People Operations Manager

Salary: £60,000

Bonus: Discretionary

Location: Kings Cross, London - Tuesday - Thursday (3 days) at HQ, Monday + Friday from home.

Employment Type: Permanent, full time

Closing Date: Sunday 1 November 2026

About ARIA

ARIA is a new R&D funding agency built to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. We fund scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of the possible. From climate change to

AI, society faces enormous challenges and opportunities that can be uniquely addressed by science and technology. ARIA was created to activate the UK’s world-class R&D in new ways, so we can meet these head on.

Our success is shaped by one question: how will ARIA transform the lives of the UK’s future generations? Whether that’s a life-changing new technology or a burgeoning new industry, it should be obvious that ARIA played a catalytic role. If you want to help make breakthroughs like these possible, come and build ARIA with us.

Learn more here.

Role Summary

ARIA is looking for an experienced People Operations Manager to join our growing team and play a key role in shaping and delivering an excellent People experience across the organisation.

This is a hands-on, varied role where you’ll be a trusted partner to employees, managers and senior leaders, providing practical advice and guidance across the employee lifecycle. You’ll coach and support managers to navigate people matters with confidence, while ensuring our policies, processes and practices are fair, effective and aligned with UK employment legislation.

You’ll also have the opportunity to make a real impact on how we work. From improving People processes and making the most of our technology and data, to supporting performance, wellbeing, learning and development, you’ll help create an inclusive and engaging environment where our people can do their best work.

If you’re passionate about people, enjoy solving problems and bring strong HR knowledge, sound judgement and a collaborative approach, we’d love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

What you’ll do

The scope of the role will evolve as ARIA continues to grow, but will broadly involve the following:

• Build effective working relationships with colleagues and managers at all levels, providing trusted advice and guidance on People policies, people-related matters and best practice.
• Champion a positive, engaging workplace culture and holistic employee wellbeing by gathering feedback and developing targeted initiatives. Ensure equality, diversity, and inclusion principles are embedded consistently in everyday practice.
• Partner with the Talent team to ensure a smooth transition from recruitment to onboarding - providing new starters with the guidance and support they need for a positive onboarding experience.
• Support the full performance management cycle (probation, goals, appraisals, and PIPs), providing targeted guidance that empowers managers to handle people matters and performance conversations confidently and effectively.
• Develop, maintain and regularly review People policies and processes, ensuring they reflect good People practice and comply with relevant employment legislation and company requirements. Promote consistent and fair application of policies across the organisation.
• Directly line manage, coach and support the development of the People Operations Associate, providing clear direction, prioritising workloads, and supporting their ongoing growth and development.
• Own the day-to-day People Operations activities, payroll processing, and the HRIS (Bob), ensuring all employee data, pay, and job changes are accurate, secure, and timely.
• Proactively streamline workflows and maximise the tech stack to automate processes, enhance the employee experience, and deliver actionable people analytics and insights to leadership.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and development, managing ARIA’s e-learning platform and supporting the effective use of employee learning and development budgets. Help employees and managers identify opportunities for growth and development.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Who you are

To be successful in the role, you will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Strong People Operations generalist experience gained in a fast-paced environment, with the confidence and judgement to advise and support managers across a broad range of people matters.
• A collaborative, hands-on team player with exceptional communication skills who can build trust at all levels. You take a coaching-led approach, constructively challenging and empowering managers to grow as confident leaders, all while rolling up your sleeves to support the wider People team in delivering shared goals.
• Sound, practical knowledge of UK employment law, coupled with the strong judgement and discretion required to handle complex, sensitive, and highly confidential information professionally.
• Highly organised problem-solver able to manage competing priorities and drive People process improvements.
• Strong IT and systems skills, including confidence using Google Workspace and experience managing and maintaining an HR Information System (HRIS).
• Confidence working with People data, with the ability to maintain accurate employee information, produce meaningful reports and use people data and insights to support decision-making.
• A genuine commitment to employee experience, inclusion, and wellbeing, paired with a passion for continuous learning - fostering a positive, engaging workplace where both you and others can grow.

Essential:

• CIPD Level 5/7 (or equivalent practical experience).
• Knowledge and practical experience of GDPR and its application within HR.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave provision, with the option to buy/sell additional days
• Supportive environment for learning and development opportunities
• Enhanced family leave arrangements
• A free and confidential 24/7 employee assistance programme
• Life Assurance
• 2 days of paid volunteer days
• 5% defined contribution pension scheme with Smart Pension
• Cycle to Work scheme
• An excellent office location in Kings X, London

Not sure you meet 100% of our criteria? Don’t worry! If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We want to attract the broadest array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you’re new to the field, returning to work after a gap in employment, simply looking to transition, or taking the next step in your career path, we will be glad to have you on our radar. Please use your cover letter to tell us about your interests and what you hope to bring to this role.

If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please notify us and we will make every effort to accommodate you. Disclosing any requests are intended to provide ARIA with the best opportunity to support candidates and will have no negative impact on your recruitment process.

ARIA adopts a highly considered approach to ethical and social responsibility. You can read our policy here. Our research and development activity will abide by the 3Rs principle. You can read about those here.