HR Operations Specialist

About this role

At Loka, our teams have helped clients advance the world's #1 AI reading tutor, eliminate $1B in food waste and develop novel drugs for fighting cancer. To cap it off, at the end of 2024 Loka was recognized by AWS as Innovation Partner of the Year, outshining 150,000 partners for the title. And we did it all while working remotely and enjoying every other Friday off 😎. The Role Be the operational backbone of HX Ops in Western Europe: reliable, compliant and impact-aware, executing the standards the HX Ops team sets, and owning the judgment calls day to day.

You'll be one of the first points of contact for HX requests in the region, balancing urgency, employee impact, risk and cost while keeping Loka's global HX Ops standards and local legal realities in sync. This is a role for someone who wants real end-to-end ownership, not a queue to work through in order. This is a hybrid role, requiring 2 days per week in our Portugal office. Key Responsibilities Own end-to-end HX Operations for Western Europe: onboarding, offboarding, contracts, local legal compliance, payroll coordination, benefits administration and vendor relationships.

Act as one of the first points of contact for HX requests in the region, triaging and resolving based on urgency, employee impact, risk and cost, escalating complex or high-risk cases to the HX Operations Manager. Coordinate payroll inputs, expenses and benefits administration with Finance and local providers, with full accountability for accuracy and deadlines. Manage raises, promotions and other salary-related administrative processes with precision and confidentiality.

Run the Lisbon office day to day, from space, supplies, and equipment logistics to vendor relationships and invoicing, while shaping a welcoming culture and environment that makes it a place people want to be. Own vendor and contract relationships for your region, including benefits providers, local vendors and other regional suppliers. Ensure local legal and compliance accuracy while aligning with Loka's global HX Ops standards, flagging where local requirements need to override global consistency.

Identify process gaps, bottlenecks and manual work in your region, and propose and help build fixes such as documentation, workflow changes and automation. Support internal programs and employee experience initiatives in your region as needed. Qualifications Must-Haves 3-5 years in HR Operations, People Operations or HR Generalist roles with real end-to-end ownership of operational processes, not purely administrative support.