[Hiring] People Lead @Playlink

Role Description

We are looking for an experienced People Lead to join us on a 6-month fixed-term contract (with potential for extension) for maternity leave cover. This is a standalone HR position, meaning you will have full ownership of our People function. You won’t just be maintaining the current operations — you will be leading our remote culture, managing our global operations and compliance, and act as a trusted partner to our Founders. We need someone who deeply understands the founder mentality, can navigate wearing multiple hats with ease, and excels at operating cross-functionally in a lean, rapid startup environment.

Responsibilities

• Standalone Function Management: Run the day-to-day People operations fully autonomously, serving as the sole point of contact for our global workforce.
• End-to-End Employee Lifecycle: Partner closely with managers to run the full employee lifecycle — including recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, performance management, development, employee relations, organisational design, reward/remuneration, and policy writing and implementation.
• Global Payroll & EOR Management: Manage our global workforce operations utilising Deel, ensuring seamless onboarding, offboarding, regulatory compliance, and monthly contractor/EOR management.
• People Operations & Systems: Maintain and elevate our internal tech stack. Design and implement efficient remote workflows utilising platforms such as Notion, Miro, and Slack, establishing automated integrations to minimise manual overhead.
• Data Analysis: Analyse HR data and metrics to identify trends, opportunities, and risks — translating these insights into clear actionable recommendations.
• Process Maintenance & Innovation: Ensure the continuity of existing foundational People processes while proactively introducing scalable, sophisticated methodologies to enhance corporate culture, operational efficiency, and employee engagement.
• Founder Partnership: Partner closely with the founders to align People initiatives with broader commercial objectives, serving as a strategic sounding board within a high-growth startup environment.
• Employee Relations & Engagement: Support our global team across multiple timezones, managing employee lifecycle events, and navigating multiple communication styles effectively.

Qualifications

• Startup Experience: A proven track record within early-stage or scaling startups. Candidates must demonstrate resourcefulness, resilience, and the ability to establish order in an ambiguous, fast-paced environment.
• Standalone Capability: Must be comfortable working as a team of one.
• Remote Management: Experience working remotely and managing People operations for a global workforce.
• Deel & EOR Experience: Must have practical, hands-on experience managing global teams and compliance. Experience and knowledge of working with Deel is required.
• Systems & Operations: Proficiency in HR tech. Experience building or restructuring workspaces in Notion, mapping workflows and talent mapping in Miro, and deploying Slack integrations/automations is highly valued.
• Stakeholder Management: Exceptional emotional intelligence and communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with founders.

Requirements

• Must be available to start in July/August 2026 — please ensure alignment with this timeline ahead of applying.