HR Optimisation Manager - 9 Month Fixed Term Contract
Team
Support Functions
Store
Salford Quays
Location
Salford, Greater Manchester
Contract type
Temporary
Position type
Full Time
Salary
Competitive \+ Benefits
Closing date: 7th June 2026
- Intro
- About the role
- Meet the Team
- People Stories
- Make Your Mark
- Colleague Networks
- Benefits
- How to Apply
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Everyone is welcome at M\&S. No exceptions. It’s your background, abilities and differences that make you, uniquely you. And when you’re part of M\&S, that individuality has the potential to make waves.
About the role
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This section tells you all you need to know about the position and its responsibilities, outlining everything we hope to see in a successful candidate.
To stay close to our customers and colleagues, our support teams are in the office for at least three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.
Summary
Do you enjoy simplifying complexity and making services work better for colleagues? We’re looking for an HRSSC Optimisation Manager to help shape the future of the People Hub, driving process excellence, innovation, and efficiency across our end\-to\-end People services.
This is a key role focused on building a strong culture of continuous improvement, with an initial priority on creating a clear and effective Service Catalogue alongside the metrics and methodologies that support it. You’ll work with partners across the business to deliver meaningful improvements that enhance quality, colleague experience, and overall performance.
All the details
Please note this role is a 9 month fixed term contract.
What you’ll do
Your key accountabilities will include:
- Build and maintain an end\-to\-end People Hub Service Catalogue, providing clarity on self\-service, ownership, and service delivery
- Lead process mapping, analysis, and redesign across the People function, identifying inefficiencies and opportunities to simplify and standardise
- Own and deliver a prioritised continuous improvement roadmap, tracking benefits and driving measurable outcomes
- Establish and embed governance and standards, including documentation, controls, process libraries, and compliance requirements
- Develop capability across the People Hub by coaching teams in continuous improvement tools, methodologies, and ways of working
Your skills and experience will include:
- Strong background in Continuous Improvement within an HR or shared services environment
- Ability to use data and performance metrics to inform decisions and demonstrate impact
- Experience leading cross\-functional projects and managing diverse business partner groups
- Working knowledge of HR systems, organisational change approaches, and service improvement techniques
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the confidence to influence and engage at all levels
Working at M\&S means being part of something bigger \- helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast\-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.
Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:
- 20% colleague discount on all M\&S products and many third\-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
- Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
- Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
- Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
- Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
- Exclusive perks and savings through our M\&S Choices portal
- Market\-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
- 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
- One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you
We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks \& Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.
We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.
If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.
\#LI\-MW1 \#LI\-Hybrid \#hybridrole
Meet the Team
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Being an in\-person business
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We're at our best when we're close to customers, and for many of us at M\&S, that means working in store every day.
To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected. It also means we can solve problems as soon as they arise, learn and grow as a team, build trust, and get closer to our colleagues.
Jodie
Tom
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Jodie
Tom
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Jodie
Tom
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It takes time to turn around a business as big as M\&S: you can’t just instantly pivot from managed decline to sustainable growth. But we’ve done the hard yards, there really is a momentum now and it’s not just a few green shoots of recovery. We’re clear about our strategy, our growth is strong and we’re so confident about the future. It’s great to be part of this.
Jodie (She / Her) \| Head of Finance Read full story
Our ‘Closer to Customers’ programme means we all get to work in a store for seven days every year. We see how our customers experience M\&S and we can appreciate the challenges our colleagues face in store. It’s all part of a determination to listen, to understand and to change things for the better.
Tom (He / Him) \| Employee Experience \& Engagement Lead Read full story
It takes time to turn around a business as big as M\&S: you can’t just instantly pivot from managed decline to sustainable growth. But we’ve done the hard yards, there really is a momentum now and it’s not just a few green shoots of recovery. We’re clear about our strategy, our growth is strong and we’re so confident about the future. It’s great to be part of this.
Jodie (She / Her) \| Head of Finance Read full story
Our ‘Closer to Customers’ programme means we all get to work in a store for seven days every year. We see how our customers experience M\&S and we can appreciate the challenges our colleagues face in store. It’s all part of a determination to listen, to understand and to change things for the better.
Tom (He / Him) \| Employee Experience \& Engagement Lead Read full story
It takes time to turn around a business as big as M\&S: you can’t just instantly pivot from managed decline to sustainable growth. But we’ve done the hard yards, there really is a momentum now and it’s not just a few green shoots of recovery. We’re clear about our strategy, our growth is strong and we’re so confident about the future. It’s great to be part of this.
Jodie (She / Her) \| Head of Finance Read full story
Our ‘Closer to Customers’ programme means we all get to work in a store for seven days every year. We see how our customers experience M\&S and we can appreciate the challenges our colleagues face in store. It’s all part of a determination to listen, to understand and to change things for the better.
Tom (He / Him) \| Employee Experience \& Engagement Lead Read full story
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Make Your Mark
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Opportunities to be heard
Your voice and your ideas matter here. Our 8 colleague networks are places to find support, listen to each other and encourage debate. You can pitch ideas ‘Straight to Stuart’, our CEO, or get involved in our BIG (Business involvement Group).
Experience the business
You’ll spend 7 days each year helping in store and getting closer to our customers. We also organise Insight Days, so you can learn more about specific business units, like Foods.
Colleague Networks
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We want you to feel supported, no matter what.
Cancer Network
Fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace culture, addressing stigma, providing guidance and raising awareness to empower and assist colleagues affected by cancer.
Culture and Heritage Network
Raising awareness of various religions and cultures through events and comms, to educate others and better represent our M\&S colleagues and customers.
Gender Equality Network
Addressing gender\-related challenges, raising awareness, and driving action to ensure equal opportunities for all.
Health and Wellbeing Network
Providing a safe space for colleagues with all types of health conditions or disabilities and supporting with business initiatives to ensure our stores are truly accessible for our customers.
Menopause Network
Initiating and encouraging open conversations about menopause by offering support and sharing experiences.
Family \& Carers Network
A support network for parents and carers, offering a space for colleagues to share experiences, exchange ideas, and access useful resources.
Forces Community Network
Supporting colleagues connected to the Armed Forces, aiding their transition to c
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