Global Head of Workplace

Verda; Helsinki; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Cash and equity compensation

Local benefits

Global team exposure

Job summary

Verda is seeking a Lead, full-time Facilities & Real Estate professional to own the end-to-end employee experience of Verda's physical spaces as we expand internationally. You will build global standards, manage Local Office Managers, and ensure welcoming, well-run offices across sites in Helsinki and London.

The role requires leadership, strong vendor management, and a passion for hospitality-focused office design. Hybrid work arrangement with focus on scalable operations.

Qualifications

• Experience in workplace, facilities, or real estate operations, including scaling offices across multiple countries.
• People management experience, ideally leading a distributed team.
• Eye for hospitality and space design, not just pure operations.
• Track record managing office build-outs, relocations, or lease negotiations.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity.
• Fluent English.

Responsibilities

• Hire, manage, and develop Local Office Managers across all sites, setting clear expectations and KPIs.
• Build playbooks and SOPs so managers operate consistently while adapting to local context.
• Run regular syncs to surface issues, share best practices, and align priorities.
• Lead office design, space planning, and fit-outs for new and existing sites.
• Manage landlord, contractor, and facilities vendor relationships across jurisdictions.
• Partner with People, IT, and Finance on office openings, relocations, and closures.

Skills

People management

Facilities & Real Estate

Office design

Vendor management

Budgeting

Contract negotiation

Hospitality

Ambiguity tolerance

Fluent English

Job description

At Verda, we're building a full-stack AI cloud, covering everything from data centers and hardware to our own cloud platform that the world's leading AI teams use to do serious AI work.

We strive to make a positive mark on the world through the infrastructure we build and give leading teams a service they can truly depend on. Headquartered in Helsinki, we operate globally with offices in London and San Francisco.

Join Verda while it's still being built - not once it's finished.

Why Verda

• Cash and equity compensation along with local benefits.
• 40+ nationalities, with 6 different ones on the management team.
• A real chance to make an impact and work alongside world class engineers, researchers, and partners across the global AI ecosystem.

Practicalities

• Work mode: Hybrid, based in Helsinki or London
• Level: Lead
• Employment type: Full time and permanent

About the role

Own the end-to-end employee experience of Verda's physical spaces as we expand internationally. You'll set global standards and strategy while managing a team of Local Office Managers who run day-to-day operations at each site. This is a hands-on, build-from-scratch role for someone who can negotiate a lease as comfortably as they can make sure the coffee's good and the office feels welcoming.

Your responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Hire, manage, and develop Local Office Managers across all sites, setting clear expectations and KPIs
• Build playbooks and SOPs so managers operate consistently while adapting to local context
• Run regular syncs to surface issues, share best practices, and align priorities

Facilities & Real Estate

• Lead office design, space planning, and fit-outs for new and existing sites
• Manage landlord, contractor, and facilities vendor relationships across jurisdictions
• Partner with People, IT, and Finance on office openings, relocations, and closures
• Set health & safety and compliance standards aligned with local regulations

Office Experience & Hospitality

• Own snacks, beverages, and catering across all offices, balancing quality, variety, and local taste
• Set and maintain visual/atmospheric standards (design, cleanliness, signage) so every office feels welcoming and on-brand
• Curate reception, meeting rooms, and guest experience for employees, candidates, and visitors
• Plan office events and culture moments in partnership with People/Culture
• Gather employee feedback on office experience and turn it into concrete improvements

Budget & Vendors

• Own workplace budget planning and vendor contract negotiation, with rollups from each site
• Balance cost discipline with the experience bar the company wants to set

Your key competencies

• Experience in workplace, facilities, or real estate operations, including experience scaling offices across multiple countries
• People management experience, ideally leading a distributed team
• A genuine eye for hospitality and space design, not just pure operations
• Track record managing office build-outs, relocations, or lease negotiations
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity
• Fluent English required

Nice to have

Experience in hypergrowth tech, infrastructure, or data center companies

What's next

We're building fast and this role needs the right person behind it. There's no artificial deadline, but when we find who we're looking for, we move.