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General information

Name
Show People Manager - Manchester 2026
Date
Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Description & Requirements

We are most famous for our award-winning event, buried deep in the Crown Estate near Ascot. 17 years ago, Mike & Alison Battle created the event out of their own desire to take their children somewhere that would celebrate the pure, commercially unsullied, magic of Christmas. Now, with the help of Hollywood set-designers, West-End actors and more than a sprinkling of magic, the event is keeping the magic of Christmas alive for thousands of children every year. 

LaplandUK celebrates and honours the values, imagination and wonderment of childhood through our magical world, rich storytelling and immersive memory making experiences. 

This is an exciting period of growth for us, as we look for new ways to bring the Lapland experience to a global audience through media, publishing, live shows and eCommerce channels.  


Location:  Manchester (Capesthorne Hall, Congleton Road, Macclesfield, SK11 9JY)

Reports to:  People Operations Manager (Ascot)


Role Overview:

The Show People Manager is the central administrative and people-management lead for the show workforce. This role is non-operational and focuses on building and maintaining schedules, coordinating payroll inputs, processing invoices, and delivering consistent day-to-day people management across cast, stage management, front of house, and back of house teams, becoming a central point for cast welfare.

 

You’ll ensure the show runs smoothly from a people and administration perspective, ensuring schedules are accurate, communication and is clear, administration is being actioned and managers and teams are supported with clear processes.


Key Responsibilities:


People Management & HR (day-to-day)

  • Act as the first point of contact for show teams on people matters, escalating appropriately to the people operations manager when required.
  • Support line management across the show departments, including performance management, absence management, wellbeing check-ins, and conduct matters.
  • Ensure consistent application of policies and fair, respectful people practices.
  • Maintain accurate people records and documentation in line with UK GDPR and internal standards.


Scheduling & workforce coordination

  • Build,maintain, and communicate rotas/schedules for cast, stage managers, front of house, and back of house.
  • Coordinate availability, absences, and last-minute changes while protecting show quality and team wellbeing.
  • Work closely with the resident director, lead stage manager and people operations manager to forecast staffing needs and resolve gaps early.
  • Keep scheduling tools and trackers up to date with a clear audit trail of changes.


Payroll administration

  • Own the payroll input process for the show workforce, ensuring timesheets/attendance data are accurate and submitted on time.
  • Liaise with Finance/Payroll providers to resolve queries quickly and prevent errors.
  • Support managers and team members with payroll questions (hours, rates, deductions), escalating complex issues as needed.


Invoices & purchasing administration

  • Process invoices and purchase requests related to show people and workforce needs, ensuring correct coding/approvals.
  • Tracks pend against agreed budgets (where applicable) and flag anomalies early.
  • Maintain organised records of invoices, approvals, and supplier communications.


Communication & coordination

  • Produce clear weekly updates for the People Operations Manager on staffing, rota risks, and payroll/invoice status.
  • Ensure key information is shared in a timely, consistent way (start times, changes, call sheets, policy reminders).
  • Support onboarding administration for new starters (right to work checks coordination, starter paperwork tracking, induction scheduling)


Role Requirements:

  • Proven experience in a people management or HR-adjacent role with strong administrative ownership.
  • Strong scheduling/rota planning experience across multi-team environments.
  • Payroll administration experience (collecting inputs, deadlines, resolving discrepancies).
  • High attention to detail and confidence managing sensitive, confidential information.
  • Clear, calm communication style and ability to handle competing priorities. 


Personal attributes:

  • Organised, proactive, and process-driven.
  • Fair, consistent, and confident handling people issues. 
  • Comfortable making decisions, escalating appropriately, and holding boundaries. 
  • Collaborative and service-minded: supports teams while maintaining standards.


Pay Rate:

£20.50 per hour, accommodation provided during the live show period if required


Benefits:

  • Flexible hybrid working until October, when the cast move to site this role becomes site based
  • Holiday paid at 12.07% at the end of contract
  • Free daily on-site meal once based on-site for the live show
  • Staff car parking & shuttle bus service


Interviews will take place online in July on MS Teams.


Applicants must be authorised to work in the United Kingdom without the need for visa sponsorship.

Lapland reserve the right to withdraw this advert at any time. Due to the high number of applications being received, we may not be able to respond to every applicant. 

Lapland is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We therefore encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.