Senior Director/VP - HR

Immunic Therapeutics; Gräfelfing; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Immunic Therapeutics seeks a Senior Director / VP, HR Business Partner to serve as a strategic HR partner to senior leaders across Europe. You will own the design and delivery of people strategies enabling growth, regulatory readiness, and high performance as the company progresses toward commercial launch in the US.

You will guide the European organization through transformation, align European HR activities with the global strategy, and oversee HR operations, ensuring compliant and scalable

Qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive HR leadership experience including HRBP and HR operations, biotech/pharma focus preferred.
• EU experience supporting European employees and entities within a global HR team.
• Experience with organizational design, change management, and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

• Advise European leadership on organizational design, workforce planning, and change management.
• Implement People Strategy aligned to business goals across Europe.
• Lead talent reviews, succession planning, and leadership development.
• Design and drive performance management, coaching, and feedback loops.
• Oversee payroll, benefits, hiring, analytics, HR systems, and vendor management in Europe.
• Ensure local compliance with global HR policies and regulatory requirements.

Skills

HR leadership

Stakeholder management

Change management

Talent management

Organizational design

Education

MBA or equivalent

Tools

HR systems

Payroll systems

HR analytics

Job description

Summary

We are seeking a Senior Director / VP, HR Business Partner to serve as a strategic HR partner to senior leaders across Europe. In this role, you will own the design and delivery of people strategies that enable growth, successful submission and commercialization, and sustained high performance.

You will join us at a pivotal moment as we enter our next chapter and its evolution as we prepare for commercial launch in the US. As part of our global HR team, you will play a critical role in guiding our European organization through this transformation as the your responsibilities combine HR business partner responsibilities with HR operations for Europe and aligning European HR activities with our global HR strategy. You will also oversee the operational HR activities in Europe, ensuring people processes are compliant, scalable and efficient, reflecting local requirements while maintaining global parity.

Responsibilities

• Act as the trusted advisor to European leadership team on organizational design, talent strategy, workforce planning, and change management.
• Implement People Strategy aligned to business goals.
• Lead talent reviews, succession planning, and leadership development across Europe; implement development plans for key leaders and high-potential talent.
• Design and drive performance management, coaching, and feedback loops that foster a high-performance culture.
• Assess and optimize org structure, spans-of-control, and governance in Europe; guide restructuring efforts as needed.
• Lead change management initiatives as the organization prepares for commercial launch in the US, including operational scale-up, new processes, and regulatory/commercial milestones.
• Oversee European HR operations: payroll, benefits, hiring, workforce analytics, HR systems, vendor management, and HR service delivery.
• Ensure global HR policies are locally compliant, culturally adaptable, and consistently applied.
• Influence compensation planning, incentive design, and reward structures in alignment with market benchmarks and company objectives.
• Build and monitor HR metrics and provide actionable insights to leadership.
• Drive engagement initiatives and transparent communication programs across dispersed teams.
• Foster DE&I, inclusion, and belonging initiatives; partner with leadership to embed culture in scale-up phases.
• Partner closely with the US HR team to ensure all processes, systems and ways of working are aligned.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and Compliance to ensure consistent policy application and risk mitigation.
• Provide executive-level reporting on people-related risks, milestones, and ROI of HR initiatives.

Qualifications & Experience

• Advanced degree (MBA, MHR, or equivalent) preferred; 12+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including HRBP and HR operations within the biotech/life sciences space.
• Direct, hands-on HR experience in the EU, supporting European employees and entities and working as part of a global HR team, partnering across regions to deliver consistent processes and ways of working.
• Experience in both early-stage and late-stage organizations, ideally including the transition to commercialization.
• Proven ability to support an organization through significant change, growth and a new chapter in its evolution.
• Proven success partnering with executive leadership in a growth-stage or biotech/pharma environment, preferably with international exposure.
• Strong track record in organizational design, talent management, change management, and performance optimization.
• Deep knowledge of European HR regulatory landscapes (employment law, benefits, payroll) and ability to translate global policies to local markets.
• Demonstrated experience leading payroll, benefits, and HR systems across multiple European countries.
• Excellent stakeholder management, influencing, and communication skills; fluent in German and English; proficiency in another language is a plus.
• Ability to travel as needed.

Immunic Therapeutics is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where all individuals are valued and respected. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status.