People Operations Manager

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

Supporting the Head of Germany, the People Operations Manager is responsible for delivering high-quality and experienced office operational support to Partners and Lawyers throughout our German region. This position plays a crucial role in shaping the operational and efficiency strategy of our expanding business, with significant responsibility for overseeing the Legal PA and Office Administration teams to ensure exceptional client service. The role also involves providing support for local HR operational administration and related activities. Additionally, the People Operations Manager acts as a key liaison between Group AG and Germany on Administrative, PA, and HR operational matters, including but not limited to the following:

DUTIES: 
Given the breadth of the role, the general duties have been categorised for ease of reference:

LEGAL PA & OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT
● Day to day line management of the Legal PA team, identifies the appropriate level of support, ensuring the needs of the offices are met. This includes establishing best practice and conducing performance management and recruitment / selection as appropriate
● Day to day line management of the Office Co-Ordinator & Reception / Administration teams
● Develops strong relationships with the Head of Region and Partner groups consulting on elements relating to the operation of the Legal PA teams in Germany
● Regular engagement with the EMEA Senior Secretarial Manager, who will offer best-practice guidance, support, and assistance on alignment with firm-wide standards / processes in a supporting line management capacity
● Holiday / absence, working hour, overtime approvals for Legal PAs & Administrative team
● Sickness absence reporting, to include receiving absence calls, notifying team, confirming cover, escalating any concerns / SSSM 
● Organisation of day to day or emergency PA cover / unplanned absence, where required 
● Allocation of PA to all new starters 
● Arranging Group PA meetings
● Supporting new and existing PAs with system updates / training and identifying process improvements / efficiencies where appropriate 
● Induction planning for new starter PAs
● Management of performance review process, including providing PA performance feedback and contributing to objective-setting for the check-in process 
● Responsible for travel supplier liaison and management.
● Supports and liaises with the Premises & Office Services Director in other projects as required, such as office moves or refurbishments
 
PEOPLE / HR ADMINISTRATION 
● Supporting on the drafting of employment references (with appropriate input from Employment/ Partners as required)
● Scanning confidential documents in relation to pension/ insurance/ payroll over to Group HR / Group Payroll, including but not limited to Exemption notices, documents for the Versorgungswerk and other documents of this nature. 
● Management of the SEPA Forms, liaising with both employees, teams and external bodies as appropriate.
● Monitoring the external Statutory Health Insurance system to ensure that all sickness dates are recorded correctly and reported to Group payroll. 
● Populating employment contract templates (for employees/ trainees) which require wet signature in country.
● Working alongside the Group Resourcing team, providing support to the HR Manager in the provision of timely, cost effective and efficient resource management.
● Proactively identify opportunities to improve HR processes and practices to support the achievement of business goals.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED 

Our ideal candidate will have proven success in a business management role with a focus on improving cross departmental collaboration.

Skills required include:
● Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to motivate others and facilitate effective team-working 
● Hands on experience of successfully leading and managing teams, whilst challenging performance is essential
● Highly organised with a willingness to work flexibly to meet the requirements of the role
● Deep understanding of front and back-office operations and how these two intertwine
● Experience of working with and influencing senior leadership stakeholders
● A responsive, proactive and service-orientated approach 
● Experience of delivering successful projects, ensuring engagement throughout desirable 
● Dynamic problem-solving abilities; finding creative, commercial and pragmatic solutions, where required
● Tenacity, resilience and patience when dealing with difficult and challenging issues.
● Experience gained in a comparable Corporate environment would be preferred
● Ability to deal with highly sensitive and confidential information High quality communication skills, including high level of written and spoken, in both German and English