Sr. Manager, HR Operations

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you knowOr all of humanity

At Illumina, we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients.

Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person, in every role, has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people, inspiring leaders, and world changing projects, you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

The Senior Manager, People Operations will lead a high-performing, global People Operations Service Delivery team consisting of both Tier 1 (Associate People Operations Specialists) and Tier 2 (People Operations Specialists) professionals. This role is responsible for overseeing HR service delivery processes across multiple regions (AMR, APAC, Europe), ensuring efficient, accurate, and compassionate HR support is provided to all employees and managers.

You will drive operational excellence through continuous improvement initiatives, align service delivery to global HR goals, and foster strong collaboration with Centers of Expertise (CoEs), including Total Rewards, Global Mobility, HRIS, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, and People Support & Care. As a strategic leader, you will continue to oversee the evolution of the Service Delivery model, manage team performance and set KPIs, implement streamlined processes, and enhance the employee experience during key moments of the employee lifecycle.

You will play a critical role in shaping the future of HR service delivery, leading a team that directly impacts employee satisfaction and exhibits operational excellence. If you are passionate about people, process improvement, and building high-performing teams, we want to hear from you!

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a global People Operations team (Tier 1 and Tier 2) to ensure high-quality HR service delivery and continual upskilling of the team s skillset.
• Build an inclusive and collaborative team environment, fostering growth and engagement among team members. Develop a high-performing team.
• Define and monitor team goals, SLAs, and performance metrics, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.
• Drive accountability by providing performance feedback, coaching, and career development opportunities.
• Continue to elevate skillsets of the overall team as the service delivery model matures and evolves.
• Provides broader management to other local functional team members in HR.

HR Service Delivery Excellence

• Oversee case management service delivery globally ensuring the delivery of Tier 1 and Tier 2 HR employee inquiries are addressed promptly and effectively, reflective of the team s SLAs.
• Serve as a Tier 3 escalation point for unresolved or high-complexity HR cases, ensuring swift and accurate resolutions in partnership with CoEs.
• Collaborate with HR CoE leadership to improve operational processes, reduce escalations, and optimize team efficiency. Support work that will enhance employee self-service (Tier 0) resources to further enable case defection where human intervention is not necessary.
• Drive team usage and enhancement of the internal HR Service Team knowledge base encouraging all team members to contribute to the repository expanding overall team knowledge, learning and skill.
• Champion the transition of CoEs work processes into the HR Service Delivery team. Ensure HR processes are executed accurately, aligning with CoE documentation and maintaining high trust and confidence among the CoE teams as work is completed on their behalf.

Operational Strategy & Process Improvement

• Analyze case trends to identify opportunities for process enhancements, automation, and knowledge base improvements to enable self-service and reduce case volumes.
• Champion use of current technology solutions (e.g., Workday HCM, ServiceNow) to further streamline HR processes and improve service delivery.

• Partner with CoEs and Process Optimization Team to transition work processes within HR Service Center and standardize best practices across global regions.
• Drive operational efficiency mindset across the team.
• Continue to progress team tools to capture knowledge sharing across the team.

Employee Lifecycle Management

• Oversee key HR processes throughout the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, benefits change administration, leave administration, and offboarding.
• Ensure accurate and compliant HR record-keeping, reporting, and process execution across all HR Service Delivery facets.
• Champion a positive employee experience, promoting a culture of care, trust, and service excellence.

HR Compliance & Governance

• Validate all processes executed by the HR Service Center team are following all HR policies and local regulations across the global regions.
• Collaborate with our HR Operational Excellence team to draft governance and establish standard ways of operating related to ServiceNOW case management, and knowledge base management. Promote consistent usage of the system across all CoEs within the HR ecosystem.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor s degree in Human Resources, a related field, or equivalent experience
• Experience: Minimum of 12 years in HR shared services, with at least 3 years of people management experience. Experience working in a global HR team and large multinational organization implementing global HR best practices.
• Typically requires a Bachelor s degree and a minimum of 12 years of related experience, with 3-6 years of Management experience. Applies broad management, functional expertise/knowledge to subordinates managers and staff members
• Proven ability to manage global HR teams and drive operational improvements.
• Systems Knowledge: Strong experience with HRIS systems (preferably Workday HCM) and case management platforms (ServiceNow preferred). Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Demonstrated expertise in process optimization, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Exceptional leadership and team development skills with the ability to motivate and manage a diverse team.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills.
• High level of organizational skills and attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with global teams across multiple time zones.
• Proven success leading large HR service teams through scaling operations.
• Knowledge of best practices in HR shared services and trends in technology-enabled HR solutions.

Illumina believes that everyone has the ability to make an impact, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, creed, color, gender, religion, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military or veteran status, citizenship status, and genetic information.