People Operations Manager
Description
Company Overview
Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas. These include airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special air missions, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation. We own the whole stack: designing, building, and operating turnkey capabilities that give our partners decisive, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.
Our operating model is built around three interlocking pillars. The Support Groups provide a global shared-service – spanning people, finance, platform, operations, legal, and engagement. This frees up our Core Groups, who develop and own mission capabilities end-to-end, to focus entirely on delivery. The Market Groups apply a regional lens, ensuring that our agile and adaptable capabilities remain aligned to the wicked problems that matter most to our partners across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.
At the heart of our model is a simple but powerful idea: be a true partner with skin in the game. Our partners need effects, not just equipment. By owning the full stack – from the lab to the field – we are able to drive a continuous cycle of innovation that keeps our partners ahead. It's a fast-moving, intellectually demanding environment where talented people are given real responsibility, work on problems that matter, and contribute to an enterprise that is growing quickly and deliberately.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, with facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Position Summary
At Metrea, people are the power behind mission success. We don’t just hire world-class Aviators and technical specialists; we create an environment where they can thrive, grow, and deliver critical effects worldwide.
We're looking for a Teammate Support Lead (what we call People Operations!) to own and lead HR operations across EMEA. You will be the person who builds how teammate support works here, not just the person who runs it. You'll set the standards, design the processes, own the outcomes and be the senior escalation point for complex, sensitive and multi-country matters.
You'll support teammates across the UK and Europe, including Sweden, Poland, Greece, France and Croatia, with more countries coming as we grow. Much of our infrastructure is still being built. We need someone who sees what's missing, proposes the fix and delivers it without waiting to be asked.
This isn't a typical HR operations role. It's a chance to shape the foundations of a People function at the heart of a mission that impacts global security. If you're curious, pragmatic, rigorous and naturally take ownership, we want to hear from you.
What You'll Do
Own and build EMEA HR operations
- Own end-to-end teammate lifecycle administration across EMEA: onboarding, contract changes, transfers, leave and offboarding. You are accountable for it working, in every country.
- Lead, coach and develop the team, setting priorities, standards and clear ownership.
- Design the EMEA teammate support operating model in conjunction with AMR and APAC: service standards, response times, escalation routes and who does what between Teammate Support, People Partners, Total Rewards, Legal and Security.
- Build the playbooks, checklists and country guides that let processes run consistently as we scale and keep them current as local law changes.
- Lead the Teammate Support set-up for new countries and entities, from local employment requirements to onboarding, coordinating with Total Rewards, Legal and People Partners.
Lead compliance and data
- Own the EMEA compliance calendar: right-to-work, background checks, security clearance coordination, statutory filings and local reporting obligations.
- Own people data quality and governance in our HR systems. Set the standards, run audits and make sure we are audit-ready at all times.
- Spot compliance and process risk early and bring a recommended fixes, not just the problem.
Partner and lead others
- Work hand in hand with People Partners. Handle complex, sensitive and multi-country operational matters with judgement and discretion and bring People Partners in early on anything with employee relations or business impact.
- Be the main operational link to our Total Rewards team. Make sure lifecycle changes reach them accurately and on time, and resolve teammate pay and benefits queries together agreeing clear handoffs.
- Guide and develop others who support HR operations, and help shape how the team grows.
Improve and measure
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- Track and report on service metrics (query volumes, resolution times, data accuracy, process completion) and use them to drive improvement.
- Lead process and systems improvement projects, including automation and self-service, from proposal to delivery.
- Develop clear communication cadences and ensure employees receive timely updates on processes, policies, and changes.
What You Bring
- Significant experience in an HR operations, HR shared services, or people administration role, ideally in a multinational or regulated environment
- Time in a senior or lead role where you owned the processes and outcomes not just delivered them
- Hands on, multi country EMEA experience, knowledge of employment processes and compliance requirements across UK / EMEA jurisdictions. Sweden, Poland or Greece is highly desirable.
- High attention to detail and comfort managing sensitive, confidential information.
- Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage a high volume of queries and competing priorities
- Strong HRIS and data skills: you've owned data governance, run audits and used data to find and fix problems
- A proactive, service-oriented mindset with strong communication skills. You don't wait for direction and you're comfortable building structure where there isn't any yet.
- Comfort working in a fast-paced, evolving environment where processes are still being built.
Benefits
- Private Medical Insurance
- Subsided gym membership / plans through Wellhub
- Electric Car scheme
- Cycle to work scheme
- Salary sacrificed pension scheme
- Free lunch on office days
- Enhanced Parental Leave
- 30 days annual PTO plus b/h
- Bonus Scheme
- Personal development opportunities
Work Authorization / Security Clearance
The employee will have the legal right to work in the UK and will be able to produce right to work documentation
AAP/EEO Statement
Metrea Management Limited (MAM) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or other characteristics protected by law.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time position with typical working hours of Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Work Environment
London, Hammersmith
3 days per week in office
Travel
Limited
Our Firmware
At Metrea, our single core value is Rooted in Humility, and our four cornerstone attributes are Entrepreneurial, Systematic, Discerning, and Over-Deliver. These form what we call our Teammate Firmware. Just like technical firmware connects software and hardware, our Firmware is the constant interface between our mission and our people. It defines how we show up, how we work together, and how we solve complex problems.
Our team Firmware creates a web-like, hyper-collaborative, dynamically hierarchical way of working that helps us adapt quickly, communicate openly, and distribute decision-making to where expertise actually lives. It enables groups to self-organize around hard problems, shift fluidly as priorities evolve, and operate with the trust, curiosity, and discipline required in a complex mission space. This foundation allows us to deliver elegant, effective solutions and uphold our purpose: protecting our precious inheritance.
Skills
As published by greenhouse · 5 questions
Basics
First Name, Last Name, Preferred First Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter
Short answers (1)
- LinkedIn Profile optional
Pick from a list (4)
- Have you ever been employed by Metrea?
- Will you now, or in the future, require Metrea to sponsor an immigration or visa case to employ you?
- How did you hear about Metrea?
- Do you know anyone who has been or is employed by Metrea?
