Head of People, Scaling SaaS Platform

Location: Barcelona

Work Pattern: Hybrid

About the Opportunity

Our client is a high-growth, tech-enabled B2B travel management company, operating at the forefront of digital transformation within the travel sector. Following significant investment from a leading private equity firm, the business is embarking on the next phase of its international expansion, with the ambition to become a global leader and technology pioneer within its $1 trillion market by 2030.

To support this exciting journey, they are seeking a highly capable and strategic Head of People to drive the development and scaling of the People function across Europe and beyond.

The role:

Reporting directly to the Chief Business Officer (CBO), the Head of People will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of talent acquisition, development, engagement, and retention across 8 geographies across EMEA.

You will play a critical role in shaping the People strategy, with a focus on

• Implementing job levelling systems, performance reviews, and other people-centric processes.
• Optimising talent acquisition to support ambitious team growth goals.
• Leading leadership development initiatives across multiple offices.
• Aligning HR processes with company objectives in the context of a fast-scaling business.

This is a rare opportunity to join a fast-paced, scaling company and help shape the future of the workforce during an exciting growth.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Job Levelling & Performance Reviews: Lead the implementation of job levelling processes and performance management frameworks, ensuring they align with business goals and employee development needs.
• Talent Acquisition & Onboarding: Identify best practices in talent acquisition, optimise hiring processes, and build a structure to scale efficiently. You’ll also focus on improving onboarding for new hires to ensure seamless integration into the company.
• Leadership Development: Work with senior leadership to design and implement development programmes that support the growth of management talent across the organisation.
• Employee Relations: Provide guidance on employee relations and ensure best practices are followed in all people processes, including compliance with employment laws.
• People Metrics: Build and implement a data-driven approach to people metrics, using these insights to drive continuous improvement in HR practices and overall business performance.
• Systems: Leverage experience with HR and payroll systems to coordinate multi-country operations, ensuring seamless integration with consultants in each region.

About You:

• Proven experience working as a Head of People within a progressive, scaling business with International scope
• Track record of working in a scale-up environment (200-1,000 employee's) along with experience working in a PE backed environment.
• Proven experience in implementing systems such as job levelling, performance reviews, and other HR frameworks to support the scaling of an organisation.
• A track record of optimising talent acquisition strategies, identifying key metrics, and building effective structures to support rapid scaling.
• Strong experience in supporting leadership development, especially in fast-growth environments.
• Experience working with senior leadership to align HR strategies with company goals, particularly in a high-growth, scaling organisation.
• A deep understanding of best practices in employee relations and employment law across multiple jurisdictions.
• Familiarity with HR/payroll systems and coordinating these processes across multiple countries.

Why Join?

This is a career-defining opportunity to join a highly ambitious, business at a critical inflection point in its growth journey.

• A pivotal leadership role within a rapidly scaling, international organisation.
• A competitive compensation package, including long-term equity incentives.
• Comprehensive private health insurance.
• The opportunity to make a measurable and lasting impact on the organisation’s trajectory.
• A collaborative, multicultural, and high-performance environment.

We recognise how challenging this current job market is for candidates, and Hawkwood are therefore striving to provide the best candidate experience we can.

If you are interested in this opportunity, we kindly request that you apply via this LinkedIn advert, as opposed to sending us an email or LinkedIn direct message. We are eager to ensure that each candidate application is considered fairly, and receives a consistent experience.

Unfortunately, we cannot ensure this standard if you enquire about a role via email or LinkedIn message, as it falls outside of our established process.