Senior People Operations Manager (m/f/d)

For our client we’re looking for someone who gets genuinely excited about building People Operations from the ground up. This role is remote first in Germany, Italy or Spain.

YOUR MISSION

You'll be an architect of HR Operations, with full ownership to design, automate, and scale. If you've ever thought "I wish I could just start fresh and do this properly" then this is that role.

No legacy systems. No, "that's how we've always done it." Just a blank canvas and the mandate to build.

Our People Team plays a central role in supporting and shaping the organization, with expertise spanning People Operations, Talent Acquisition, and HR Business Partnership. They work across multiple European locations, including Germany, Italy, and Spain, and provide support to a diverse team.

Our client is currently navigating a dynamic phase of improvement, and is focused on building structured processes, introducing innovative practices, and continuously refining their ways of working. The team's mission is to create an environment where employees feel supported and empowered, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• You’ll design and own all core HR processes end-to-end: onboarding, offboarding, contracts, HRIS, benefits, compliance

• You’ll lead our HRIS migration, evaluate, select, and implement a system that fits our needs

• You’ll create structures that work for a remote-first, international team

• You’ll review and update company policies and guide managers on People Operations topics

• You’ll handle labor laws, audits, and make sure the company stays out of legal hot water

• You’ll analyze the company needs and select the most suitable tools, create new processes and procedures

• You’ll automate day-to-day work, enabling the whole team to focus on our most important asset: The People

• You’ll use AI where it makes sense - not as a buzzword, but as a daily tool

• You’ll build AI into the People service portfolio: think AI-assisted onboarding, smart self-service, automated employee support

• You’ll build clean data foundations from day one

• You’ll create reporting that leadership uses to make decisions

• You’ll be the go-to person for our team across the entire employee lifecycle

• You’ll design an employee experience that makes people want to stay

YOUR PROFILE:

• At least 5 years of experience in a comparable position (People Operations, HR Generalist, or similar).

• Background working in an international tech scale‑up.

• Proven track record of designing and leading People/HR processes or projects.

• Experience managing tool migrations (e.g. HiBob or similar HRIS platforms).

• Hands-on experience building HR processes across the full employee lifecycle, not only maintaining existing ones.

• Previous work experience in a fully remote setup.

• Daily use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Notion AI or similar) - this is a must, not a nice-to-have.

• Highly structured and able to work autonomously without constant guidance.

• Strong, clear, and empathetic communication skills.

• Preference for remote-first ways of working.

• Fluency in English

• Fluency in German

This Role is NOT For You If…

• You prefer established processes and clear playbooks

• You're looking for a large team to manage

• You prefer manual solutions over leveraging automation to simplify processes and improve efficiency

• You want daily guidance on priorities

What's In It for You:

• Improve and/or rebuild processes from scratch that hundreds of people will use

• Full ownership: No committees, no approval chains for every decision

• Remote-first: Work from anywhere in Spain, Italy or Germany

• Direct impact: Your work directly shapes how the company scales

Ready to build? We'd love to hear from you.