Head of HR

Join AIHR as Head of HR

At AIHR, we're looking for a Head of HR to join our team. Are you a hands-on HR professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment? Do you enjoy both the operational and tactical side of HR—getting things done while balancing innovation with reliable delivery? Are you a great communicator who can clearly articulate the why of your initiatives to gain buy-in and easily flex your style to partner with different levels of stakeholders? Does finding creative solutions to employee relations cases motivate you as you balance business and employee needs at a scale-up? Are you excited to lead and develop a team of capable and motivated HR and Recruitment professionals? Then this is the role for you! 😊

AIHR is looking for a Head of HR to oversee and execute our HR operations and recruitment. Join us to help AIHR become the best employer it can be.

About AIHR

Founded in 2016 with the mission to future-proof HR, the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR) has become the world’s market leader in online training for human resources professionals. We have a global customer base spread across 140+ countries, amongst which companies like Unilever, Reckitt, Goldman Sachs, Philips, Deloitte, Nike, Heineken, and UBS. It is our goal to educate 1,000,000 HR Professionals.

We are an international team of 100 people driven by excellence, innovation, and a hunger to grow in everything we do. As such, we strive to provide the world’s best courses and excellent support to our customers while continuously optimizing every aspect of our work. With over 30 nationalities, our team is diverse, yet we all share a few traits: we're friendly, enthusiastic, and great team players.

Being a fast-growing company, working at AIHR means taking on a lot of responsibility and getting countless opportunities to develop yourself in new areas and craft your role.

Role and Responsibilities

In this hands-on role, you are responsible for driving both business and people outcomes by ensuring an effective end-to-end employee experience. You are a trusted business partner to managers and employees while coordinating HR administration and operational tasks. As a small company, no job is too big or too small, and everyone is expected to roll up their sleeves and get involved.

In your role, you will work with fellow “Heads of” and with the different department heads (VPs), playing a pivotal role in translating and executing the company and people strategy.

You will manage a team of Recruitment specialists (3 FTE), a People Advisor, and facilities (1 FTE + contractors). You will be responsible for their growth, development, and overall delivery of the HR strategy.

To achieve this, you will partner with the senior leadership team to align the people strategy with business objectives. This includes shaping performance management processes, fostering career development through our LEARN competency framework, and implementing people policies (performance management & culture, career development, automation of HR admin, structuring learning initiatives, and so on) that drive AIHR’s growth while maintaining operational efficiency, cost consciousness, and excellence.

You are responsible for leveling up the people team, delivering people operations, and advising leadership on key topics such as people management, talent development, and employee engagement.

You will also oversee compliance with employment law and handle employee relations cases—ranging from complex issues like long-term sickness to day-to-day matters—while ensuring alignment with the CEO on your approach. Additionally, you will collaborate with leadership to identify and retain top talent, support succession planning, and work with the talent acquisition team to ensure hiring strategies align with business needs.

On a typical week

On a typical Monday morning, you start the day by preparing for the daily People Team standup. You’ve already outlined the week’s priorities, and after arriving around 9:00, you put the final touches on the agenda. After the standup, you have your weekly one-on-one with Chloë, our People Advisor. Chloë is on a development plan for a Business Partner role, and you’re helping her develop the relevant skills. She has spent the past week reviewing eNPS scores and employee feedback, and together, you work on translating these insights into clear, actionable initiatives that drive engagement and align with business priorities.

Next, you sit down with Margareta, our Management Assistant for the leadership team, to check in on how she’s doing and review the operational projects she’s managing for the People Team. You discuss progress, remove roadblocks, and ensure everything stays on track.

After lunch in the office (prepared by our in-house chef Rik), you dive into performance management processes, refining how we measure performance and linking it to compensation and growth. You’re working on improving the way we assess and support top talent while ensuring our LEARN framework reflects career paths across all departments.

On Tuesday, you meet with Duska; our Team Lead for Talent Acquisition, to review the hiring pipeline and ensure our hiring plan aligns with business needs. You discuss the employer branding strategies the team has been working on and brainstorm ways to create a better candidate experience.

Later in the morning, you dive into a complex employee relations case. While these situations are rare, it’s crucial to address them proactively and resolve them swiftly. Your focus is on finding a solution that balances employee support, a healthy work environment, and business priorities.

In the afternoon, you collaborate with Chloë to prepare for the engagement survey debrief with leadership. You organize the survey findings into actionable insights and develop recommendations to help each department improve team engagement.

On Thursday, you meet with Nando, the CEO, for your bi-weekly check-in. You present the employee feedback you analyzed on Monday and discuss a project focused on upskilling the MT. In the afternoon, you conduct a payroll review, ensuring everything is in order before final submission. You then record a Loom video about the way we benchmark salaries. A big part of your role is being the face of our company policies, which you introduce and promote.

On Friday, you work on the contract signing flow. With a team of over 100, an increasing number of contracts need to be drafted, and you work with Demi, our Head of Legal, to improve the current process.

In the afternoon, you run a workshop with our people managers community to upskill them on giving feedback and setting goals. Our people managers must be equipped with the support, tools, and resources to effectively manage their teams in the AIHR way. At the end of the day, you join the quarterly wrap-up meeting. In the wrap-up, the leadership team updates the company on key strategic projects, followed by drinks. Although we work hard at AIHR, we do celebrate our successes and like to have a good time with each other.

Who you are

We’re looking for a proactive problem solver who is structured, detail-oriented, manages stakeholders well, and is decisive with excellent communication skills. You get a kick out of maintaining and developing excellent end-to-end people practices, thrive in both the operational and strategic, and have a passion for people management. On top of this, we are looking for the following:

• At least 7 years of experience in business and/or HR roles;
• At least 2 years in a managerial role;
• Native or fluent in English. Some Dutch is preferred but not a must;
• Comprehensive understanding of applicable Dutch employment rules and legislation;
• Experience in a scale-up or high-growth environment;
• Experience in recruitment (management) is a plus as it will help you in managing the recruitment team;
• Motivated by developing your team, driving operational excellence and business impact;
• Strong systems thinking: able to assess risks, align operations with strategy, and ensure daily work supports broader business goals;
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills;
• Not afraid to work hard, be hands-on, and take ownership;
• Decisive and no-nonsense;
• Keen attention to detail and strives for excellence in day-to-day;
• Tech-savvy: you know how to deliver HR services through technology. Current tech stack: Personio and Officevibe;
• Has experience in partnering with senior stakeholders;
• Able to be in the office at least 3 days a week.

We offer

• A key role in shaping the education of tens of thousands of Human Resource professionals from all over the world through our courses;
• Competitive compensation;
• The opportunity to shape your own day-to-day work;
• Regular growth talks and support to reach your career goals;
• Flexible working hours & working from home arrangements;
• A high degree of autonomy in a vibrant, result-driven, inclusive, and international team;
• A key role in a fast-growing scale-up company;
• A beautiful office right across Rotterdam Central Station (Milleniumtower);
• 26 paid holidays per year + 1 extra day for every year you work here + you can exchange any 2 public holiday days for 2 other days of your choice;
• Pension plan;
• 5 Mental health days per year;
• Access to OpenUp mental health platform;
• Personal development budget, training, and we pay for the books you read!
• All public transport expenses covered (NS Business Card);
• MacBook + all other equipment you need to do your work;
• Daily lunch prepared by a chef, weekly drinks, and fun team activities;
• Free access to the Marriott hotel gym.

Get a taste of AIHR experience and check out our AIHR Benefits Guide!

Are you excited to become Head of HR at AIHR? Then we'd love to hear from you!

P.S. Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women tend to only apply when they meet 100% of them. If you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily meet every single point above, please still apply. We'd love to consider you and see if you could be a great fit.