People & Operations Coordinator

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

Team: People

Employment: Full-time, Permanent 

About YLD

Everything we do is to empower our clients to move forward. Our purpose is to help our clients develop the capabilities they need to outperform their competitors. Our success is a consequence of ensuring our clients are successful. Our company is built on extraordinary people; we aim to attract, inspire, develop and retain them. YLD is a software engineering and design consultancy; we create digital capabilities for our clients that last beyond our engagement. We have offices in London, Lisbon, Porto.

About you

You're detail-oriented, process-driven, and highly organised, with experience in HR Admin and Operations, with a strong interest in People Ops tools and automation. You’re people-focused, a clear communicator, and thrive in fast-changing environments. You take initiative, adapt quickly, and you already have strong HR foundational skills combined with solid Operations experience, that you’d like to take to the next level.

About the role

We’re looking for a highly organised and detail-oriented People & Operations Coordinator to join our People team of five. You’ll support our growth as we scale, with a focus on HR administration, operations support, and office management, while contributing to projects across the full employee lifecycle.

This role is ideal for someone who thinks in systems, has strong attention to detail, and is interested in automation and product-led ways of working.

You’ll handle day-to-day People operations in Portugal, including preparing contracts and other documentation, maintaining our HRIS, supporting payroll, assisting the Talent team, and managing compliance checks for new joiners and existing employees. As a first point of contact for the People function, you’ll help ensure an efficient and compliant working environment.

You’ll work closely with colleagues in London and Lisbon to support the full employee lifecycle and help deliver a positive, well-organised office experience.

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

HR Administration

• Assist in the day-to-day HR operations, including maintaining employee records with accuracy and integrity, processing new hires, and managing employee onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Prepare and distribute HR-related documents such as policy updates, employment verification letters, agreements, and contracts as required by the team.
• Manage the People inbox and act as the first point of contact for general HR queries.
• Collaborate with Finance to ensure smooth payroll execution in Portugal.
• Manage and administer employee benefits in Portugal, acting as the main liaison with benefit providers.
• Oversee Health & Safety requirements in line with Portuguese employment law and ensure a safe working environment across all workplaces in Portugal.
• Ensure compliance with Portuguese employment law, external and internal requirements by managing mandatory training, maintaining accurate staff records, and overseeing background, reference, and role-specific checks.
• Maintain strict compliance, confidentiality, and data protection standards at all times.
• Maintain up-to-date policies, procedures, templates, and internal guides.
• Continuously review, improve, and automate People Ops processes.

Office management and Operations

• Act as the point of contact for the Porto office and support the Porto Culture Connectors group in bringing our people together.
• Build a positive office experience for all who use the office, ensuring it is well-stocked and welcoming.
• Prepare and distribute welcome kits for new joiners, and support remote and hybrid employees with the resources and tools they need to remain productive.
• Provide support for contractor management, including onboarding/offboarding, contract preparation, HRIS record maintenance, and compliance with business and legal requirements.
• Develop efficient workflows, maintain thorough documentation, and create actionable knowledge resources to support smooth operations.
• Coordinate and manage office events, meetings, employee activities, client visit logistics, and company-wide initiatives such as health and wellness programmes, social events, and team-building activities.
• Oversee budgets and expenses, coordinate maintenance with vendors, and manage mail and courier services efficiently.
• Take care of any other ad hoc People and Operations tasks required to ensure smooth business operations.

This role is for you if:

• You have strong HR foundational skills combined with solid Operations experience.
• You stay up to date with evolving employment laws and regulations, and you’re passionate about ensuring compliance and implementing best practices.
• You have experience in People Operations, and you have been part of a progressive People Team who are doing things differently.
• You’re excited about automation, AI and using systems to drive efficiency and impact;
• You’re detail-focused, highly organised, and enjoy keeping the machine running smoothly.
• You’re comfortable working with data, documents, and compliance.
• You communicate clearly and are comfortable being the first point of contact for People-related queries.

This role is not for you if:

• You want a lively office with lots of in-person time. Whilst you would be in our office (near Trindade) 2–3 days a week, most of the team is remote.
• You prefer predictability. We’re growing and pivoting, adaptability is key.
• You don’t enjoy detail-heavy work. Contracts, health and safety checks, and precise documentation are critical for this role.
• You’re not interested in the employment law side of people. We’re a T-shaped team, and we need someone who already has/wants to build skills in employment law.

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 Spill 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 with Letícia (Senior People Partner), Katie (Head of People) & Ana Rita (Management Accountant) (~1h)

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 of all kinds. We don’t discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, age, marital status, or disability status. We also offer a remote-first working environment, meaning that flexible working and work-life balance come as standard for all employees.