About the Role

We are seeking an experienced HR Operations Manager to lead and scale our HR operational infrastructure across 22 countries within EMEA and APAC. As a key member of the Global HR team, you will be responsible for ensuring seamless HR service delivery, regional compliance, and operational excellence. You will manage core HR functions such as payroll, benefits, employee lifecycle processes, global mobility, and system implementation, while collaborating with stakeholders across various time zones and jurisdictions.

This role requires a strong balance of strategic thinking and hands-on execution, with a solid understanding of regional HR practices and legislation across EMEA and APAC.

Job Description

• Act as deputy to the Director, HR Operations (EMEA & APAC), providing leadership to the HR Operations function and direct oversight of the HR Coordinator. Set clear performance standards, coach for growth, and drive continuous improvement across all operational areas.
• Own and manage core HR operational processes across EMEA & APAC, ensuring regional compliance with evolving legislation, and maintaining strong internal controls, risk mitigation, and audit readiness.
• Lead the end-to-end payroll function across 22 countries (covering 27 payroll cycles for ~200 employees), ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and data integrity through close collaboration with Papaya’s in-country providers, and Finance.
• Develop, review, and implement HR policies and SOPs regionally, aligning them with global frameworks while ensuring compliance with local legal and regulatory standards.
• Oversee benefits operations, including renewals, vendor liaison, ensuring competitive positioning and consistent delivery in line with group policy.
• Manage onboarding and offboarding processes, ensuring operational efficiency, compliance, and an engaging employee experience in partnership with the HR Coordinator.
• Support the Director in managing global mobility and immigration activities, ensuring timely visa applications, renewals, and legal compliance across jurisdictions.
• Optimise HR technology and systems, leveraging UKG, Papaya, and automation tools to enhance operational efficiency, improve data quality.
• Develop dashboards and reporting for regional HR metrics, providing actionable insights to leadership and enabling informed, data-led decisions.
• Act as a key partner to Legal, Finance & External Accountants, IT, and People Business Partners, ensuring HR operations are integrated with business processes and aligned with broader organisational goals.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a HR Operations role at Partner/Manager level, covering multi-country HR delivery (preferably across both EMEA and APAC).
• Strong knowledge of international payroll, benefits, and employment law compliance.
• Hands-on experience working with global HR systems (we use UKG).
• Exceptional organisational and communication skills, with a high level of integrity and confidentiality.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple stakeholders across cultures and time zones.
• Ability to analyse processes and recommend scalable, compliant improvements.
• Bachelor’s Degree in HR or related field; CIPD Level 5+ or international HR certification strongly preferred.
• Experience with remote-first or hybrid working organisations is an advantage.

Additional Information

What We Offer

Working at WildBrain is more than a job — it’s the opportunity to join forces with extraordinary, insightful and imaginative people who will recognize your talents and encourage your professional growth and development in a work environment that promotes creativity and individuality. We offer competitive family-focused benefits, we invest in our people and their future with generous RRSP matching, plus bonus time-off, because you deserve it!

Our Commitment

Diversity and Inclusion are in our DNA. As a global leader in kids and family entertainment, we strive to reflect and honour the diversity of our audiences around the world. We believe that creating diverse and inclusive content & brands begins with fostering a culture of belonging at WildBrain. To us, a culture of belonging is one where we celebrate and welcome the diversity of all employees, stakeholders, and external partners and strive to create an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and brings their authentic self to work.

We demonstrate our commitment to this by striving to provide a supportive work environment and a corporate culture that welcomes and encourages equal opportunities for all employees. We recognize that people bring experience and talent that goes beyond the technical skills and requirements of a job. If you possess similar experience that is close to what we’ve listed here, we encourage you to please still consider applying. We strongly believe that diverse experience, transferable skills, and passion are key! WildBrain accommodates people with disabilities throughout the recruitment and selection process. Applicants are encouraged to make their needs known in advance if accommodation is required.

About WildBrain

At WildBrain we inspire imaginations through the wonder of storytelling. As a leader in 360° IP management, we are experts in content creation, audience engagement and global licensing, cultivating and growing love for our own and partner brands with kids and families around the world. With approximately 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment in our library—one of the world’s most extensive—we are home to such treasured franchises as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi. WildBrain’s mission is to create exceptional entertainment experiences that captivate and delight fans both young and young at heart.

Our studios produce such award-winning series as The Snoopy Show; Snoopy in Space; Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City; Sonic Prime; Chip and Potato; Teletubbies Let's Go! and many more. Enjoyed in more than 150 countries on over 500 platforms, our content is everywhere kids and families view entertainment, including YouTube, where our network has garnered over 1 trillion minutes of watch time. Our television group owns and operates some of Canada’s most-viewed family entertainment channels. WildBrain CPLG, our leading consumer-products and location-based entertainment agency, represents our owned and partner properties in every major territory worldwide.

WildBrain is headquartered in Canada with offices worldwide and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: WILD). Visit us at wildbrain.com.