Strategic People Business Partner - Iberia

Sage; Barcelona; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & dental insurance

Flexible benefits

Well-being resources

Flexible working

Vacation + volunteering days

Extended parental leave

Stock purchase plan

Learning platforms

Job summary

Sage is seeking an experienced Strategic People Business Partner and Country Lead to support Spain and Portugal. You will partner with Iberia leaders to translate commercial priorities into an integrated people strategy, strengthening leadership, talent and sales effectiveness.

You will provide country-wide People leadership across Iberia, coordinating across Employee Relations, Legal and transformation teams, and shaping an inclusive colleague experience.

Qualifications

• Significant experience partnering with senior leadership as trusted adviser.
• Strong commercial acumen translating priorities into people strategies.
• Solid knowledge of employee relations, Spain and Portugal requirements.
• Experience leading organisation design and change in a matrix environment.
• Experience in strategic workforce planning and risk assessment.
• Knowledge of talent management, succession planning and internal mobility.
• Ability to coach senior leaders and influence without formal authority.

Responsibilities

• Understand Iberia growth strategy and translate into a People plan.
• Lead strategic workforce planning for future demand and capability.
• Advise on organisation design, operating models and ways of working.
• Lead People strategy for transformation and change initiatives.
• Own Iberia Sales talent and succession planning, retention priorities.
• Coach leaders to strengthen decision-making and performance.
• Provide People leadership across Spain and Portugal with labour relations oversight.
• Coordinate works councils and local representative bodies.
• Use data to identify trends, risks and opportunities and act on insights.
• Collaborate with People Ops, Centres of Expertise, Employee Relations, Legal and transformation teams.

Skills

Strategic partnership

Commercial acumen

Employee relations

Organisational design

Workforce planning

Leadership coaching

Data-driven recommendations

Job description

Descripción

We’re looking for an experienced Strategic People Business Partner and Country Lead to join our People team and support our business across Spain and Portugal.

You’ll act as a trusted adviser and strategic partner to the Managing Director for Iberia and the regional Sales leadership team. You’ll turn commercial priorities into an integrated people strategy that strengthens organisational capability, leadership, talent, performance and sales effectiveness.

Alongside your strategic business‑partnering responsibilities, you’ll provide country-wide People leadership across Iberia, bringing together the right expertise from across the People function to address business challenges, manage workforce risks and deliver an inclusive colleague experience.

We have a hybrid working pattern at Sage, colleagues must work 3 days a week in the office and 2 from home.

Responsabilidades principales

What you’ll be doing

• Develop a deep understanding of the Iberia growth strategy, customers, markets, financial drivers and competitive landscape.
• Translate regional priorities into a focused People plan with clear ownership and measurable outcomes.
• Lead strategic workforce planning, considering future workforce demand, skills, capacity, cost, location and capability.
• Help leaders understand the workforce implications of AI, automation and emerging technologies.
• Advise on organisation design, operating models and ways of working that support growth and scalability.
• Lead the People strategy for significant transformation and organisational change.
• Own the talent and succession agenda for Iberia Sales, identifying critical roles, leadership risks and retention priorities.
• Coach senior leaders and leadership teams to strengthen decision‑making, accountability and organisational performance.
• Provide senior People leadership across Spain and Portugal, with oversight of employee relations, labour relations, compliance and consultation requirements.
• Coordinate relationships involving works councils, employee representatives and other local representative bodies.
• Champion a consistent, inclusive and trust‑based colleague experience across Iberia.
• Use people and business data to identify trends, risks and opportunities, recommending targeted actions.
• Connect leaders with the right expertise across People Operations, Centres of Expertise, Employee Relations, Legal and transformation teams.

What we’re looking for

• Significant experience partnering with senior leadership teams as a trusted adviser and constructive challenger.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to translate business priorities into effective people and workforce strategies.
• Strong working knowledge of employee relations, consultation, employee representation and labour‑relations requirements in Spain and Portugal.
• Experience supporting or leading complex organisation design, operating‑model change and business transformation within a matrixed environment.
• Experience in strategic workforce planning, including assessing future workforce demand, capability and risk.
• Strong knowledge of talent management, succession planning, critical roles, leadership pipelines and internal mobility.
• The credibility and judgement to coach and influence senior leaders without relying on formal authority.
• The ability to interpret people and business data and turn insights into clear recommendations.
• Experience supporting organisational change, leadership effectiveness, culture and colleague experience.
• A collaborative and inclusive approach, with experience working across different geographies, cultures and specialist teams.
• An understanding of how AI, automation and digital technologies are changing organisational structures, workforce capabilities and productivity.

At Sage, we offer you an environment where you can grow professionally without compromising your personal well-being. Our benefits package is designed to provide stability, flexibility, and balance:

• Medical and dental insurance: Fully funded medical and dental insurance.
• Flexible benefits: Exchange part of your salary and make tax savings on meal and transport vouchers, childcare, and training.
• Well‑being: Free access to the Calm app (for up to 5 users), 24/7 counselling, and emotional support from our Healthy Mind Coaches. We also offer self‑care and parenting resources through the Cleo app.
• Flexible working: flexibility of working one hour in, one hour out, shortened workdays on Fridays and during the summer, and the opportunity to work from over 40 countries for up to 10 weeks per year through our Work Away program.
• Annual leave: 23 working days of vacation, 5 paid days per year for volunteering.
• Extended leave: 7 extra days of maternity leave and 5 extra days of paternity leave, on top of the legal allowance, available after one year of service.
• Financial support: Life and disability insurance, salary advances of up to 3.5 times your net monthly pay, a €300 net marriage bonus, and access to Sage's employee stock purchase plan at a discounted rate.
• Learning and development: Free premium subscription to external learning platforms