Senior People Operations Specialist

Senior People Operations SpecialistHybridPeople OperationsFull timeLondon, England, United KingdomShare this job DescriptionReady to put your people expertise behind the managers and high-performance culture of a mission-driven health tech company?We're looking for an experienced Senior People Operations Specialist who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about driving high-performance cultures. This is a hands-on specialist role, not a management one. You'll sit at the heartbeat of our mission-driven healthcare startup, working closely with our managers to enable our team to be at their best in conquering obesity and type 2 diabetes.At Second Nature, we're trying to solve an incredibly complex problem, and that takes a team performing at its best. We believe high-performance cultures don't happen by accident: they're built by people who care deeply about fairness, honest feedback, and creating an environment where everyone can do their best work. That's where you come in.What you'll doHelp our managers drive a high-performance culture with empathy and compassionTrain and coach managers in people best practice, helping them get the best from their teams (an L&D background is a plus)Advise managers on people situations, helping them act early, fairly, and with confidenceLead on culture at Second Nature, from quarterly events to away daysKeep our people policies accurate, practical, and legally sound as UK employment law changesSupport our twice-yearly performance review and calibration cycles, keeping them fair and consistentKeep our people practices compliant and audit-readyContribute to on wider People team projects, from business continuity and hiring to compliance and engagementRequirementsRole-specific requirementsProven experience as a trusted people partner, advising managers on performance, and people matters with fairness and sound judgementStrong working knowledge of UK employment law, including in the ERA 2025 changesExperience running performance processes, such as review cycles, calibration, and progression frameworks, using people data to keep decisions fair and consistentExperience supporting reward and pay processes, including pay reviews and benchmarkingExperience designing and delivering manager training that builds real-world leadership skills and confidenceThe ability to see the whole employee lifecycle as one connected system, and to spot where it feels clunkyThe ability to handle sensitive information with absolute discretion and empathyExcellent written and verbal communication CIPD Level 5 or above, or equivalent experienceWho you areYou're calm and fair under pressure, and people trust you with the hardest conversationsYou're warm and empathetic, but direct; you say the thing that needs saying, kindly, rather than letting a problem drift because it's awkwardYou're organised and thorough, with a keen eye for detail; you know that in people work, the detail is often the difference between a fair process and an unfair oneYou're a team player who's happy to muck in beyond your specialism; no task is beneath you when the team needs a handYou handle sensitive information and conversations maturely; people tell you things knowing they'll go no furtherYou're professional and personable in equal measure; people trust you quickly, whether that's a manager mid-crisis or a colleague who just needs a listening earThe CompanyThe ChallengeObesity has become a global epidemic; in the UK, we spend £9 billion a year alone on diseases like type 2 diabetes (that’s 10% of the NHS budget). What’s shocking is most of this is preventable – through sustained lifestyle and habit change.Enter Second Nature.We’re here to help people take control of their health. By bringing together behavioural science, technology, and incredible people, our grand mission is to eradicate the global epidemic of chronic lifestyle diseases once and for all.Our digital habit change programme – delivered digitally through mobile and...