Head of Performance and HR

Head of HR, EMEA Hybrid, 2 days per week in the London office Language requirement: Business-fluent French required Gravitee is a 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader, on a mission to govern the world’s intelligence. AI is rewriting the rules of business, and Gravitee is at the centre of that transformation. As Head of HR, EMEA , you will play a critical role in shaping the people infrastructure, leadership capability, and employee experience that support Gravitee’s continued growth across the region. This is a senior, high-ownership HR leadership role covering the full EMEA people agenda. You will lead People Operations, employee relations, employment law compliance, performance management, culture, engagement, and manager enablement across a fast-moving, international SaaS environment. You will also oversee recruitment across EMEA, partnering with internal and external talent teams to ensure hiring is structured, consistent, high-quality, and aligned to business needs. the focus is leadership, governance, hiring quality, and manager capability. You will report into senior leadership and will need the credibility, judgement, and resilience to influence at executive level while remaining close to the detail. Business-fluent French is essential, as Gravitee has a significant employee population in France and requires someone able to work confidently with French-speaking employees, leaders, and external employment law partners. People Operations & HR Leadership Own the EMEA People Operations agenda with accountability for employee relations, compliance, performance management, policy, documentation, and core people processes. Act as a trusted HR partner to leaders and managers across the region, balancing commercial pragmatism with fairness, consistency, and sound judgement. Manage complex or sensitive employee matters with calm decision-making, clear documentation, and appropriate legal input where required. Ensure people policies, records, and processes are scalable, audit-ready, and appropriate for a growing international SaaS business . Partner effectively with French employment law specialists and internal stakeholders, using business-fluent French to support clear communication and sound decision-making. Identify risks, gaps, or inefficiencies in current people practices and take ownership of improving them rather than waiting for escalation. Bring a continuous-improvement mindset to HR operations, using data, tooling, automation, and emerging technologies to simplify workflows and improve employee experience. Talent & Recruitment Oversight Oversee recruitment across EMEA, ensuring the business hires exceptional talent with pace, structure, and high standards. Partner closely with internal and external recruitment teams, providing direction, governance, and challenge where needed. Support hiring managers to make better decisions through structured interviewing, evidence-based assessment, and inclusive hiring practices. Use data and systems to improve hiring quality, process visibility, and overall talent outcomes. Act as a visible, trusted People leader across EMEA, supporting a cohesive and inclusive culture across a distributed workforce. Help translate Gravitee’s values into everyday leadership behaviours, people decisions, and operating practices. Support engagement, wellbeing, communication, and manager-enablement initiatives that can scale with the business. Business-fluent French is essential. Strong HR leadership experience across the UK and EMEA. Proven ability to lead People Operations across multiple jurisdictions. Experience managing employee relations, performance, compliance, policies, and core HR processes. Strong understanding of recruitment governance and hiring quality, with experience overseeing recruitment rather than personally delivering end-to-end recruitment. Confidence using data, systems, tools, and automation to improve people processes and decision-making. Commercial judgement, resilience, and credibility with senior stakeholders. Care deeply about high-quality output and operational clarity. Are comfortable building from scratch in a fast-paced, evolving environment. Bonus Points Experience in SaaS, AI-enabled systems, open-source communities, or developer-led technology environments would be advantageous. Salary of £100,000 - £120,000 depending on experience and alignment with core competencies. ~ 25 days holiday plus UK public holidays. ~3 mental health days plus wellness allowance. ~ Your birthday off. ~ Professional development budget to support your growth. ~ Hybrid working, with 2 days per week in the London office. ~ A meaningful, progressive, global company culture that is as ambitious as it is hardworking. ~ Endless growth opportunities in a company operating at the centre of API, event, and AI transformation. At Gravitee, no employee or applicant will be treated less favorably on the grounds of sex, marital status, race, color, nationality or ethnic or national origin, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy or maternity, marital or civil partner status, or religion or belief.