Specialist, People Operations - EMEA

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Corporate Functions team is the “enablement engine” of South Pole. Behind the scenes, we provide the business with world-class solutions and best practices that sustain business growth and success. We cover key areas such as Finance, HR, Office Management, Legal, IT, Operations, etc. If you are a smart, ambitious and dynamic professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!

Job summary:

As a People Operations Specialist, you will be involved in supporting South Pole employees within your region, by partnering with the wider People, Culture and Performance team, in executing all global People operations processes, covering the full employee life-cycle, while ensuring compliance with employment laws, regulations, and company policies.

The focus of the role is administrative, but in a fast-paced scale up environment, meaning the role will be challenging and ever-changing, as we continue to embed new practices and ways of working within our function - it will be key for you to continually elevate the standard in your day-to-day work.

This role will be an initial 6 month FTC, which may be extended, depending on project requirements and performance evaluations.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

Manage end to end employee lifecycle events, from onboarding to offboarding:
1. Onboarding and Offboarding:
● Contribute towards the onboarding process for new hires, ensuring a smooth transition into the company
● Manage documentation for new hires, including employment contracts and other
onboarding documents
● Support offboarding procedures, processing necessary documentation and supplying local authorities with required information
2. Payroll Coordination:
● Prepare payroll on a monthly basis in collaboration with internal and external payroll
providers, ensuring high data accuracy at all times
● Process one time payments upon request
3. Global Mobility Coordination:
● Proactively manage global mobility requirements, such as work permits or visa
applications, maintaining and monitoring records of all employees
4. Benefits Coordination
● Oversee the implementation and ongoing management of benefits within the region and make recommendations for enhancements in line with local standards to your Regional People Operations Manager or Lead
5. Leave of absence
● Manage leave of absence requests in line with local legislation and South Pole practises
6. Ticket Resolution:
● Serve as a point of contact for basic employee inquiries and provide information on HR policies and procedures when self service cannot satisfy employee needs, swiftly and in line with SLA’s
● Escalate complex issues to senior people operations colleagues as needed
● Foster positive employee relations by addressing concerns and maintaining a supportive work environment
7. Policy, Knowledge & Process Updates:
● Maintain compliance requirements in line with local labour laws and regulations
● Prepare and organise HR-related documentation for senior colleagues within PC&P
● Stay informed about changes in labour laws and update HR policies and the team
accordingly
● Ensure all the activities are compliant and in line with employment laws and regulations, escalating to Senior People Operations colleagues pro-actively where complex issue-resolution is required
● Maintain and update our People policies and processes and associated knowledge
documents

Requirements:

Prior internships and/or entry-level experience in HR or People Operations

Able to demonstrate prior experience of executing all employee lifecycle processes

Strong knowledge of regional/country specific compliance and employment law, regulations and HR policies and procedures

Previous experience maintaining a HR information system and/or working with a service delivery model preferably across different industries and regions would be an advantage

Exceptional attention to detail, organisational skills with the ability to prioritise activities

Evidence of a swift, responsive and thorough approach

Highly results-focused; strong drive, initiative, and sense of urgency

Experience in a global matrix company would be an advantage

Note: We recognise imposter syndrome is real - any candidate that does not perfectly fit every characteristic of this role is still strongly encouraged to apply.

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation. 

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make and South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.