EMEA Manager of People Operations

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Okta is The World’s Identity Company. We free everyone to safely use any technology, anywhere, on any device or app. Our flexible and neutral products, Okta Platform and Auth0 Platform, provide secure access, authentication, and automation, placing identity at the core of business security and growth.

At Okta, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We are not looking for someone who checks every single box - we’re looking for lifelong learners and people who can make us better with their unique experiences. 

Join our team! We’re building a world where Identity belongs to you.

We are looking for a seasoned and strategic EMEA Manager of People Operations to lead the regional People Ops function across the EMEA region. As a leader, you will play a pivotal role in delivering a seamless and scalable employee experience, ensuring operational excellence, and driving process improvement and compliance across multiple countries. You will manage a team of HR professionals and collaborate closely with key stakeholders across Legal, Finance, IT, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, and Employee Relations.

Key Responsibilities:

Operational Leadership

• Lead the day-to-day People Operations for EMEA, including employee lifecycle processes (onboarding, offboarding, transfers, contract changes, etc.).
• Ensure timely and accurate HR data management, payroll input, and reporting.
• Drive consistency and compliance across multiple countries, aligning with local labor laws and global standards.
• Own and continuously improve core HR processes, systems, and service delivery in the region.
• Work with COE  to align on scope of new processes to be transitioned to People Ops or shared services for ownership and track metrics for new processes as appropriate 
• Drive process and automation opportunities and improvements
• Analyse ticketing and trends to provide best practice recommendations 

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with global People Operations leadership to implement scalable processes and systems.
• Work closely with local HR Business Partners, Legal, and Compliance teams to address employment law issues, audits, and policy development.
• Liaise with the Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, Finance, and HRIS teams to ensure accurate and efficient support across functions

Project Management & Change Enablement

• Lead or support the implementation of regional and global HR projects, including system rollouts (e.g., Workday), policy harmonization, M&A integration, and process automation.
• Act as a change leader for People Ops initiatives, supporting regional communication and adoption.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure all employee records, contracts, and documentation are complete, secure, and legally compliant across jurisdictions.
• Monitor and implement regulatory changes that impact HR operations across EMEA.
  
  

Team Management

• Manage, coach, and develop a regional People Ops team across EMEA.
• Set clear goals, establish priorities, and foster a high-performance culture within the team.
  
  

Required Qualifications:

• 6-8 years of progressive experience in People Operations or HR Services, with at least 3 years in a regional leadership capacity across EMEA.
• Proven experience managing large-scale employee case management processes (e.g., employee inquiries, policy clarifications, complex transactions), ideally using tools like ServiceNow, Zendesk.
• Deep understanding of Workday HCM, including strong hands-on experience in managing core modules such as Business Processes, Staffing, Absence, Compensation, and Employee Data Management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex HR transactions and escalations across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring compliance and consistency in handling sensitive matters.
• Strong knowledge of EMEA employment laws, with the ability to translate legal and compliance requirements into scalable processes.
• Ability to drive continuous process improvement in a shared services or centralized HR operations model.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence across functions and geographies.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience implementing or optimizing case management, Knowledge Base, and Service Delivery tools within a global organization.
• Familiarity with case categorization, SLAs, escalation frameworks, and reporting/analytics within an HR case management context.
• Experience building or scaling a tiered HR support model, integrating self-service, knowledge articles, and ticketing systems.
• Background in high-growth, multinational companies (e.g., tech, SaaS)

• Builds Effective Teams: Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.          
• Demonstrates Self-Awareness (EQ): Using a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses.
• Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals.
• Drives Results: Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.

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What you can look forward to as a Full-Time Okta employee!

• Amazing Benefits
• Making Social Impact
• Developing Talent and Fostering Connection + Community at Okta

Okta cultivates a dynamic work environment, providing the best tools, technology and benefits to empower our employees to work productively in a setting that best and uniquely suits their needs. Each organization is unique in the degree of flexibility and mobility in which they work so that all employees are enabled to be their most creative and successful versions of themselves, regardless of where they live. Find your place at Okta today! https://www.okta.com/company/careers/.

Some roles may require travel to one of our office locations for in-person onboarding.

Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws.

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