People Operations Advisor

About us Graphcore is a UK-headquartered semiconductor and AI compute company, now part of SoftBank’s global AI ecosystem. Our headquarters are in Bristol, with offices in London, Cambridge, Poland, Germany, and Taiwan. In 2026, we opened new key locations in India and US with the aim to build out key engineering and operational hubs to support our next phase of growth. Our mission is to build the future of AI compute – and that depends not only on exceptional engineering but also on an outstanding People function. As we scale globally, the People team is focused on building strong operational foundations and a great employee experience everywhere we operate Job Summary Reporting to the Regional People Lead, the People Operations Advisor will be responsible for delivering high-quality People operations in India, acting as a trusted operational partner This role is critical to stabilising and scaling the India organisation, ensuring consistent, compliant, and efficient delivery across the employee lifecycle as the region grows. This role is part of the Global People Team, working across multiple countries and time zones. This role collaborates and partners with People Operations, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal, and Workplace teams to support employees. Responsibilities and Duties Operational Delivery: · Manage end-to-end People Operations including pre-onboarding, onboarding, employee life cycle changes, HRIS updates, employee records management and exit processes. · Deliver a seamless onboarding experience by coordinating joining activities and documentation, conducting local induction sessions and partnering with other teams to support successful integration of new employees. · Maintain accurate employee records and data within HR systems and ensure ongoing HRIS (People Pod) data integrity · Prepare and submit monthly payroll inputs ensuring employee changes, benefits updates and any variable payouts are shared with the Finance team accurately and on time. · Administer employee benefits processes and manage employee lifecycle documentation efficiently. · Act as a key point of contact for employees in India, responding to queries through shared channels and email communication to provide guidance and support on People processes, policies and best practices. · Creating and improving policies wherever required and publish them on relevant internal platforms post approval by senior management Employee Engagement: · Conduct regular employee check-ins and support initiatives that strengthen employee monthly and quarterly connect with employees · Partner closely with Workplace team to drive employee engagement initiatives –such as Birthday Celebrations, Local festival celebrations and Global events as they arise. Compliance and Vendor Management: · Support the Regional People Lead in ensuring compliance with Indian employment law, POSH requirements and internal policies · Support the Regional People Lead to partner with payroll, benefits, and compliance vendors to support smooth operational delivery · Coordinate with relevant vendors on a monthly basis to ensure timely addition and removal of new joiners and leavers for benefits, payroll, insurance, and other employee-related services. · Maintain documentation and support audit readiness activities · Co-ordinate renewals, contracts and documentations with different vendor UK Visa and Travel: · Coordinate with UKVI for visa-related record updates and submissions, including facilitating biometric appointments. · Partner with the Global Travel team and provide guidance to employees on travel and expense-related processes Process Improvement and Projects: · Support the local implementation of global People processes and initiatives · Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency through automation and process enhancements · Contribute to process standardisation and workflow implementation initiatives Candidate Profile Essential: · Strong experience of 7-12 years experience in People/HR operations in India · Experience managing employee lifecycle processes · Experience working with payroll or benefits vendors · Strong attention to detail and data accuracy · Ability to manage multiple priorities · Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks, priorities and deadlines. · Good judgement, professionalism and discretion when handling sensitive employee information and matters. · Proficiency with HR systems and Microsoft Office applications. · Ability to work independently, manage workload effectively and take ownership of operational activities from initiation through to completion. Desirable: · Experience in a global or technology organisation · Experience supporting an organisation in early stage growth mode · Knowledge of Indian employment legislation, compliance requirements and POSH processes. · Experience working closely with global centres of expertise or headquarters-based teams. · Experience supporting employee engagement, wellbeing or culture-related initiatives. Mindset and Approach: Values collaboration over hierarchy and builds trust through openness and involvement Comfortable working in a fast-paced, scaling environment Balances structure with pragmatism, and compliance with a people-first approach Motivated by delivering a high-quality employee and manager experience