People & Operations Specialist

Location: Porto (Hybrid) 2-3 days a week in our Porto office near Trindade

Team: People

Employment: Full-time, Permanent 

About YLD

Our goal is to help our clients keep moving forward. We work with them to build the skills and capabilities they need to stay ahead of the competition, and we know our success only happens when they succeed. We’re a team of curious, talented people, and we’re committed to making YLD a place where great people want to work, grow, and stay. We’re a remote-first consultancy specialising in software engineering, product design, and data. Our teams are based across London, Lisbon, and Porto, and we create digital solutions that continue to deliver value long after our work is done.

About you

You’re an experienced People Ops professional who thrives in ownership-based roles. You’re confident working independently, comfortable making decisions, and enjoy balancing hands-on execution with strategic thinking.

About the role

We’re looking for a People & Operations Specialist to join our People team and help scale our operations as we grow. This is a hands-on, autonomous role combining HR operations, employment law, process improvement, and office management.

You’ll work closely with our Senior People Partner, owning day-to-day People Operations in Portugal and acting as a trusted partner across the business.

Your day-to-day responsibilities will look like this:

People Operations & Employment Law

• Own day-to-day People Operations in Portugal, ensuring compliance with employment law and internal policies

• Act as a subject matter expert on Portuguese employment practices

• Prepare, manage, and review contracts, amendments, policies, and employment documentation

• Maintain accurate HRIS records and ensure data integrity

• Manage background checks, compliance checks, and mandatory documentation

• Support payroll processes in close collaboration with Finance

• Maintain and evolve internal People documentation and policies

• Ensure GDPR, confidentiality, and compliance standards are upheld

Process, Systems & Automation

• Document and continuously improve People Ops processes

• Build scalable workflows and automation to reduce manual work

• Apply a “People-as-a-product” mindset to improve employee experience

• Identify inefficiencies and propose better ways of working

• Support reporting, audits, and data-driven decision-making

Strategic Partnership

• Work closely with the Senior People Partner and act as a cover when needed

• Partner with Talent and Finance teams to ensure smooth hiring, onboarding, and workforce planning

• Support Learning & Development initiatives and internal people programs

• Act as a trusted operational partner rather than a task executor

Office & Operations (Porto)

This role requires someone who takes ownership of the office experience, not waiting to be told what needs to be done.

• Act as the main point of contact for the Porto office

• Be responsible for office readiness, maintenance, and supplies

• Prepare welcome kits and support onboarding logistics

• Manage mail, packages, and vendors

• Coordinate in-person activities, events, and team moments

• Use judgment to determine when in-office presence is needed (2–3 days/week on average)

This role is a great fit if you:

• Have strong experience in People Operations or HR, ideally in a scaling company

• Are confident with Portuguese employment law and compliance

• Have experience documenting processes and building operational structure

• Are autonomous, proactive, and comfortable owning outcomes

• Enjoy balancing strategic thinking with operational execution

• Have worked closely with Talent, Finance, or leadership teams

• Are interested in L&D and employee development initiatives

• Want to grow into a senior People Operations profile

This role is not for you if:

• You’re looking for a junior or heavily guided role

• You prefer highly repetitive or predictable work

• You don’t enjoy employment law or compliance

• You expect a fully office-based or fully remote setup

• You want clearly assigned tasks rather than ownership

Your first 3 months will focus on:

• Manage day-to-day HR Admin and Office operations, including onboarding/offboarding, HRIS updates, and contractor administration.
• Ensure the Porto office and remote teams have a smooth, well-supported experience with supplies, resources, and general office support.
• Run and coordinate events, employee activities, and administrative processes while learning company workflows, policies, and compliance requirements.

As well as the chance to work with a forward-thinking, ethical, and fun group of people, you’ll also get:

• Food Allowance
• Company Private Health care (currently provided by Multicare)
• Enhanced fully paid maternity and paternity leave for up to 6 months
• 25 days annual holiday (excluding Public Holidays)
• €2000 annual allowance for Training/Conferences
• €300 annual allowance for additional hardware
• Mental Health support: access to Oliva app
• Meditation/Sleep support: Headspace or Calm app subscription
• Bonus (depending on Company performance and results)
• Company laptop
• Generous referral schemes

Our Recruitment Process for this role looks like this:

• 1st stage - Interview with Letícia, our Senior People Partner (30/45 mins)
• 2nd stage - Task-based interview (~1h)

Get a glimpse of what it's like working at YLD! 🤳

Check out our LinkedIn page

We live and breathe our values, and know you will too:

• Growing every day
• Including everyone
• Relationships built on honesty and ethics
• Inspiring solutions
• Winning together

We’re an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity in all its forms. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, age, marital status, or disability. We also offer a remote-first working environment, with flexible working and work–life balance as standard for all employees.