Head of People

bunq; Netherlands; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Urban Sports Club discount

bunq Academy

€1500 annual learning budget

MacBook provided

Delicious lunches with vegan options

Optional pension plan

Monthly phone/internet stipend

Friday drinks

Job summary

bunq is seeking a hands-on VP/Head of People to translate our mission into a global, outcome-driven People strategy. You will own hiring, performance, development and retention, ensuring initiatives solve real business problems with measurable results.

You’ll identify bottlenecks, build scalable systems, manage budgets and lead cross-market teams to enable rapid international expansion while fostering a culture of ownership and high performance.

Qualifications

• Proven experience building and scaling data-driven People systems across hiring, onboarding, performance, development and retention.
• Track record identifying bottlenecks across the employee lifecycle and delivering practical improvements with measurable results.
• Strong commercial judgment, including experience owning People budgets and salary benchmarks across markets.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global People strategy aligned with bunq’s mission and priorities.
• Own hiring, performance, development and retention initiatives to solve real business problems.
• Identify bottlenecks, improve systems and enable leaders to grow high-performing teams.
• Scale People programs and processes for international expansion using data and automation.

Skills

Data-driven HR

People strategy

Leadership

Budgeting & compensation

Talent acquisition

International expansion

Job description

At bunq, People is a core business function. We use data, technology and automation to help our people perform at their best and enable bunq to scale internationally.

As VP/ Head of People, you will turn bunq’s mission and business priorities into a clear global People strategy. You’ll take ownership of hiring, performance, development and retention, ensuring every initiative solves a real business problem and delivers measurable results.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who combines strong commercial judgment with genuine People expertise. You’ll identify bottlenecks, improve systems and work closely with leaders to build high-performing teams and an environment where people can grow and succeed.

Take ownership

Understand bunq’s mission, vision and business priorities.

Translate them into a clear, outcome-driven People strategy.

Build scalable systems that help employees perform, develop and succeed.

Hire and retain the right people in roles where they can make the greatest impact.

Provide employees with the tools, training and feedback they need to perform at their best.

Help leaders set clear expectations, develop their teams and address underperformance.

Strengthen a culture built on connection, ownership and high performance.

Continuously improve People initiatives using data, feedback and measurable outcomes.

This challenge is perfect for you if

Proven experience building and scaling data-driven People systems across hiring, onboarding, performance, development and retention.

A track record of identifying the most important bottlenecks across the employee lifecycle and delivering practical improvements with measurable results.

Strong commercial judgment, including experience owning People budgets, developing compensation and benefits structures, and setting salary benchmarks across multiple markets.

The ability to connect People priorities and investments directly to company goals, operational needs and business outcomes.

Experience attracting, assessing and retaining exceptional talent in fast-paced, high-performance environments.

A practical approach to culture, translating company values into clear expectations, leadership behaviours and everyday ways of working.

Hands-on experience supporting international expansion, including employment structures, contracts, compensation, benefits and local compliance.

Confidence working with senior leaders, using data to challenge decisions and address performance or organisational issues.

Experience using technology, AI and automation to simplify processes, improve decision-making and enable the People function to scale efficiently.

All new hires are subject to Pre-employment Screening (PES), which includes checks conducted by our third-party partner, Zinc. This is part of our commitment to a secure and trustworthy workplace

Curious to see how we make life easy? - try the bunq app, it only takes 5 minutes to sign up.

Your space to perform

We give you the space and the tools you need to succeed

Great, international colleagues who share your mindset

Hybrid setup: after 3 months in-office, work 2 days remote, 3 days in-office weekly.

Digital Nomad Program: After your first year, enjoy up to 20 days per year to work while traveling, combining flexibility with strong team collaboration

We reward tenure with a dedicated travel budget: €1.5k after 2 years and €3k after 4 years to visit another core office.

We support growth with bunq Academy and €1500 annual learning budget

Massive discount with Urban Sports Club

Travel expenses are covered whether you come walking or by bike, bus or car (though we prefer green choices )

A MacBook so you can Get Shit Done with us

Delicious lunches from our fabulous in-house chefs with vegan and vegetarian options

An optional pension plan with monthly contribution from bunq

Monthly contribution to your phone and internet bills

Friday drinks and other celebrations - bunq style

How we hire

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