People & Operations Lead - Manchester

At Pixaera, we’re a passionate team of builders who are dedicated to delivering solutions that empower people. Today, we’re leveraging Ai and gamification to build a vertical platform that is centered around improving the safety readiness of frontline workers in any high risk industry. If you are a doer who thrives in a dynamic, mission-focused environment, join us! WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR? Pixaera builds immersive, gamified simulations that help frontline teams learn critical safety skills in realistic environments. As we scale our product and global customer base, we’re investing in the foundation of our People function. We’re hiring our first People and Operations Lead — a standalone, high-impact role responsible for owning and building the People function from the ground up. You will own the end-to-end employee experience across a distributed, international team spanning the UK, EU, India, and MENA — from how we hire and onboard, to how we develop, support, and retain our people. This is a hands-on, execution-first builder role. You won’t inherit a fully-formed function or a large HR team — you will design the foundation, run the systems yourself, and execute the day-to-day work that keeps the company operating smoothly. You’ll work closely with the CEO and leadership team, bringing structure, clarity, and consistency as we scale — but this role is fundamentally about getting things done, not delegating them. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: - Own the full employee lifecycle: onboarding, performance cycles, and offboarding, ensuring a smooth and consistent experience throughout - Run clean, compliant, and reliable People operations across multiple geographies, including contracts, right-to-work, and offboarding processes - Coordinate performance reviews, support managers in driving accountability and development, and reinforce culture through consistent engagement, rituals, and leadership partnership - Deliver a high-quality onboarding experience with clear context, structured 30/60/90 plans, and fully prepared systems, access, and equipment from day one - Own end-to-end hiring operations: define roles, run structured processes, manage the ATS, and deliver a high-quality candidate experience - Build and maintain strong talent pipelines across our global, distributed team while improving hiring velocity - Own and operate all People systems (HRIS, ATS, etc.), maintaining accurate data, managing access, assets, and vendors, and ensuring operational discipline - Build and maintain core people analytics and reporting (headcount, attrition, hiring funnel, performance cycles) to support decision-making WHO ARE YOU? - You bring 2–5 years of experience in People / HR / Talent / People Ops roles - You’ve worked in a tech startup or high-growth company - You’ve owned both recruiting and people operations — not just one area - You’re comfortable being the sole People person and operating independently - You have experience supporting distributed or international teams - You’re highly organised, detail-oriented, and take ownership of outcomes - You’re a strong operator who executes reliably and follows through on the details - You’re warm, empathetic, and a clear communicator with high integrity - You’re comfortable with ambiguity and thrive in fast-moving environments LOCATION & WORKING SETUP - Based in Manchester, with 4 days per week in the office - Supporting a global, distributed team across multiple time zones HOW DO WE SUPPORT AND BENEFIT OUR EMPLOYEES? - Competitive salary and stock options — everyone shares in what we’re building - 25 days holiday + public holidays - Pension contribution - Fully equipped setup from day one (no waiting for laptops) - Regular company offsites and team socials - A flat, transparent culture with direct access to leadership At Pixaera, we’re committed to building a workplace where everyone feels respected, supported, and empowered to thrive. We believe that diverse perspectives fuel creativity and innovation,