Head of People - Maternity Cover

Lepaya; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work-to-live scheme

Job summary

Lepaya is seeking a senior People leader to cover an eight-month maternity leave across NL, UK, DE and FR. You’ll own the full People function, report to the CEO, and drive the 2027 roadmap with a hands-on leadership style.

You’ll lead a small team, oversee HR strategy, compliance, workforce planning, compensation, employee relations and internal comms while turning strategy into action and embedding ownership culture across the business.

Qualifications

• Senior HR generalist with leadership experience
• Experience across NL, UK, DE and FR employment law
• Able to lead during change with limited onboarding
• Fluent in English; Dutch/French/German a plus
• Strong data skills and budgeting accountability
• Ability to challenge senior leaders and own outcomes

Responsibilities

• Run the People function across a multi-country org and lead through change
• Lead the People team (3 members) and develop capability
• Translate strategy into action and drive ownership culture
• Oversee AI Transformation and Workforce planning initiatives
• Coordinate office move and People cost budgeting

Job description

Join Lepaya!

You’ll join us for an approximately eight-month maternity cover, with a structured two-month handover before taking full ownership of the People function in December. You’ll step into a People function with a clear strategy, an ambitious 2027 roadmap and a handful of important workstreams already in motion, in a fast-moving, ever-changing organization, and you’ll be trusted to take them forward.

You’ll own the full People agenda across our multi-country organisation, reporting directly to the CEO and being an active part of the Leadership Team, working together to achieve the goals. It’s a hands-on leadership role for someone who enjoys being close to the business, is comfortable making decisions independently and can quickly turn strategy into action.

In short: we’re looking for someone who can hit the ground running, make good calls and keep momentum moving.

What you’ll own

Run the People function

You’ll take full ownership of the day-to-day People agenda and lead the team through a period of continued change and growth. This includes:

• HR strategy execution and People team leadership

• Employment law and compliance across NL, UK, DE and FR

• Organisation design and workforce planning

• Compensation and benefits

• Employee relations, including active casework

• Internal communications

• Developing and supporting the People team (3 current members: 1 People Manager, 1 Talent Manager and 1 Office Intern)

Bring our 2027 People roadmap to life

Our 2027 People agenda is centred around two priorities: AI Transformation and Ownership Culture. The foundations are already being laid; you’ll take them from strategy into execution.

AI Transformation

We started this work in H2 2026, building AI literacy, strengthening Tech × People collaboration, and embedding AI into areas such as onboarding and our Career Framework. In 2027, you’ll take this further by driving:

• AI-enabled impact into the Growth cycle

• Our review of how roles evolve in an AI-enabled organisation

• Updated job profiles across all functions

• The transition towards upskilling and reskilling

Ownership Culture

After 1.5 years of significant internal change, we’re continuing to rebuild and strengthen our culture around ownership, engagement and accountability. Together with the People team and our Chief of Staff, you’ll help turn this into action through our 2027 initiatives, from the engagement survey and Value Weeks to our culture and company events.

Shape the foundations for 2027

There are a few important pieces of the 2027 puzzle where you’ll play a central role:

Academy
Lepaya’s learning and development programmes are an important part of how we build our capabilities. Together with our Talent Manager, you’ll identify the organisation’s 2027 needs and turn them into a practical Academy plan.

Workforce planning
Q4 is a key moment for headcount and People cost planning. The current Head of People will set the direction and prepare the groundwork; you’ll take it through to the final People cost budget and help hold the Leadership Team accountable for it throughout 2027.

Office move
We’re moving out of our current office in April and are currently in the search phase. Together with our Office Manager, you’ll help bring the new office to life and coordinate the move from planning through execution.

We know that interim roles can sometimes mean walking into a mess of half-finished projects and trying to figure out where everything stands. That’s not the plan here.

The 2027 plans for the key workstreams above are being shaped now, together with the current Head of People, specifically so you inherit a running start rather than a blank page. The current Head of People will go on maternity leave at the end of November, with a structured two-month handover planned from October through early December.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a senior People leader who combines good judgement, autonomy and a strong sense of ownership. You’ll ideally bring:

• Senior HR generalist experience, ideally at Head of People / HR Director level, in a multi-country and fast-paced (start-up/ scale up) European organisation

• Working knowledge of employment law in at least two of NL, UK, DE and FR - and the judgement to know when to bring in local counsel

• The confidence to operate autonomously in an interim role and pick up in-flight workstreams without needing a long onboarding runway

• Professional fluency in English; Dutch, French and/or German is a strong plus

• Strong data and financial literacy: you’re comfortable building People cost budgets, tracking spend and holding leaders accountable for their numbers

• The ability to work directly with and confidently challenge senior leaders and the Leadership Team

Most importantly, you know how to balance the strategic with the practical. You can talk organisation design with the CEO in the morning, resolve an employee relations issue in the afternoon and still make sure the People team is moving the roadmap forward.

Why you’ll love this journey at Lepaya

• A challenging role in a vibrant international scale-up

• Our work-to-live scheme