Senior People Business Partner (all genders)

pplwise; München; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

pplwise GmbH is seeking a Senior People Business Partner to shape the organization beyond traditional support. You will be a strategic advisor to business leaders in the Commercial function and select Corporate Functions, working closely with sales and client leadership as AI becomes core to how we operate.

You will own the full people partnering agenda, including organizational design, workforce planning, leadership effectiveness, and complex transformation programs, delivering sustainable

Qualifications

• 8+ years in HR/People, including 3+ years as a Senior HR Business Partner for a sales or commercial organisation.
• Proven track record leading complex organisational change including restructurings and new operating models.
• Strong stakeholder management and ability to lead with empathy at senior levels.
• Fluency in German and English, written and spoken.
• Solid understanding of German employment law and ability to handle sensitive cases independently.

Responsibilities

• Act as trusted advisor to Senior Commercial leaders on organisational design, team structures, and leadership effectiveness.
• Advise on workforce planning and capacity to support commercial goals.
• Coach leaders on performance, difficult conversations, team dynamics, and retention risks.
• Lead transformation initiatives, including new operating models and culture/leadership programmes.
• Shape people frameworks and use data to identify capability gaps and plan changes.
• Drive AI adoption in the Commercial organisation and embed it in roles and skills.

Skills

HR Business Partner

Stakeholder management

Change management

AI in HR

German employment law

Bilingual English/German

Education

HR or management consulting background

Job description

YOUR MISSION

We are looking for a Senior People Business Partner who wants to shape the organization, not just support it. You will be a trusted strategic advisor to business leaders in our Commercial function and a small number of Corporate Functions. You will work day to day with sales and client leadership, in an organisation that is being rebuilt while it runs. AI is central to this: you use it as a core enabler in your own work, and you help leaders embed it in how their teams work. You will own the full people partnering agenda for your portfolio, from organisational design and workforce planning to leadership effectiveness and complex transformation programms.

You will help leaders make better decisions, and you will turn transformation priorities into sustainable organisational change. This is an HR strategy and advisory role, not a recruiting role. The position offers significant autonomy, broad exposure, and the chance to build people solutions that directly support the company's growth.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Partnering the Commercial organisation

• Act as trusted advisor to Senior Commercial leaders on organisational design, team structures, and leadership effectiveness
• Advise on workforce planning and capacity to support commercial goals
• Coach leaders on performance, difficult conversations, team dynamics, and retention risks
• Advise leaders independently on sensitive employee matters under employment law

Transformation and people frameworks

• Design and lead complex transformation initiatives, including new operating models and culture and leadership programmes
• Shape people frameworks such as job architecture, role expectations, and career paths
• Develop clear change communication for leaders and employees, and manage resistance and build commitment
• Use people data to identify capability gaps, retention risks, and succession needs, and turn insights into concrete recommendations
• Drive AI adoption in the Commercial organisation: identify where AI changes roles, skills and ways of working, and build the capability and change plans to make it stick
• Cross-functional alignment
• Align HR, Finance, Legal, People Operations, and business stakeholders on dependencies and decisions

WHO YOU ARE

• 8+ years in HR / People, including at least 3 years as (Senior) HR Business Partner for a sales or commercial organisation
• You have earned the trust of senior sales leaders before: you understand quota logic, variable compensation, performance culture and the pace of a revenue organisation, and you hold your position when it matters
• Proven track record of leading complex organisational change, including restructurings and new operating models
• Strong conceptual and project management skills: you turn a leadership question into a structured concept, a plan and a decision paper, and you deliver end to end
• AI is part of how you work: you use AI tools confidently for analysis, concept work and communication, and you can show leaders what AI means for roles, skills and team design
• Solid working knowledge of German employment law; you handle sensitive cases independently and know when to involve counsel
• Excellent stakeholder management and strong people skills: you build trust quickly at senior level, lead without formal authority, and carry leaders and teams through difficult decisions with empathy and clarity
• Builder mindset: comfortable creating frameworks and structures where none exist yet
• Full fluency in German and English, written and spoken
• Nice to have: HR or management consulting background, experience in adtech / SaaS / retail, Italian or Spanish