Athena Kwong
London
Summary
Senior HR Operations Specialist with extensive experience managing the entire employee lifecycle across multiple regions, including onboarding, offboarding, and global payroll administration (UK, Europe, APAC, US, Middle East, and Canada). Skilled in overseeing visa processes, troubleshooting HRIS systems, and generating data-driven reports for senior stakeholders. Known for a strong commitment to compliance, operational efficiency, and delivering seamless HR support.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Senior HR Operations Specialist
Oxford Economics
London, United Kingdom
08.2023 - 09.2025
- Own and manage the full employee lifecycle across global regions, including onboarding, offboarding, employment changes, and contract management, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
- Lead global payroll operations across multiple regions (UK, Europe, APAC, Middle East, US, and Canada), coordinating with regional payroll vendors and ensuring timely, error-free processing.
- Oversee visa and work authorization processes, including tracking visa expiry, coordinating renewals, and ensuring compliance with immigration regulations in various jurisdictions.
- Serve as the primary contact for HRIS systems, assisting users, resolving technical issues, and coordinating with IT or system vendors to implement enhancements and updates.
- Generate and analyze HR reports and dashboards for senior stakeholders, supporting data-driven decision-making and workforce planning.
- Ensure compliance with local labor laws and internal policies by maintaining accurate employee records and regularly auditing data.
Human Resources Coordinator
Oxford Economics
London, United Kingdom
10.2022 - 07.2023
- Supported onboarding and offboarding processes, ensuring smooth transitions for new hires and exiting employees.
- Drafted employment contracts and other official HR documents in compliance with labor regulations and internal policies.
- Managed full recruitment cycle for Early Careers Program, including job postings, CV screening, interview coordination, and offer management.
- Created and maintained HR trackers (e.g., visa expirations, probation periods, training completions) to ensure data accuracy, compliance, and timely follow-ups.
- Maintained and updated employee data in HRIS systems and Excel spreadsheets, ensuring confidentiality and accuracy at all times.
- Handled payroll administration, including collecting timesheets, verifying data, and coordinating with finance/payroll providers.
HR Senior Clerk
China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch
Hong Kong
12.2018 - 05.2021
- Optimized the recruitment procedures under high demands of vacancies by simplifying and combining some recruitment steps, results in shortening recruitment time and have achieved 20% increment of hiring.
- Smoothened the training logistic by contacting the vendors or speakers to discuss programmes’ agenda and got well prepared to reduce sudden occurrence situations.
- Assisted manager in monthly payroll by preparing different records to ensure the accuracy of different items in compensation and benefit.
- Optimized the HRIS by reviewing and enhancing the functions in system, and performed UAT to create a user-friendly interface for employees.
- Assisted and monitored an external consultant to perform a half-year project in creating detailed job description and requirements, and reviewed the organization hierarchy for each positions in all departments for providing references in performance appraisal.
Contract Human Resources Assistant
China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch (Secondment)
Hong Kong
04.2018 - 12.2018
- Prepared various of documents including but not limited to application forms, employment contracts and onboard documents for different contract types and positions which effectively and efficiently assisted in end-to-end recruitment procedures.
- Provided logistical support for internal and external training programmes to ensure programmes can be run smoothly. Managed attendance records and collected feedback for preparing statistical reports for future references.
- Monitored Personnel Files all staff and updated data in HRIS system that accelerated the data base for preparing various reports efficiently.
Administrative Assistant – Human Resources
MassMutual Asia Ltd.
Hong Kong
11.2017 - 01.2018
- Assisted HR managers in recruitment and record maintenance.
- Performed medical insurance enrollment.
- Assisted in operation of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) accounts.
- Provided logistical support for training programmes.
- Provided general clerical supports, filing and administrative duties.
Education
MSc - Human Resource Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong 09.2019 - 06.2021
BSc (Hons) - Psychology
The University of Nottingham
United Kingdom 09.2014 - 06.2017
Skills
- Attention to Detail
- Complex problem solving
- Strong Communication Skills
- Strong decision-making
- Cross-functional Teamwork
- Time Management
Tenchnical Skills
- HRIS Systems (SAP by Design, ADP, etc.)
- Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
- Payroll Software (ADP, Justworks, etc.)
Languages
Cantonese
Native
English
Fluent
Mandarin
Fluent
Timeline
Senior HR Operations Specialist
Oxford Economics
08.2023 - 09.2025
Human Resources Coordinator
Oxford Economics
10.2022 - 07.2023
MSc - Human Resource Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
09.2019 - 06.2021
HR Senior Clerk
China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch
12.2018 - 05.2021
Contract Human Resources Assistant
China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch (Secondment)
04.2018 - 12.2018
Administrative Assistant – Human Resources
MassMutual Asia Ltd.
11.2017 - 01.2018
BSc (Hons) - Psychology
The University of Nottingham
09.2014 - 06.2017