People Operations Senior Associate

About Pleo

Messy spend management is tricky business. And tedious processes are a lose-lose situation for all involved, not just finance. At Pleo, we're changing that. We build spend solutions that make managing money seamless, empowering, and surprisingly effective for finance teams and employees alike - with a vision to help all businesses ‘go beyond’.

The word ‘Pleo’ actually means ‘more than you’d expect’, and living by that mantra has been the secret to our success over the last 10 years.

Now, we’re at a pivotal moment in our journey; every move we make has a direct impact on our 40,000+ customers, our business, and our collective success. We need people who take pride in uncovering customer needs, who turn complex problems into simple solutions, challenge the way things are done (respectfully), and always aim high. With great ambitions driving us forward, we can’t say we’ve got this whole thing figured out. And frankly, that’s half the fun! What we can say is that we’re a driven, progressive, and, importantly, a kind bunch of 850+ people from over 100 nationalities, all committed to delivering the future of business spending, together.

About the role

We're looking for a People Operations Senior Associate to join our People team at Pleo.

In this role, you'll help keep everything running day-to-day and be part of the engine room of the People function as we scale our global operations.

If you're excited about the right balance of people skills and smart systems and are passionate about building a tech-enabled employee experience, then this is the opportunity for you!

What you’ll be doing

As a People Operations Senior Associate you will:

• Ticket resolution & employee support – Respond to tickets via Slack regarding employment questions, policy clarifications, and process guidance.

• Processing requests – Handle employment verification letters, contract changes, data updates, and access issues.

• Solving problems – Manage complex situations when HRIS and Payroll systems don't sync, when relocations get complicated, or when policies don't fit a specific situation.

• Coordinating across teams – Work with People Partners on sensitive cases, sync with Payroll on contract changes, and collaborate with Talent regarding onboarding.

• System-supported operations – Initiate employment changes and onboarding through HiBob workflows, quality-check automation, and maintain documentation.

• Being the human – Provide empathetic, personalised support when employees are stressed, confused, or dealing with sensitive situations.

What you bring

You’ll thrive in this role if you have:

• 2+ years in People Operations – Experience in HR Operations or similar in a multi-country environment.

• HRIS and Ticketing experience – Confidence navigating systems like HiBob, BambooHR, or Workday, and the ability to prioritise and triage tickets efficiently.

• Multi-country employment knowledge – An understanding that Spain does things differently than Denmark.

• A tech-enabled mindset – You're not intimidated by AI tools, workflows, or integrations—you see them as helpful and like having good systems to work from.

• Strong communication skills – The ability to write clear, empathetic responses and explain policies to non-HR people while staying calm under volume.

• Experience with HiBob or AI ticketing tools – Specifically exposure to knowledge base platforms or startups/scale-ups (800-1000 people).

Who you’ll be working with and reporting to

You’ll report to our People Operations Manager and work closely with teams in Payroll and People Tech. Our team is highly collaborative and dedicated to making sure employees and managers get what they need when they need it. You’ll also have the chance to partner with teams across People Partners and Talent to ensure success and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

How you’ll develop in this role

In your first six months at Pleo, you’ll:

• Lead pattern-spotting initiatives – Identify repeat tickets and flag them for process improvement to drive impact in efficiency.

• Collaborate with the People team – Improve documentation and the knowledge base so self-serve actually works for our global workforce.

• Grow your skills in People Operations – Master complex multi-country workflows and integrated systems, taking on new challenges as the company continues to scale.

• We’re committed to helping you develop your career – Whether that means taking on bigger projects, stepping into leadership, or acquiring new skills in People Systems and global employment law.

Show me the benefits!

• Your own Pleo card (no more out-of-pocket spending!)

• Lunch is on us for your work days - enjoy catered meals or receive a lunch allowance based on your local office

• Comprehensive private healthcare - depending on your location, coverage options include Vitality, Alan or Médis

• We offer 25 days of holiday + your public holidays

• For our Team, we offer both hybrid and fully onsite working options

• We use MyndUp to give our employees access to free mental health and well-being support with great success so far

• Paid parental leave - we want to make sure that we're supportive of families and help you feel that you don't have to compromise your family due to work

The interview process

We want to ensure you are set-up for success and understand what will be expected of you. If your application is successful, our interview process is as follows:

1. Intro call: A 30-minute chat with our Talent Partner to discuss the role and your background.

2. Hiring Manager: 45-minute chat with the People Operations and Payroll Manager

3. Pleo Challenge - 45-minute Peer interview with our Director, People Platforms with a challenge on the spot.

4. Final Interview - 30-minute with our CPeO

Transparency is important to us so we also wanted to share some insights about what we’re looking for in applications to ensure you can set yourself up for success!

Last time we hired a People Operations Senior Associate, we received a total of 279 applications but only 23 were selected for an intro call. Some of the key reasons why previous candidates didn’t make it past the application screening stage include:

• CV writing and content: we receive a lot of CVs, and many of them are AI-generated. We love seeing people leverage AI—it’s a big focus for us internally too—but without human intervention, these CVs can sometimes become generic and fail to show a candidate in the best light. What we're really looking for is the specific details of real impact that only you know from your previous experience. A top tip from us is to use the “Achieved X, as measured by Y, by doing Z” formula (credit: Laszlo Bock, ~2014) to give a really clear picture of what you’ve worked on. A final note: including links to your previous companies' websites is a huge help and allows us to truly understand your background!

• Application care: every single application we receive is reviewed by a human (yes, hundreds of them) because we believe that candidates' efforts should be matched by an equal level of human care. This means that we expect a similar level of attention put into your application. Read and answer the application questions carefully, they make a huge difference in our decision-making process.

• Profile to role fit: highlight most important aspects of the role, points that might get misunderstood, any specific industry requirements etc.

About your application

• English first. Since it's our company language, please submit your application in English. You’ll be using it a lot if you join us.

• A fair look for everyone. Our talent team reads every single application to ensure the process is fair. To keep things running smoothly, we only accept applications through our system—our support team can’t pass on calls or emails.

• Diversity drives us. We can only reach our goals if our team reflects the world around us. That starts with you hitting apply, even if you don't tick every single box. We encourage people from all backgrounds and experiences to join us.

• Interview at your best. We want you to feel comfortable throughout the process. If you have any accessibility requirements or need a specific format, email belonging@pleo.io. We’ll design a process that works for you.

• Your data is safe. When you apply, we process your personal data as a data processor. For more information on how Pleo processes personal data, read our Privacy Policy here.

• Applying for multiple roles? Nothing is stopping you, and we assess every role independently. However, we do look for alignment, so make sure you can explain why your interest and experience are right for each specific role.

• Reapplying. If you’re applying for the same role again, please wait six months from your last decision before hitting submit.