HR Operations Specialist- DACH

Are you a detail oriented HR professional with deep knowledge of HR operations across the DACH region? Do you thrive in a fast paced, multicultural environment where your expertise can truly make a difference? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

We’re looking for an experienced HR Operations Specialist based in Switzerland or Austria to join our Global People Team. In this key role, you will deliver end-to-end HR operational support across Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, with solid experience of Workday HRIS, ensuring employees and managers receive timely, accurate, and compliant HR services.With over 3,000 employees worldwide and continued rapid growth, you’ll play an essential role in strengthening our HR operational excellence across the region.

Regrettably, we are unable to support you with any residency or visas, so you must be eligible to work in Switzerland or Austria on a permanent basis. You must also be fluent in German and English languages (written and spoken).

This is a hybrid role, requiring at least three days per week in the Zurich office or Vienna (Wien) office. We support your work-life balance with a mix of in-office collaboration and home-based productivity.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll do (not all of it, just the important stuff):

• You will provide end-to-end HR operational support to employees and managers, ensuring compliance with local labour laws and collective bargaining agreements (CBA)
• As the ideal HR Operations Specialist you will possess a track record of successfully delivering employee life cycle activities across the DACH region (Switzerland, Austria and Germany) ensuring compliance with local labour regulations
• Your responsibilities will include onboarding new starters, managing all employee-related changes (such as annual pay reviews, role modifications, and transfers), providing advice and administering family leave policies, and overseeing the termination process

HR Operations Delivery and Compliance:

• Respond to employee queries regarding HR policies, procedures, benefits, and local practices, escalating as needed while keeping employees informed
• Partner closely with Finance and external payroll vendors in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany to support monthly payroll administration, ensuring accurate and timely submission of data changes
• Maintain employee files and documentation in compliance with local data protection requirements and employment law across all three countries
• Administer regional benefits (e.g., Swiss insurances, German benefits frameworks, Austrian statutory benefits), ensuring employees understand and maximise their entitlements.
• Manage leave cases including sickness, maternity/paternity, parental leave, and other statutory or company specific absences
• Process voluntary and involuntary terminations, prepare compliant exit documentation, and ensure smooth offboarding per country specific regulations
• Support regional annual processes such as promotions, salary reviews, and benefits renewals.
• Ensure all HR operational processes remain aligned with Swiss, Austrian, and German employment legislation and internal HR policies.

Workday System Management:

• Utilize Workday as the HRIS for employee data management, payroll reporting and generate reports. Continuously ensure data accuracy and integrity by conducting your own regular audits

Team Collaboration and Process Improvement:

• Work closely with the broader global HR Operations team, HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Reward, and PED teams to deliver a cohesive employee experience
• Involvement in ad hoc HR Operations projects
• Review existing processes/procedures and suggest improvement for operational efficiency
  Provide support to the HR Operations team during period of absence
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and HR process optimization

These are the essentials you’ll need to get an interview:

• At least 3 years of hands-on experience in HR Operations, specifically supporting Switzerland or Austria
• Solid working knowledge of the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
• Strong knowledge of your local and other European countries labour law
• Practical experience using Workday as a core HR Information System (HRIS)
• Fluent German and English language skills (written and spoken) are required

Behavioural competencies

• Ability to multitask, prioritise and perform well under pressure to meet deadlines
• Agile and adaptable, able to work accurately and independently in a fast-paced global environment
• Be customer-focused and understand what a positive customer experience looks like
• Must be hands on with great stakeholder management skills

It would be great if you had these to, but we’ll support you if you don’t:

• Degree in HR or similar qualification 
• Proficiency in other European languages (e.g. French) and previous experience working in other European countries would be considered an advantage
• CBA or Union environment experience: Awareness of the reports’ requirements will be ideal
• Experience of working with Jira or ticketing system

What can you expect when you become a YouGover? 

• Competitive salary
• Flexible working options
• Opportunities for professional development
• Supportive and inclusive work environment
• Career progression opportunities
• Access to training and learning resources
• Collaborative and innovative culture

Country-specific benefits can be shared during the interview process.

Please note, applications and CVs should be sent in English. 

Why join YouGov?
Join our global team to help us achieve our social mission: to make millions of people’s opinions heard for the benefit of our local, national, and international communities.
Understanding diversity of opinion requires diversity of background. Although our global panel of millions of people worldwide powers our research, our biggest asset is our people. If our research is to be truly representative of what the world thinks, we need people from all walks of life to be part of the team to bring their perspective to the work we do. 
Life at YouGov
We are driven by a set of shared values. We are fast, fearless, and innovative. We work diligently to get it right. We are guided by accuracy, ethics, and proven methodologies. We respect and trust each other, bringing these values into everything that we do.
We strive to provide YouGovers with best-in-class benefits to support their physical, financial, and emotional wellbeing. We want our employees to have a sense of belonging and uniqueness in a supportive workplace, so they can bring their full selves to work. 
 
Equal Opportunity Employer
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, HIV status, political affiliation, socioeconomic background, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law or in line with our responsibilities as a fair and ethic employer. All employment decisions are made based on occupational qualifications, merit, and business need.

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