Head of European Production & External Talent Management

Powerling; Gent; On-site; EUR 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Powerling is seeking an experienced leader to drive European operations and global external talent strategy. You will lead project management transformation, build scalable processes, and partner with Sales, Language Services, Technology, and other functions to deliver client value.

This role requires a strategic, collaborative mindset and fluency in multiple languages. You will guide teams through organizational change, establish governance for external vendors, and shape the GCSP model to meet

Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience in Operations, Project Management, professional services, localization, content, or technology environments.
• Proven track record transforming operating models and driving efficiency, profitability and growth.
• Strong experience managing external talent, freelancers, and vendors with scalable capacity.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow European Operations and Project Management, improving quality, efficiency, profitability, and growth capacity.
• Drive transformation of the European operating model toward GCSP and new ways of working.
• Develop skills, processes, and structures for a strategic, client-centric, technology-enabled organization.
• Collaborate with Sales, Client Solutions, Language Services, Technology, and other functions to support transformation.
• Lead people and organizational dimensions of the transformation, ensuring teams have necessary skills and support.
• Hold global responsibility for External Talent and Vendor Management, defining strategy and operating model for freelancers, vendors, and external specialists.
• Build and maintain a scalable, cost-optimized external talent ecosystem with access to needed skills and capacity.
• Develop sourcing, onboarding, qualification, allocation, performance monitoring, quality, rates, and governance frameworks for external talent and vendors.
• Anticipate future skill and capacity needs and evolve the external talent ecosystem accordingly.
• Establish governance between internal teams, external talent, and vendors with clear accountability and quality standards.
• Leverage data, technology, and AI to improve performance and enable scalable ways of working.

Skills

Leadership

Transformation leadership

Vendor management

External talent management

Strategic planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Data and AI awareness

Job description

https://powerling.com/ | LinkedIn | Site carrièrePowerling is a family-owned company founded in 1998, specializing in multilingual content management. With over 25 years of experience, it supports businesses in their international growth and digital transformation by offering services in translation, localization, transcreation, content creation, multilingual SEO, as well as audiovisual and graphic solutions. Powerling operates in over 120 languages and has offices in Europe and North America. The company relies on a team of approximately 200 employees.Certified as a B Corp since 2023, Powerling is committed to responsible, sustainable, and inclusive business practices across both its social and environmental impact. We place a strong emphasis on employee well-being, diversity, equal opportunity, and technological innovation. All applications are considered solely on the basis of skills, experience, and suitability for the role, in line with our commitment to equal opportunity and non-discrimination.We are looking for an experienced, visionary leader to take responsibility for our European operations while also holding global responsibility for our external talent and supplier management strategy.This strategic role combines two complementary responsibilities: driving the performance and transformation of our European operations, while building and structuring the external talent ecosystem our organization needs as it scales globally.A key part of the role will be to lead the evolution of Project Management and Operations toward the GCSP (Global Client Solutions Partner) model, supporting teams as they shift from a primarily execution-focused role toward a more strategic, consultative, client-value-driven one.In parallel, the role will hold global responsibility for the external talent ecosystem that supports our business — including freelancers, vendors, and other external specialists. The goal will be to evolve our current approach to vendor and external talent management to meet the more flexible, specialized, and scalable capacity needs the GCSP model requires.Your responsibilitiesLead and grow European Operations and Project Management, improving quality, efficiency, profitability, and growth capacity.Drive the transformation of the European operating model, including the shift toward the GCSP model and new ways of working.Develop the skills, processes, and organizational structures needed for a more strategic, client-centric, technology-enabled organization.Collaborate with Sales, Client Solutions, Language Services, Technology, and other functions to support transformation and continuous improvement.Lead the people and organizational dimensions of the transformation, ensuring teams have the skills, mindset, and support they need.Hold global responsibility for External Talent and Vendor Management, defining the strategy and operating model for our network of freelancers, vendors, and external specialists.Build and maintain a high-performing, scalable, and cost-optimized external talent ecosystem, ensuring access to the skills and capacity needed to meet client and business needs.Develop frameworks and processes for sourcing, onboarding, qualification, allocation, performance monitoring, quality, rates, and commercial governance of external talent and vendors.Anticipate future skills and capacity needs, and evolve the external talent ecosystem in line with the GCSP model, client needs, and technological change.Establish effective governance and collaboration between internal teams, external talent, and vendors, ensuring clear accountability and consistent quality standards.Leverage data, technology, and AI responsibly to improve performance, optimize the external talent ecosystem, and enable more scalable ways of working.Significant leadership experience in Operations, Project Management, professional services, localization, content, or technology environments.Proven experience leading transformation and organizational change across multiple teams or countries.Strong experience managing external talent, freelancers, and/or vendors, ideally within professional services, localization, content, or technology environments.Good understanding of building and managing scalable external capacity models, including sourcing, qualification, performance, capacity, and commercial governance.Strong business acumen, with the ability to connect talent, operations, external capacity, client value, and business performance.Strategic, collaborative, and international mindset, with a strong ability to turn vision into concrete action.Genuine interest in AI, technology, and the evolving world of work, and their impact on operating models and talent ecosystems.Fluency in French and English, both written and spoken, is essential. Proficiency in Dutch and/or other European languages is a strong asset.