Director of People Experience

Job description

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director of People Experience based in Italy.** As Director of People Experience, you will lead a lean, high-trust people team supporting a fully remote workforce of approximately 320 employees across more than 40 countries. You will combine strategic HR leadership with hands-on operational ownership across the employee lifecycle. The role is central to strengthening the HRBP model, developing a high-performing team, and ensuring consistent people practices globally. You will also oversee HR operations, employment processes, policy, and complex employee relations matters. Working closely with senior People, Legal, Payroll, Finance, and Technology stakeholders, you will help shape scalable and efficient people processes. This is an opportunity to make a broad organizational impact within a fast-moving, international, remote-first environment. ### Accountabilities - Lead, manage, and develop a team of two Senior HR Business Partners and one People Operations Specialist across multiple countries and time zones. - Define and continuously improve the HRBP operating model, standards, and ways of working, ensuring consistent and proactive support across the organization. - Coach HRBPs to strengthen their business partnering capabilities and confidence in complex employee and leadership situations. - Serve as a senior escalation point for sensitive, complex, or high-risk employee relations matters and act as a backup HRBP when required. - Own global HR Operations, ensuring onboarding, offboarding, employee changes, parental leave, contracts, and other lifecycle processes are delivered efficiently and compliantly. - Establish and monitor HR Operations SLAs, operational metrics, HRIS accuracy, process compliance, and employee lifecycle quality. - Lead process improvement and automation initiatives, identifying opportunities to streamline workflows and leverage AI-enabled solutions where appropriate. - Own HR policy development and maintenance in close collaboration with Legal, ensuring policies remain compliant, accessible, and aligned with evolving employment legislation. - Manage Employer of Record relationships and oversee compliant, cost-effective employment operations across multiple countries. - Partner with Legal on cross-border employment matters, legislative changes, and complex employee relations cases. - Represent People Experience within the People Leadership Team and collaborate on organization-wide people initiatives, including compensation, performance, promotions, development, and employee experience. - Maintain clear HR documentation, SOPs, playbooks, and process guidance while fostering a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement. ### Requirements: - 8–12+ years of progressive HR experience, with strong expertise across both HR Operations and HR Business Partnering. - Proven experience leading and developing small, high-performing HR teams, ideally within a remote-first, fast-paced international environment. - Strong operational expertise, including the ability to design, document, optimize, and scale HR processes. - Experience managing Employer of Record relationships and supporting multi-country employment operations and compliance. - Experience drafting, implementing, and maintaining HR policies in partnership with Legal. - Hands-on experience with HRIS platforms such as BambooHR, HiBob, or similar systems. - Experience driving process automation and workflow improvements in collaboration with HR Systems or Technology teams. - Strong coaching and leadership skills, with a focus on developing team capability, confidence, and autonomy. - Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build credibility across all organizational levels. - Strong understanding of employee relations and the ability to confidently manage sensitive and high-risk situations. - Familiarity with EU labor law, global employment compliance, and cross-border HR operations is a strong advantage. - Demonstrated AI literacy and the ability to use AI tools to improve productivity, decision-making, and quality while applying sound judgment and critical thinking. - Comfortable working independently in a lean, rapidly evolving, and highly distributed organization. ### Benefits: - Fully remote working environment with flexibility designed to support strong work-life balance. - Monthly remote work stipend covering home internet and electricity costs. - Home office equipment package provided at the start, including laptop, keyboard, monitor, and related essentials. - Additional home office equipment upgrades or access to a local coworking space after onboarding. - Sick leave benefits, parental leave, and 25 days of annual leave in addition to local national holidays. - Personal development budget for courses, books, conferences, and professional learning materials. - Annual international team-building trip, alongside quarterly and monthly virtual team events. - Opportunity to work with a diverse, international team across more than 40 countries. - A collaborative, high-performance, and innovation-focused work culture. - Strong opportunities for professional development, career growth, and personal ambitions.