Senior People Operations Manager - Mission Driven Fintech - Up to £115k

Salary: Up to £115,000 + equity

Location: London - can offer relocation support

Office days: Five days per week in the office.

Hawkwood is excited to be partnering with an ambitious, mission-led fintech that is changing how millions of people access financial services across emerging markets. With a global team and further international expansion ahead, they are looking for a Senior People Operations Manager to help build the People infrastructure behind their next stage of growth. There is a huge opportunity to improve how things work, with AI and automation at the centre of the role.

There is a lot to build and a lot of opportunity to have real impact. You’ll have the space to rethink manual processes, introduce smarter ways of working and see your ideas turn into real business outcomes.

This is a senior, hands-on Senior IC, working closely with People leadership and a lean generalist team. No two days are the same, with tasks ranging from building an automated onboarding workflow to working through a complex employee relations issue.

They are looking for someone who enjoys that breadth, brings sound judgement and is happy getting into the detail. For someone who wants ownership, international exposure and the chance to shape how People Operations develops, this is a brilliant opportunity.

What You’ll Be Responsible For

• Build and improve People processes using AI and automation, across onboarding, offboarding, payroll and contractor management.
• Own complex employee relations, performance and compensation matters, making thoughtful decisions and working with Legal where needed.
• Support international growth through multi-country employment compliance, contracts, benefits and payroll, including setting up operations in new markets.
• Deliver People Operations projects from initial problem through to implementation, keeping a clear focus on what will make the biggest difference.
• Keep people data and reporting accurate, using insight to identify risks and improve how the function operates.
• Work across the wider team to solve problems and keep day-to-day People Operations running effectively as the business scales

What You will Bring

• Strong, hands-on People Operations experience in a fast-paced startup or scale-up, ideally with international exposure.
• Clear examples of a People process you have personally built or transformed using AI or automation, with a tangible change in how the work gets done.
• Sound judgement and experience taking ownership of complex, high-stakes people decisions. You can explain the call you made and why.
• Experience building or improving processes where there isn’t already a clear playbook.
• Clear, concise communication and the confidence to work with senior stakeholders, challenge constructively and take feedback on board.
• A proactive, practical approach. You enjoy working independently, managing competing priorities and getting things done in a lean team.
• Fintech experience is helpful, but the ability to operate at pace and build effective People processes matters more. Relocation support and visa sponsorship are available for London-based hires.

We recognise how challenging this current job market is for candidates, and Hawkwood are therefore striving to provide the best candidate experience we can.

If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you apply via this LinkedIn advert, as opposed to sending us an email or LinkedIn direct message. We are eager to ensure that each candidate application is considered fairly and receives a consistent experience.

Unfortunately, we cannot ensure this standard if you enquire about a role via email or LinkedIn message, as it falls outside of our established process.