HR & Office Operations Manager – Maternity Cover (9-12 months)

Job Description

As we scale within the Amazon ecosystem, we are looking for an HR & Office Operations Manager to join Amazon RIVR on a fixed-term, 9–12 month maternity cover contract.

You will take ownership of our day-to-day HR operations and workplace management, ensuring continuity throughout the maternity leave period. Based in Zurich, you will be responsible for delivering accurate, compliant and reliable HR operations for our Swiss workforce while supporting our continued integration into Amazon’s global systems and processes.

You will work closely with RIVR’s People leadership, site leaders and Amazon partner teams across HR, Payroll, Benefits, Immigration, Legal, Finance, Real Estate and Facilities. You will also play a central role in our upcoming office relocation.

What you’ll be doing

HR Support & Integration (70%):
• HR Operations Ownership: Take responsibility for local HR operations, ensuring employee processes, documentation and records are accurate, compliant and delivered on time.
• Payroll, Benefits & Time Tracking: Own the monthly Swiss payroll cycle in partnership with internal and external providers. Review payroll outputs, coordinate employee changes and benefits administration, oversee mandatory time tracking and resolve discrepancies before final approval.
• Swiss Employment Compliance: Ensure HR operations comply with Swiss employment law, social security requirements and internal Amazon policies. Identify risks, recommend solutions and escalate material issues to the appropriate People, Legal or leadership stakeholders.
• Employee Lifecycle Management: Manage the operational employee journey from onboarding through offboarding, including employment documentation, contract changes, work permits, employment certificates, leave administration and local regulatory correspondence.
• HR Systems & Data Governance: Support the transition from BambooHR to Amazon’s PeopleSoft environment. Own local data quality, record migration, reconciliation and ongoing system accuracy, becoming the key local contact for Amazon’s HR tools.
• Policies, Processes & Controls: Maintain and improve HR policies, procedures and operational controls, ensuring they are scalable, clearly documented and aligned with Amazon requirements.
• HR Documentation & SharePoint: Build and maintain a secure, structured and audit-ready HR knowledge hub in Microsoft SharePoint, enabling effective document management and employee self-service.
• Employee & Manager Support: Act as a trusted point of contact for employees and managers on HR policies, processes, payroll, benefits and employment administration, applying sound judgment and handling sensitive matters with discretion.
• Stakeholder Management: Partner with Amazon teams and external providers, driving issues to resolution and ensuring clear ownership, communication and follow-through.
• International Coordination: Coordinate with Amazon and local partners on cross-border or international HR matters where required, ensuring responsibilities and local compliance requirements are clearly managed.

Workplace & Facility Operations (30%)

• Day-to-Day Workplace Operations: Ensure the Zurich office remains safe, organized, well equipped and conducive to productive work. Oversee supplies, access, maintenance requests and other operational needs.
• Business Continuity: Anticipate workplace risks and operational requirements, resolve issues quickly and minimize disruption during periods of change.
• Travel & Administration: Coordinate travel and related administrative requirements where needed, ensuring arrangements are efficient and compliant with company policies.
• Office Relocation: Lead the operational coordination of our upcoming office move, maintaining the relocation plan, managing dependencies and ensuring a smooth transition for employees.
• Real Estate & Facilities Partnership: Act as the primary local interface between RIVR leadership, Amazon’s Global Real Estate and Facilities teams, building management and external vendors.
• Vendor Management: Manage relationships with local workplace vendors, including facilities, maintenance, catering, cleaning and moving providers. Monitor service quality, costs and contractual commitments.

What you must have

• Demonstrated experience independently owning a broad range of HR operations, ideally within a scaling corporate or technology environment. 
• Strong practical knowledge of Swiss employment law, payroll, social security, benefits administration and employment documentation.
• Experience managing or reviewing Swiss payroll cycles and resolving payroll, benefits and time-tracking discrepancies.
• Experience managing complex employee lifecycle processes, including work permits, contract changes, leave administration and employment certificates.
• Experience working with an HRIS and maintaining high standards of employee-data accuracy and confidentiality.
• The judgment to identify operational or compliance risks, determine what can be resolved independently and escalate appropriately when needed.
• Strong stakeholder-management skills and the confidence to work directly with senior leaders, corporate partner teams and external providers.
• Excellent organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to manage competing HR, systems and workplace priorities.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365, particularly Excel, SharePoint and Outlook.
• Full professional fluency in English, German a plus.

Get some bonus points

• A recognized Swiss HR qualification, such as the HRSE certificate, a Federal Diploma of Higher Education in HR or an equivalent professional qualification.
• Experience supporting a post-acquisition integration or transitioning a company into larger corporate systems and processes.
• Experience migrating employee data between HR platforms, particularly BambooHR, PeopleSoft or Workday.
• Experience working in a high-growth technology company, international startup or complex global organization.