aligned to business needs. 

• Work closely with People Data, Governance & Project teams to ensure people operations activity is supported by accurate data, robust governance, and effective delivery of people-related projects and change initiatives. 

• Partner with ER to support complex or sensitive cases through accurate, compliant process execution. 

• Collaborate with Centres of Excellence, Payroll, L&D, and Recruitment to ensure joined-up people services. 
• Support people-related change activity (e.g. restructures, mobilisations, TUPE, M&A) from an operational readiness and delivery perspective. 

Employee Experience, Risk & Advocacy 

• Ensure fair, consistent, and transparent application of people policies and procedures. 

• Maintain high standards of confidentiality, ethical practice, and data security. 

• Balance operational efficiency with employee advocacy and experience. 
• Proactively identify and mitigate operational people risks, escalating where appropriate. 

Required Skills & Competencies 

• Proven People Operations / HR Shared Services leadership experience. 

• Strong operational, organisational, and service delivery capability. 

• In-depth knowledge of UK employment law and HR operational processes. 

• Experience leading teams in a high-volume, complex environment. 

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data to drive improvement. 

• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills. 

Required:

• Significant experience in a People Operations, HR Operations, or HR Shared Services management role. 
• Experience working within a complex, multi-site organisation. 
• Proven ability to balance compliance, efficiency, and employee experience. 
• Experience supporting workforce change activity from an operational perspective. 
• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business, or related field; CIPD Level 5 qualification preferred. 

Living the Company Values:

By embedding our companies core values and purpose into each role, ensures that every employee, regardless of their role or level, understands how their individual development and contributions align with our purpose of ‘improving today for a better tomorrow’.

 

Each role and value has an alignment to set proficiency levels and expectations, this role holder is expected to:

• Leading:  Acts as a role model, shaping the learning agenda and influencing change.
• Agile:  Anticipates learning needs, adjusts quickly to changing operational contexts.

• Nurturing: Supports the development of others through coaching and structured development plans.
• Engaging: Inspires and motivates learners, builds trust and credibility
• Safe & Secure: Ensures all learning is aligned to safety and compliance standards.

Your Contribution to the company:

• Strive to be always positive and constructive
• Adhere to all company policies
• Straight talking about the facts of the situation – open discussions are the best way to find solutions
• Help others through communicating clearly
• Deliver on commitments
• Ensure that any ideas that may enhance the productivity or systems of the company are brought to the attention of Senior Management, or your colleagues
• Deliver our Company Values understanding that by working together in unity we are ‘Stronger Together’

 

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion:

At Lanes Group, we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered. We believe that our differences make us stronger and are committed to providing equal opportunities for all employees. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups. Join us in our commitment to creating a more inclusive and diverse world.