Head of People

Qualifyze; Barcelona; Hybrid; EUR 80,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working mode

Private healthcare

Meal allowances

Personal development budget

Annual in-person company event

Job summary

Qualifyze, a leader in supply chain compliance for the Life Sciences sector, is seeking a Head of People to own the operational HR backbone across global entities. You will drive Talent Acquisition, People Operations, Payroll, and Compliance, reporting to the SVP of Finance.

You will shape and scale the function, build teams, and set standards for a fast-growing company. You’ll lead end-to-end hiring, payroll across jurisdictions, and a modern HR tech stack including Personio, while emphasising

Qualifications

• 7+ years in people, HR, or shared services roles with hands-on ownership of talent acquisition, payroll, performance management, and compliance.
• Experience in high-change environments and multi-country, multi-entity setups.
• Practical knowledge of Spanish and/or German labor law is a plus.
• Track record of owning operational execution of people processes at scale and managing cross-location teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a lean, high-impact People team across Operations, Talent Acquisition and Business Partnering.
• Oversee end-to-end hiring, employer branding, and recruitment analytics.
• Own People Operations, HR systems (Personio), payroll and benefits across entities.
• Drive automation and AI-enabled improvements to employee experience and workflows.
• Ensure compliance with labour laws and maintain policies, contracts, and handbook.
• Manage workforce planning and headcount reporting with Finance.

Skills

People operations

Leadership

Multi-country experience

AI & automation mindset

Fluent English

Tools

Personio

Job description

Founded in 2019, Qualifyze is a leading company in supply chain compliance management in the Life Sciences industry, trusted by over 1,600 pharmaceutical and healthcare companies globally. Our digital suite of solutions connects manufacturers, suppliers, and a global network of more than 250 auditors and quality experts.

With a track record of over 4,500 audits across 85+ countries and the largest and most accurate supplier network and data analytics tools, Qualifyze stands as the all-in-one partner for quality compliance and supply chain risk mitigation in the Life Sciences sector.

We are looking for a Head of People who will own the operational infrastructure that lets Qualifyze hire, pay, develop, and retain people effectively: Talent Acquisition, People Operations, Performance Management, Payroll, Compensation & Benefits Administration, and Compliance. Reporting directly to the SVP of Finance, you are the backbone of the People function.

You’ll have end-to-end ownership. Every area below is yours, from design through execution to results. You don't hand work off and step back. When something breaks, you fix it, then fix the process behind it

You’ll shape the team, hire into new roles, and set the standards the People function runs on.

Main responsibilities:

• Leading and developing a high-impact team:

  • You’ll lead a lean, pragmatic team across People Operations, Talent Acquisition, and Business Partnering, setting clear priorities and performance expectations while carrying your own operational workload.
  • You’ll coach each team member through regular 1:1s, reviews, and growth plans, building a team that becomes a trusted advisor to managers and business leaders as the business scales, hiring into open roles, and putting shared processes in place so delivery stays consistent across every location.

• Driving end-to-end hiring & Employer Branding initiatives:

  • You’ll deliver the hiring plan across all entities, owning the full recruitment process from sourcing and interviews to hiring manager enablement and offer management, while strengthening our employer brand to attract the talent we need.
  • You bring a data-driven mindset, tracking and acting on metrics such as time-to-hire, pipeline health, and source effectiveness to set priorities.

• Building scalable People Operations & HR Systems:

  • Own and continuously improve Personio and end-to-end People Operations across our entities ensuring accurate, compliant, and scalable processes throughout the employee journey.
  • Oversee accurate and timely payroll across all entities and jurisdictions, in collaboration with Accounting and external partners, while managing benefits administration and vendor relationships.
  • Drive operational excellence through automation, self-service, and AI-enabled solutions that improve the employee and manager experience, focusing on outcomes rather than activity.
  • Ensure compliance with local labour laws, maintain employment policies, contracts, and the employee handbook, and handle employee relations cases in partnership with legal counsel.

• Driving our rewards policy & high-impact performance:

  • Own compensation reviews, promotions, compensation ranges, and progression frameworks, ensuring fair and consistent outcomes.
  • Maintain compliance with EU Pay Transparency requirements and related audits and reporting.
  • Lead the performance review cycle across all entities, including manager enablement, calibration, and consistent, well-documented outcomes.
  • Design and continuously improve performance frameworks, ensuring successful rollout and adoption.

• Workforce Planning & Organisational Effectiveness:

  • Partner directly with Finance to build and maintain workforce planning models, budget-to-actuals tracking, and headcount reporting.
  • Provide the data and process rigour needed to support organisational design and restructuring decisions.

• Creating and Engaging Workplace & Culture:

  • Ensure the smooth running of our offices in Frankfurt, New Jersey, Hyderabad, and Barcelona, creating environments that support productivity, community, and employee well-being.
  • Lead culture and key company initiatives, including global and local office events.

Main requirements:

• 7+ years in people, HR, or shared services roles, with direct, hands-on ownership of talent acquisition, performance management, payroll, HRIS, and compliance.
• Experience in high-change environments. Multi-country and multi-entity experience is a strong plus.
• Comfortable managing complexity across multiple jurisdictions. Practical experience with Spanish and/or German labor law is a strong plus.
• A track record of personally owning the operational execution of people processes at scale, and of managing teams across multiple locations.
• Tech-savvy with a mindset for adopting AI, automation, and process optimization.
• Fluent English is required. Spanish and/or German are a plus.
• An organized, structured thinker with a pragmatic approach to finding solutions in a fast-paced environment.

Salary:

AtQualifyze,oursalaryrangesaretransparentinternally,andweaimtofollowasimilarapproachexternally.Forthisrole,we’rehappytoshareareferencepointwithintheband:theexpectedsalaryrangeisaround80,000-85,000€,centredaroundthemedian.

Finalcompensationwilldependonexperienceandperformanceduringtheprocess,withsomeflexibilitywithintherange.

WhatWeOffer:

• Competitive,annuallyreviewedcompensationpackage
• Countryvacationpackagethatincreaseswithyourtenure
• Countryspecificbenefitsofferingincl.privatehealthcare,fitnessandmealallowances
• Annualpersonaldevelopmentbudgettoincreaseyourimpact
• Hybridworkingmode,plusupto3monthsoftheyearworkfromanywhere.
• Allthebestkitandtoolstoworkeffectively
• AnnualinpersonallcompanyeventandcelebrationinEurope

• Workingwithanexceptionalteam,doingsomeofthebestworkofyourcareer

UseofAIinOurRecruitmentProcess:

Webelieveinahumanledhiringprocess.AllapplicationsarereviewedmanuallybyourTalentAcquisitionteam,andneitherTalentAcquisitionnorHiringManagersuseAItoscreen,filter,rank,assess,ormakedecisionsaboutcandidates,includingduringinterviewsandassessments.Duringinterviews,AImaybeusedonlytosupportnote-takingandtranscription. Allhiringdecisionsaremadebypeople!

Diversity&InclusionatQualifyze:

AtQualifyze,wevaluediversityandinclusion,recognizingthestrengththatcomplementarytalentsandperspectivesbringtoourteam.Joinusandhelpdriveinnovation,tacklechallenges,andcreatemeaningfulchange. Weareanequal opportunityemployerandwelcomeapplicationsfromcandidatesofallbackgrounds,regardlessofrace,ethnicity,genderidentity,sexualorientation,maritalstatus,religion,disability,orage.Ourhiringpracticesarerootedinfairnessandrespect,andwestrivetocreateaculturewhereeveryonefeelsvaluedandempowered.