People Operations Specialist

About Morningstar
Morningstar is a leading global provider of independent investment insights, serving both individual and institutional investors across public and private markets. Our offerings include a wide range of data, research, and investment management services, with $300+ billion in assets under management.
The Role
The People Operations team (part of People & Culture) provides day-to-day support services to over 2,000 Morningstar employees in EMEA, handling a diverse range of matters such as onboarding/offboarding, benefits, payroll, and immigration. Our team also supports all global and regional People & Culture programs, annual performance reviews, and various other projects.
The Operations Specialist will be based in London, reporting to the Operations Manager, and will primarily support Morningstar colleagues in Germany, Switzerland and other EMEA countries as needed.
As an Operations Specialist, you will play a key role in delivering a best-in-class employee experience by ensuring efficient, compliant, and employee-focused operational support throughout the entire employee lifecycle at Morningstar.
You will own and manage our people data, maintain clean and accurate records in our HR information system and payroll, work with other P&C functions such as Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, Business Partners to provide timely solutions, coordinate with external service providers (benefit vendors, brokers, immigration consultants) to manage various aspects of the employee lifecycle and ensure our P&C processes run smoothly and remain compliant.
What You'll Do:

• Act as a key contact for employee inquiries via the Service Portal, email, or chat, delivering timely and accurate guidance across the DACH region.
• Manage core HR processes across the employee lifecycle including onboarding, offboarding, job changes, and mobility cases.
• Prepare, review and issue employment-related documentation (e.g., contracts, letters, addendums, etc.) in compliance with local legal, regulatory and language requirements, with a strong focus on Germany.
• Maintain data integrity and accuracy within the HRIS (Workday) and related systems, processing updates in a timely and compliant manner.
• Perform regular data audits, reporting, and analysis to support business decisions, monitor trends and ensure data governance.
• Stay up to date on labour laws and regulatory changes across the DACH region, with a strong emphasis on German employment legislation.
• Contribute to the maintenance and continuous improvement of internal HR policies, procedures, and knowledge bases.
• Support monthly payroll operations by validating employee data, preparing and validating payroll inputs, coordinating with payroll providers, and ensuring timely resolution of payroll-related issues.
• Partner with external vendors (e.g., benefit providers, brokers, immigration consultants) to manage service delivery and escalations.
• Support visa sponsorship and immigration processes by liaising with external counsel, gathering required documentation and ensuring compliance with local laws and company standards.
• Actively contribute to cross-functional projects and process improvement initiatives aimed at improving operational efficiency and employee experience.

Who You Are:

• You are comfortable working in a dynamic, international environment.
• You have 2+ years of relevant experience supporting the German market, exposure to Switzerland is considered a plus.
• You are fluent in English; German language skills are highly desirable and support your ability to manage German documentation and processes.
• Preferably, you have prior experience or basic knowledge of Workday HCM, ServiceNow or other HR tools.
• You have a strong understanding of HR operations, and an interest in core HR topics such as employment law, benefits or payroll.
• You are detail-oriented, organized, and committed to delivering high-quality, employee-centric support.
• You are a proactive problem solver who thrives in a collaborative and fast-paced environment.

Ready to Shape the Future? At Morningstar, every hire we make strengthens our mission to empower investor success. Apply now to join us on and help shape the future of investing with us.
Morningstar's hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to collaborate in-person each week as we've found that we're at our best when we're purposely together on a regular basis. In most of our locations, our hybrid work model is four days in-office each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you'll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.
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