Global Director of People (Hybrid UK)

 


About the Role
Location: UK, Hybrid (Minimum 1 day/week at the UK Cambridgeshire office)

We are looking for a Global Director of People to own and scale our people operations across multiple countries. This is a hands-on, execution-focused role for someone who thrives in complexity, has deep global HR experience, and can jump into existing systems to get things done immediately.
You will partner closely with the Deputy CEO, managers, and local stakeholders to ensure a seamless employee experience across the full lifecycle, while maintaining strong operational rigor and compliance globally.


Key Responsibilities
Employee Lifecycle Management (Global)

• Own the full employee lifecycle: recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, performance management, promotions, compensation changes, and offboarding
• Manage hiring and terminations through Rippling
• Oversee and implement performance management processes
• Manage recruiting workflows
• Ensure accurate documentation (offer letters, probation completions, bonus structures, separation agreements, etc.) in partnership with in-house counsel

HR Operations & Systems

• Serve as the global owner of Rippling, including:
  • Employee data management
  • Time off and leave of absence tracking
  • Time & attendance for hourly employees
  • Spend management
  • On and Offboarding workflows
• Quickly assess and optimize existing HR processes and systems
• Manage and continuously improve HR policies, processes, and tools globally

Benefits & Payroll Globally

• Own HR operations, including:
  • Health benefits
  • Retirement plans
  • Employment verifications
• Payroll familiarity strongly preferred
• Act as the operational expert for global compliance and benefits administration

Global HR Operations

• Manage HR processes across multiple countries, including:
  • US, UK, France, Hungary, Romania, Sweden
• Coordinate with local partners and internal “local heroes” to ensure compliance and smooth execution
• Support global org structure changes and scaling efforts

People Partnership & Leadership Support

• Partner with managers on:
  • Employee retention and engagement
  • Performance feedback and issue resolution
  • Title, compensation, and role changes
• Work closely with the Deputy CEO on organizational design, workforce planning, and people strategy

What Success Looks Like

• You can jump into Rippling on day one and quickly understand, manage, and improve existing setups
• You confidently handle all HR operational details, especially benefits and compliance
• You effectively manage HR operations across multiple international jurisdictions
• You bring structure, clarity, and momentum to complex, global people operations
• Managers trust you as a pragmatic, solutions-oriented and executive partner

Must-Have Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years proven global HR experience managing employees across multiple countries
• Hands-on experience with Rippling (required)
• Strong execution mindset - you are known for getting things done, not just designing processes
• Deep understanding of employee lifecycle operations
• High attention to detail with the ability to operate strategically

• Payroll experience
• Familiarity with US and international employment compliance
• Experience owning and managing company-wide training and development initiatives, including onboarding training, compliance training, manager enablement, and ongoing employee development programs across a global organization.

Nice to Have

• Experience supporting creative, technical, and product-driven teams (e.g., game development, engineering, design, live operations)
• Background in the gaming industry, with familiarity with the pace, culture, and talent profiles typical of game studios and gaming-adjacent companies
• Comfort operating in industries where project cycles, launches, and peak workloads require flexibility and pragmatic people solutions
• Comfort partnering closely with IT, including experience with device management, system access, onboarding/offboarding coordination, and acting as a bridge between People Operations and IT teams in a distributed setup