People Executive

Job Description

About Ogilvy

Ogilvy, part of WPP, has been creating impact for brands through iconic, culture-changing, value-driving ideas since the company was founded by David Ogilvy 75 years ago. It builds on that rich legacy through Borderless Creativity – innovating at the intersections of its advertising, public relations, relationship design, consulting, and health capabilities with experts collaborating seamlessly across over 120 offices in nearly 90 countries. Ogilvy currently ranks as the #1 global agency network for creative excellence and effectiveness by WARC, signifying its ability to deliver creative solutions that drive unreasonable impact for clients and communities. Ogilvy is a WPP company (NYSE: WPP). For more information, visit Ogilvy.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com.

Job Title: People Executive Department: UK People Team

Location: London, Sea Containers - hybrid ²⁄₃ days onsite

Contract type: 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Full Time/Part time: Full Time, 35 hours per week

About the Role

We are looking for a People Executive who is passionate about creating a great employee experience to join our Talent Team on a 12 month fixed-term contract. You will work with the wider team to support our Talent agenda that helps deliver our key business objectives. This role is hands-on, with exposure to all areas of HR - perfect for someone at the beginning of their HR journey. We’re seeking people with foundational experience in areas like HR administration or recruitment coordination, ready to make a significant impact and develop their skills.

Employee experience is something each of us in the talent team are truly passionate about and we want you to be too! You always remember how someone made you feel and this couldn’t be truer whether you’re a new joiner, still on your employee journey or coming to the end of one.

As People Executive, you can influence a positive experience from new joiner onboarding and beyond. You’ll have the opportunity to work across all aspects of an employee’s journey, providing seamless support. You’ll play an integral role within the People team, being the first point of contact for all employees and playing a key part in ensuring a positive employee experience – whether that’s confidently delivering the People induction, advising employees on benefits or helping shape our data reporting & dashboards.

You’ll become very familiar with our employee contracts and be the go-to person when it comes to any queries or answering questions relating to culture or day-to-day agency life. You will play an integral part to new joiners’ inductions, welcoming and onboarding them to provide a positive start to their career with Ogilvy.

During the employee lifecycle you will be responsible for ensuring our HR Information System, Workday, is kept up to date and compliant with internal processes and legal requirements. You will provide information to the Payroll and Front of House teams as required to ensure any changes are executed seamlessly.

What You’ll Do

• It goes without saying but we need someone who understands the importance of operating with tact, empathy and integrity as you’ll be handling sensitive and confidential information
• There’s a lot of moving parts when it comes to human beings, so you’ll be someone who is hands-on, organised, and deadline driven
• Sticky notes, voice-notes, a good old to-do list - however you like to manage your day and tasks, you’ll be someone who demonstrates effective time management skills
• Prepare all paperwork for employee changes (probations, promotions, contract amendments, salary increases etc)
• Act as the owner of our employee data, maintaining, updating and improving our HRIS system (we have recently transitioned to Workday)
• Working closely with the People Advisors, continuously review team processes, proposing and implementing changes as appropriate
• Understand and advise on the different types of workers and working arrangements
• Being able to prioritise is key as you will be managing multiple tasks/projects in a fast-paced agency environment
• You’ll be part of a brilliant and very supportive team but you’ll also be comfortable getting things done on your own when required
• This role interfaces with a variety of people across the business so you’re someone who can offer support where it’s required to ensure employees at all stages of their journey have a positive experience when interacting with the Talent team

What You’ll Need

• Strong administrative and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities.
• A passion for People operations, including onboarding, offboarding, benefits administration, and employee relations.
• An understanding of UK employment law and HR best practices would be beneficial.
• An interest in HR systems and tools, we use Workday and Greenhouse here!
• A proactive and solutions-focused mindset, with the ability to identify and solve problems independently.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to operational excellence.
• A passion for employee experience and a dedication to fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture.
• Demonstrated experience in data analysis and reporting, with the ability to translate data insights into actionable recommendations.
• A continuous learning mindset, with a commitment to staying up-to-date with the latest HR trends and best practices.

As a People Executive, you are pro-active and approach every task with a can-do attitude. You take pride in your work and strive for operational excellence. You are organised, display a keen eye for detail and are solutions focused. You maintain an awareness and consideration of the wider business context in everything that you do.

We believe that every role here at Ogilvy UK should allow for development and growth. So naturally some of this role will be learning as you work, and we hope that’s okay and what you want too. Please don’t worry if you’re missing a skill or three. It’s our job to provide you with the development to elevate you to the next level. So please don’t be put off applying even if you don’t feel you have everything outlined

How We Help You Thrive

We believe in supporting our people to do their best work and live their best lives.

•  25 days annual leave plus the option to buy up to 5 extra days leave + 1 volunteer day
• Bupa Healthcare
• Enhanced family friendly policies, including, adoption and shared parental leave
• Menopause support
• We have a Flexible Working Model with core working hours: 10am – 4pm
• A generous pension scheme - you pay in 4% we pay 6%, following probation contributions are matched up to 10.5% (17.5% in total
• A fantastic Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provided by Telus which offers brilliant support, expert advice and specialist counselling
• Help @ Hand - quick free access to a remote GP, mental health support, physio or a medical 2nd opinion

At Ogilvy, our people are at the heart of what we do: a creative agency that sparks game-changing ideas across culture and business through collaboration, integrity, and a celebration of self-expression.

We believe in building powerful teams with purpose - and we relentlessly curate transformative initiatives that make our commitment to fairness, and equity a reality.

Our ultimate mission is to leave a positive impact on the world, creating a better future for all, while supporting and uplifting the global communities we serve.  This is central to our mantra of Borderless Creativity.

Ogilvy is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

If you need any assistance seeking a job opportunity, or if you need reasonable accommodation with the application process, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note that this contact is only for candidates who are requesting accommodation. Emails for other purposes, including application status requests, will not receive a response.