Head of People Operations and Transition

We are PXC, the UK’s largest provider of wholesale connectivity. Our vision is to be the UK’s #1 wholesale platform, a one-stop shop provider of connectivity, voice, cloud and security underpinned by the UK’s most robust, secure, resilient and reliable network.

Born from the combination of Virtual1 and TalkTalk’s wholesale services and national network business, we operate across our 3 core sites (Salford, London and Skopje, North Macedonia).

Our mission is clear, to be the UK’s best company to work for and best to work with. We believe this success is driven by the power of our employees. We empower our people to become true experts in their field who embody our values every day: we care; we challenge; we commit.

About the Role

We’re seeking a strategic and delivery-focused Head of People Operations & Transition to lead a critical period of change and transition within our People function. This role will drive the people operational separation of PXC from the Group under a current Transition Services Agreement (TSA), while maintaining seamless BAU delivery across payroll, benefits, HRIS, and people operations.

You will manage a team of 8 across Payroll, HRIS and People Operations who currently deliver these services across two legal entities. You will be required to foster a collaborative and high-performance culture within the team and provide strategic direction and support to the team, ensuring alignment with organisational goals and demerger timelines.

You’ll lead the design and execution of the transition roadmap for core HR systems and services, balancing complexity, risk, and strategic decisions. You’ll also play a pivotal leadership role within the People function—sitting on the People Leadership Team and reporting directly to the CPO—while actively shaping and delivering people operations today and for the future.

The focus of your role will be two-fold; ensuring that the strategic aspirations of each legal entity can be delivered through these functions, carefully balancing stakeholder priorities with resources available, and leading the demerger of these activities for remaining Transitional (TSA) People activities so that each entity ultimately has its own provision including systems, processes and resources. Following the TSA exit, the role will continue to deliver all operational support across the people team for PXC only.

The role demands a high level of comfort with change and experience in managing change across multiple stakeholders at varying levels (up to board level), ideally relating to HR systems and processes.

What you will be working on

Transition & TSA Exit

• Own and lead the HR transition roadmap to exit the TSA, covering payroll, benefits, operations, and HRIS systems.

• Identify and escalate strategic decisions and risks to the Executive Team, ensuring timely, informed action.

• Balance resource availability with business priorities, adapting plans and solutioning in real time for the best outcome.

• Shape and deliver the TSA exit strategy, ensuring minimal disruption to service delivery.

HR Operations Leadership

• Lead the People Operations team (team of 8 including 3 direct and 5 indirect reports) to deliver high-quality, compliant, and efficient HR operations and payroll across both businesses.

• Oversee payroll administration, operational HR activity (e.g. employee HR queries, HR project support, compliance activities etc and HR system management.

• Maintain a hands-on approach where needed, supporting the team to meet deadlines and resolve issues.

• Whilst benefits activity is managed outside of this team, this role will be required to support the Head of Reward in TalkTalk and the Benefits manager in PXC negotiate TSA exit matters and be accountable for the ultimate resolution and agreements between Executive sponsors in each business against TSA needs.

People Transformation & Process Improvement

• Lead the operationalisation of people change programmes, working closely with colleagues in Transformation, Technology, and the wider People team.

• Drive process simplification and automation opportunities to improve effectiveness, reduce manual workload, and enhance employee experience.

• Deliver continuous improvement across systems and processes, leveraging data insights to inform change.

Stakeholder Engagement & Governance

• Act as a key interface between HR, Finance, IT, and external providers on transition, change, and operational matters.

• Represent People operations in cross-functional governance forums and transformation programme boards.

• Lead the planning and execution of the People team audit, ensuring audit-readiness and compliance.

What will make you successful in your role?

Essential:

• Proven track record in leading HR operations, including payroll, benefits, and HRIS, within a complex and changing environment.

• Experience with HR systems such as Workday, or equivalent.

• Demonstrable experience in improving and automating HR processes.

• Strong project management capability, with experience leading cross-functional HR programmes.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with experience surfacing decisions and risks at Executive level.

• Strong understanding of compliance, governance, and people data.

• The role includes budget responsibility and accountability for payroll sign off and therefore the role holder must be commercially astute

Desirable:

• Experience working across multi-entity or multi-business structures is a strong advantage. 

How we look after our employees

• Our brand new “PXC Flex” benefit launched in January 2025, which includes Flex30, an additional 30 hours* of leave every year for you to use how you wish

• Our hybrid working policy offers you flexibility to work from home 60% of the time, with the other 40% connecting with your colleagues in one of our accessible and collaborative office spaces

• A starting holiday allowance of 25 days* holiday and up to 10 extra days* leave via our holiday purchase scheme

• Free private healthcare for all employees, competitive pension scheme and the opportunity to earn bonus

• Free broadband for all employees plus gifts for major life events such as marriages and births

• Flexible salary sacrifice scheme including dental, gym, electric car scheme and much more, plus a huge range of shopping and leisure discounts so you can save even more cash

• A range of inclusive employee networks to help integrate employees into life at PXC
   

(* Days and hours are based on a full-time employee’s working pattern and leave is pro-rated for part-time employee)

At PXC, we know that diversity means success and innovation. We want our workplace to reflect the communities and customer we serve. Being inclusive is part of our DNA; we are all 100% human, and we create a culture where you can truly be yourself.

We’re also not your usual 9-5. We are a dynamic workplace and we want to talk to you about how you like to work.