From sales support to People Operations Manager: Jen's journey reflects growth, resilience, and parenthood balance.

Can you give us a snapshot of your role?

I am part of the People Operations team at Auto Trader. We are all things People, including the go-to place for wellbeing support, advice, lifecycle processes, and guidance on our policies and culture. Our purpose as a team is to enhance the employee experience and ensure fairness, consistency, and dedicated support when needed.

I co-manage this wonderful team with my colleague, and my role encompasses advising the business on commercial risk, leading people-focused initiatives, supporting my team's personal growth, and developing People Managers to lead successful, high-performing teams at Auto Trader.

My role is incredibly varied, and each day brings a new challenge, which I love! It is fast-paced, reactive, and extremely rewarding.

What I am most passionate about in my role is developing and coaching managers, as it plays a vital role in creating a positive culture and environment for everyone. Having a great manager means being happier at work, which leads to higher engagement, performance, and personal development and ultimately contributes to Auto Trader's overall success.

Tell us about your career journey at Auto Trader

My goodness, where to start?

I first joined Auto Trader in 2011 as a temporary employee. I had found myself at a point in my career where I wasn’t sure what I wanted next or where I was heading. I had been in employment since leaving school and needed to find my calling.

I’ll be honest. It was only supposed to be for a few weeks. I had heard of the brand and seen the magazine plenty of times growing up with two older brothers and thought, yeah, why not? I’ll give it a go and see what happens.

My first role was in the Sales Support Team based at the Newton Le Willows office; back in the day, we used to prepare the sales PowerPoint decks for Auto Trader’s Independent Account Managers and be on hand to support them when they were out on the road with the customers. My role became permanent, and before I knew it, I had been with Auto Trader for two years. My next role was a trial for a new team and way of working, known as the Service Partner team, whereby we became the full support function for Auto Traders Franchise Account Managers.

After some time, I realised that I still hadn’t found my calling, and it’s fair to say that Sales wasn’t for me, but what I had identified throughout this time was that my passion was with people management, development, and coaching others. This led me to funding and completing my CIPD qualification. I applied the skills practically at Auto Trader in my role at every opportunity I could find. This meant shadowing managers and volunteering with the Recruitment Team on assessment days. Overseeing the team as a senior in my manager’s absence and coaching others wherever I could. Fast forward to 2015, and I successfully applied for my first People Operations Team Administrator role.

And WOW! What a rollercoaster of a journey it has been, my career from this point has accelerated massively over the last nine years, from developing into a People Operations Advisor, a Senior Advisor, to Team Lead to now a People Operations Manager. During this time, my significant personal milestones included two periods of maternity leave and becoming a full-time working Mum of 2 (boys, in case you were interested).

How did your experience in our customer service team prepare you for your role in People Operations?

The experience I gained in Sales Support equipped me with valuable skills that have been transferable to each of my roles in the People Operations team, from Administrator to Manager. The fast-paced and dynamic nature of the team enhanced my adaptability and resilience, which are crucial in my current role.

Dealing with challenging stakeholders or customers requires resilience, effective communication, and problem-solving skills. The ability to adapt my style and influence is essential in my current role, where collaboration and teamwork are essential.

The skills I developed, such as influencing stakeholders and coaching others, are essential in relationship building and stakeholder management, resolving conflict, and supporting the development of our employees and people managers.

I feel incredibly lucky to have gained such unique and diverse experience at Auto Trader, both in retailer development support and on the People Operations team. This exposure across the business has equipped me to navigate the complexities of my current role, understand the business and how we operate, and set me up for success, as I have already built some great relationships with managers along the way.

Life or work events can sometimes affect career progression. How did you handle it?

Truthfully, yes. Life can sometimes slow down your progression, and you know what, that’s okay….

Life is much more than where you work and your career; although it’s a pretty important factor, it isn’t always everything. I always knew that I wanted to be a mum, and again, I feel incredibly blessed and grateful that I have two healthy children. Taking a prolonged period away from work was my choice, and understandably, it takes time after maternity leave to find your rhythm again, define your purpose in work and accept that the way you work now may not be the same as it was before.

Once I learnt to embrace this and use my new set of skills (yes, I use my mum skills at work), I found that I have developed and progressed even more, subsequently enhancing my career at Auto Trader. After returning to work following the birth of my first child, I achieved my first promotion, and then following my second return from maternity leave, I have achieved two promotions in my current role to date. Would this have happened sooner had I not had the time away…. most likely. But this is my journey, and I am proud of my career at Auto Trader and feel grateful that I could take that time away to build my family.

It hasn’t always been easy, and it has taken time, but what really helped was having great managers along the way who have listened, supported, and most of all, genuinely cared about my career and development at Auto Trader, without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s also taken time to accept I don’t have to be Mum Jen and Work Jen. I am a parent, and it is the core of who I am, and ultimately, it makes me better at my role as a HR professional. Because of my children, I am more reasonable and compassionate and have incredible patience (as you can imagine).

What advice would you give to someone looking to change their career?

Before you make the move, take some time to really reflect and think about the reasons why you are looking to change your career. After all, it might not be a complete change in career you are really looking for. You may just need more depth or breadth in your current role or an opportunity to use new skills.

Speak with your manager or a coach and be open and honest about why and what you need from them to help you move to your future role.