People Operations Process Lead

Salary:
Competitive Plus Benefits

Location:

Manchester Store Support Centre and Home, Manchester, M4 3AL

Contract type:
Permanent
Business area:
Group HR
Closing date: 26 March 2026

Requisition :

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work–life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. We’re the first to say we do HR differently here. For a start, we work as business partners and specialists. Whether that’s making sure nearly 150,000 colleagues are paid on time, or shaping a strategy that helps us attract the right people, put them in the right place, and unlock their potential.

This is a fast-moving business, and our policies and rewards evolve with it. That’s why we’re as flexible as we can be about where and when you work. We’re also flexible about your future. There’s always the chance to move up or across, if that’s what you want. We really value different perspectives, so there’s no one opinion, no single path, and yours matters.

As a People Operations Process Lead, you’ll lead a team of People Operations Advisors to deliver high‑quality, consistent HR services across a wide range of processes. Acting as a Subject Matter Expert, you’ll partner closely with offshore teams to ensure a smooth and supportive colleague experience. You’ll own process documentation, champion continuous improvement and use your expertise in People policies, processes and systems to resolve issues and consistently deliver against key service levels.

You’ll act as the escalation point for complex queries, ensuring issues are thoroughly investigated, resolved promptly and root causes addressed. You’ll lead the offshore Systems team to maintain My HR (Oracle HCM), working closely with Change Leads and Tech teams to plan, communicate and embed system changes effectively. Partnering with People Operations Managers, you’ll continuously improve the colleague experience by enhancing Ask HR content and increasing self‑service capability.

You’ll use colleague and stakeholder feedback, performance data and insights to strengthen processes, drive efficiencies and embed continuous improvement, while proactively planning for business and policy changes. You’ll own and maintain clear, up‑to‑date process documentation to ensure consistent ways of working, lead and develop People Operations Advisors across specialist activities.

You have a passion for HR processes, services and policies, and are confident navigating My HR (Oracle HCM). You enjoy working with data and apply an analytical mindset to spot trends, generate insight and drive meaningful improvements to service quality and colleague experience. You build strong, credible relationships with stakeholders at all levels and are confident holding others to account for performance and delivery.

You demonstrate sound judgement, providing clear, practical guidance, that's grounded in policy knowledge and experience. You communicate complex information simply, shaping outcomes and drive continuous improvement across multiple stakeholder groups.

• Confident and capable user of My HR (Oracle HCM), able to navigate the system effectively, interpret data accurately and take appropriate action.
• Strong Excel and analytical skills, with the ability to identify trends, generate insight and translate analysis into practical interventions that improve colleague experience.
• Demonstrates a passion for building strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels, using credibility and influence to drive collaboration and outcomes.
• Excellent communication skills, able to distil complex information and convey messages clearly and confidently, both verbally and in writing.
• Strong influencing capability, with experience shaping outcomes, securing alignment and driving improvements across multiple stakeholder groups

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new - whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also…