Role description
The People Services Manager will lead the development of efficient people services to support our People Function for the country or group of countries and enhance the overall employee experience. The role reports to the People Services Director – Europe.
Role accountabilities
Manage the country People function in line with global ways of working to develop an efficient and effective People Services for Arcadis. Lead the alignment and harmonisation of country people services to ensure a positive and seamless employee experience for all Arcadians. Coordinate with global processes to plan and manage the operational delivery of services that execute activities across the employee lifecycle. Lead the People team to a global tiered service delivery, including the transition of work to shared services centres. Advocate and drive local adoption of new people technology.
People Services Delivery and Transformation
* Establish a high‑performing People Services team with a healthy balance between globalised and local activities.
* Implement globally defined processes and procedures, ensuring compliance with local labour law.
* Clarify roles, responsibilities, escalation points and workflows for country People Services and interactions with other operating model elements (e.g., COEs and BPs).
* Align country people services policy and procedures with global policy, driving process alignment to support a consistent and efficient People Services function and employee experience.
* Monitor and communicate country service delivery metrics for continuous improvement.
* Engage with country stakeholders for ongoing feedback on people services delivery.
* Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date HCM system data (Oracle or equivalent) and efficient HR processes to support business staff management.
* Manage People system access in line with the company access management policy.
* Participate in internal and external audits to enhance service delivery.
* Ensure people data accuracy to support local and global reporting requirements.
Shared Services
* Collaborate with shared services leads/project teams to implement the shared services strategy, creating a centralized, efficient, scalable model that improves operational efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances service delivery.
* Identify and standardise core People services processes for centralisation within the shared services centre, ensuring consistency and quality.
* Engage stakeholders across the business to ensure seamless integration and alignment of shared services with existing operations.
* Use KPIs and SLAs to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of shared services, driving continuous improvement.
Payroll
* Ensure all country employees are paid in line with local legislation and procedures.
* Oversee compliance with local labour laws, tax regulations, social security policies and data protection requirements (e.g., GDPR).
* Implement and manage payroll systems integrated with HRIS, ERP and financial tools, leveraging automation for efficiency.
* Standardise payroll processes, accommodate country‑specific requirements and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
* Communicate payroll changes effectively, implement change‑management plans and address employee concerns.
* Define KPIs, conduct audits and report on payroll operations to assess success and identify improvement areas.
* Manage payroll budgets and identify opportunities for cost optimisation.
Employee and Labour Relations
* Ensure People services policies and procedures comply with local country legislation.
* Adhere to privacy obligations regarding collection, use and storage of employee data.
* Assist with acquisition due diligence and integration of People services processes and policies for alignment.
Technology
* Advocate greater employee and manager self‑service and develop ideas for enhanced self‑service.
* Implement digital People services aligned with global implementation plans.
* Support functional design of enabling technology enhancements focused on the Arcadis Way across business units and geographies.
* Allocate key users for digital People solutions and ensure attendance at community meetings.
* Support rollout of the Arcadis Way, engaging operations teams in continuous improvement implementations.
Country People Function Management
* Manage the Country People Services team to align processes with global ways of working and overall P&C strategy.
* Lead delivery of initiatives with People Business Partners and COE specialists to support employer‑of‑choice ambitions, ensuring a consistent narrative across the People function and wider business.
* Coordinate across People Services, COEs and People Business Partners to implement the blueprint for the target Operating Model in the country.
* Develop relationships with senior leadership teams and key stakeholders to align People services delivery with business strategy.
* Act as the contact point for local/country crisis management response.
General
* Role‑model Arcadis Way principles.
* Act as a visible steward of health and safety, ensuring familiarity and compliance with regulations and guidelines including wellbeing and resilience.
* Where required, undertake external promotion and presence for Arcadis through thought leadership and speaking engagements.
* Travel may be required to meet key stakeholders and attend meetings and workshops.
* Depending on location, work outside normal business hours may be required.
Qualifications & Experience
Candidate should hold a bachelor’s degree (preferably in human resources) and possess progressive human resource experience, including relevant experience in a complex international matrix setting. Broad understanding of the complexity of implementing people activities and particularly HR operations is essential. Additionally, deep knowledge of a professional services business and experience driving change and harmonisation (including leading, motivating and developing remote teams) are required.
* Demonstrated management skills and the ability to coach and guide a team of HR professionals.
* Broad knowledge of all major components of People related functions: employee/labour relations, payroll, change management, diversity, compensation, benefits and talent development.
* Experience transitioning work to a shared service centre.
* Experience implementing payroll systems and improvements.
* Experience implementing HRIS and interacting with connected systems.
* Business fluency with financial acumen and operations knowledge.
* Strong customer service mindset and experience in working in a tiered service model with shared services.
* Stakeholder management maturity to deal with local management at all levels.
* High‑level communication skills (English proficiency at least C1) and strong consulting, coaching and presentation skills.
Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day. We take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people.
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