People Operations Associate / Specialist

The team and role

Our operations team (15 full-time staff) runs HR, recruiting, finance, governance, legal, office management, events and some of our tech systems. We’re planning to grow significantly this year to keep pace with the growth of the organisation.

Your responsibilities may include:

• Building and running people operations systems that work for 50+ staff today and are ready to scale well beyond that — including onboarding and offboarding, visa sponsorship, payroll, benefits, and contractor management
• Running our annual organisation-wide feedback round and analysing the results to help us continually improve
• Developing our approach to people practices — including leave, employment types, and benefits — and translating these into policies and guidance
• Identifying opportunities to streamline, standardise, and automate people operations processes — including using AI where helpful — so that routine work runs reliably and the team’s time goes to the problems that need judgement
• Managing employer-of-record relationships and supporting staff based outside the UK, including thinking through our overall approach to benefits parity across countries and where we’re able to hire
• Ensuring compliance with employment law and best practices across multiple jurisdictions, and keeping our HR documentation up to date
• Supporting the People team leadership with HR‑related queries, performance processes, and conflict resolution

We plan to hire people at both the associate and specialist levels during this round. We expect to match candidates to the appropriate level as part of the application process, so you don’t need to decide which one to apply for. To give an idea of how the roles might differ:

• Associates are more likely to focus on owning and implementing our processes, identifying improvements and optimisations, and will take on more complex projects over time.
• Specialists are more likely to manage larger areas of responsibility, oversee complex projects, and design new policies and systems.

Over time, there’s room to grow into a more ambitious version of both roles, taking on larger parts of people operations — for example specialising in a particular area, moving into management, or eventually leading the team. You’ll play an increasing role in making key decisions, shaping what we work on and how we work.

The role will be managed by Ziya, the people operations team lead.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for people who are:

• Organised: you’re able to keep track of a large number of tasks at once, rarely drop balls, and follow through on your commitments. Experience managing projects is a bonus, but not essential.
• Detail-oriented: you’re excited about getting into the weeds of our policies and processes, identifying discrepancies, and making sure we don’t miss important details.
• Clear communicators: your communication is straightforward, you demonstrate a high level of reasoning transparency, and you enable others to easily identify the most important aspects of your communications.
• People‑aware: you’re good at reading and anticipating emotional signals or responses, and handling them appropriately, in both verbal and written communication.
• Flexible: you’re excited about working on a variety of projects and are motivated to do what’s most valuable to push 80,000 Hours’ mission forward.
• Excited about supporting our mission: you’re enthusiastic about getting talented people working on the world’s most pressing problems.

Previous experience

At the associate level, previous experience is not required.

At the specialist level, candidates would ideally have at least two years of previous experience. This doesn’t have to be directly relevant to operations — it might be in another generalist role such as consulting, communications, project management, or community building.

Logistics

This is a full-time role, ideally based in London, UK. We can sponsor UK visas in most cases. We’d also consider remote candidates who can work at least four hours per day between 10 AM–6 PM UK time.

The start date for this role is flexible. Ideally, our chosen candidate would start as soon as possible.

Salary and benefits

The salary will vary based on skills and experience, but to give a rough sense, indicative ranges are £78,091–£100,831 (London), $111,295–$143,704 (Washington DC), $97,008–$125,257 (US remote), and £67,553–£87,224 (other remote).

Our benefits include:

• 25 days of paid holiday, plus public holidays
• Private medical insurance
• Long-term disability insurance
• Pension scheme / retirement plan with employer contributions
• Up to 14 weeks of fully paid parental leave and childcare allowance for children under five
• £5,000 annual mental health support allowance
• £5,000 annual self-development budget
• The option to use 10% of your time for self-development
• Gym, shower facilities, and unlimited free food provided at our London office

How to apply

To apply, please complete this application form by 11 PM BST on June 7, 2026. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis, so we recommend applying early.

The application process will vary depending on the candidate and role, but is likely to include 1–3 written work tests, an interview, and an in-person multi-day assessment. We offer payment for work tests and multi-day assessment, conditional on your location and right to work in the UK.

We’re aware that factors like gender, race, and socioeconomic background can affect people’s willingness to apply for roles for which they meet many but not all the suggested attributes, and would especially like to encourage people from under-represented backgrounds to apply, even if you don’t meet all the suggested criteria.