Job Description

People Operations Manager

Application Deadline: 20 November 2026

Department: Central HR Advisory

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Head Office

Reporting To: Kate Burns

Compensation: £44,000 - £50,000 / year

Description

Are you looking to join a successful and growing organisation who are committed to creating a great safe place to work where all employees have the opportunity to contribute, grow and develop? Portakabin are looking for a People Operations Manager to join our HR team based at our Head office in York.

As an experienced People Operations Manager you will provide leadership, coaching and development for the UK HR Advisory Team, ensuring efficient, compliant and effective employee relations advice is delivered.

Role Details:

• Annual salary up to £50,000 dependent on skills and experience, plus potential annual-on-target bonus of up to 10% subject to business performance
• Role based: York, YO32 9PT
• Contract type: Permanent
• Annual leave of 25 days per annum plus bank holidays and opportunity to buy an additional 5 days each year.

In this role, as People Operations Manager you will be required to

• Lead, coach and develop the HR Advisory Team, ensuring consistent, efficient and high-quality advice is provided.
• Triage employee relations cases, allocating appropriately and ensuring timely resolution.
• Provide expert advice and support on complex or high-risk ER cases, ensuring risks are well understood and managed.
• Guide the team in the application of people policies and practices, ensuring they are applied fairly and consistently.
• Support in reviewing and updating employment policies and supporting documents to reflect changes in legislation and best practice.
• Communicate policy changes and provide training where appropriate to ensure stakeholders are fully informed.
• Support in design and delivery of workshops aligned with the Career Framework to increase line manager capability in handling ER issues.
• Monitor ER case trends, analyse data and provide insights and recommendations to stakeholders to drive improvements.
• Liaise with external legal partners where required, ensuring advice and documentation supports effective case resolution.
• Act as point of escalation for complex cases and escalate risk in line with internal HR governance.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and confidence in ER advice.
• Ensure adherence to company policies and employment law, reducing legal risk and supporting a positive employee experience.

Benefits & Opportunities as People Operations Manager

• Contributory pension including life insurance benefit
• A range of dedicated health and wellbeing services
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Employee Benefits Program (Discounts at 100s of shops, gyms, restaurants and even holidays!)
• Opportunity for career progression
• A chance to give back to your community with an annual volunteering day

Our Ideal Candidate as People Operations Manager

• CIPD qualified (ideally Level 7 or equivalent experience).
• Experience of managing, leading and developing HR teams.
• Proven experience of managing complex employee relation cases.
• Good knowledge of UK employment law.
• Proven ability to analyse risks, exercise sound judgement and provide trusted advice to senior stakeholders.
• Experience of employment policy development, review and communication.
• Ability to build effective relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels.

Even if you do not match all of our ‘ideal’ criteria we would still be very keen to receive your CV as we love developing our people and may feel that you could be developed into this role.

We are conducting interviews during, or before, the week commencing TBC.

NOTE: If we receive a high volume of applications for a role, we reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than scheduled.