Director, People Operations (International)

Why this job is exciting

The role:

We are seeking a highly experienced and motivated Director of People Operations to lead our international HR function across the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain and Latin America — with accountability for supporting continued global expansion. As a passionate HR leader, you bring a deep understanding of multi-national HR strategy and employment law, a genuine heart for culture, and the operational discipline to drive every step of the employee journey from talent acquisition through offboarding.

Reporting to the Senior Director of People Operations, you will elevate the international HR function to the next level of excellence while building repeatable, scalable processes that support a growing global organization.

Responsibilities:

In this role, you will be responsible for the following:

Leadership & International People Strategy

• This role is both strategic and hands-on; the expectation is that the successful candidate will be actively involved in day-to-day HR operations across all regions, with particular depth of ownership in Switzerland.
• Execute international people strategy in full alignment with the company’s goals, mission, vision, and values.
• Lead and directly manage all HR operations across the United Kingdom, Switzerland (including day-to-day operations), Spain and Latin America, working closely with in-country People Ops and Administration teams as well as external providers.
• Serve as the primary HR point of contact for new country and regional expansions as the organization grows globally, partnering with Legal and Finance to evaluate entry strategies for new markets.
• Build and maintain relationships with local employment counsel across all active regions.

International People Operations Team & Office Management

• Directly manage the international People Operations team (currently 1 direct report) through mentoring, coaching, and ongoing feedback to drive professional growth and to ensure effective operation across all regions.
• Set clear objectives, conduct regular one-to-ones and performance reviews, and build structured development plans for each member of the international People Operations team, fostering a culture of accountability, growth, and continuous improvement.
• Directly manage the Administrative/Office Manager based in Switzerland, providing guidance on office operations, vendor relationships, and local administrative matters, and ensuring their work is well-integrated with the broader People Operations function.
• Oversee the Switzerland office operations in partnership with the local Administrative/Office Manager, ensuring the Zurich/Geneva workspace operates smoothly and in compliance with Swiss workplace standards, including health and safety obligations, facilities management, and vendor coordination.

Talent Acquisition & Onboarding

• Partner with hiring managers to define roles, source candidates, and streamline interview processes across international regions.
• Oversee a seamless new hire process and integration experience for all international team members, including merger and acquisition onboardings.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve international onboarding effectiveness and speed-to-productivity.

Compensation & Total Rewards

• Oversee international payroll operations in partnership with local payroll providers, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with local tax and statutory requirements across all regions.
• Partner with the Senior Director of People Operations and Finance to develop and maintain competitive, equitable compensation frameworks across all international markets.
• Oversee local benefits administration, ensuring offerings are locally competitive and compliant with regional norms and legal requirements.
• Manage compensation benchmarking exercises for the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain, and Latin America, factoring in local market dynamics including currency volatility and inflation.
• Advise senior leadership on total rewards strategy as the company enters new countries.

Offboarding & Exit Management

• Lead a thoughtful and compliant offboarding process, ensuring that departing team members have a smooth experience
• Administer exit interviews and summarize feedback for leadership insights
• Help manage system access removal, final payroll coordination and asset retrieval workflows

Performance Management & Development

• Coordinate with the Director of People Operations, US to align performance review cycles and development initiatives across the global organization.
• Provide guidance to international managers on best practices, team strategy, and employee relations.
• Champion a culture of continuous feedback and professional growth across all international teams.

Team Member Relations

• Serve as a trusted resource for managers and team members on employee relations matters, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant treatment across all regions.
• Effectively communicate HR policies, processes, and updates to team members in a clear, culturally aware manner.
• Navigate complex employee relations situations in full compliance with local employment law.

Engagement & Culture

• Drive initiatives that promote a positive, inclusive, and high-performing work environment across all international locations with cultural sensitivity and regional awareness.
• Partner with leadership to develop and sustain a unified company culture across geographically dispersed teams.

HRIS & Systems

• Own or partner on the international configuration of the HRIS, ensuring data integrity, accurate reporting, and multi-country payroll integrations.
• Ensure the People Operations team leverages systems effectively to reduce manual work and drive operational efficiency.
• Evaluate and implement HR technology improvements as the organization scales.

Data Analysis & Reporting

• Track key people metrics, analyze trends, and provide data-driven recommendations to improve outcomes and support better decision-making.
• Support the People Operations team in defining, understanding, and utilizing key people metrics within their roles.
• Prepare regular reporting for senior leadership on international headcount, attrition, engagement, and compliance status.

Compliance & Policy

• Ensure full adherence to local labor laws, employment regulations, and data privacy requirements (including GDPR) across all regions.
• Proactively develop and maintain working knowledge of country-specific employment law complexities including works council structures, statutory leave entitlements, right-to-disconnect laws, and local compensation and benefits requirements.
• Regularly review and update company policies, handbooks, and employment documentation across all jurisdictions.
• Maintain a current understanding of regulatory changes across active markets and advise leadership proactively.

Process Improvement & Scalability

• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness within the international People Operations function.
• Build and maintain well-documented SOPs for key HR functions with a focus on repeatability and scalability as the organization expands globally.
• Develop frameworks and infrastructure that can flex to support new country entries without requiring significant rework.

Requirements:

• 6-8 years of experience in People Operations or Human Resources with increasing leadership responsibility.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, related field, or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing HR functions across multiple countries and legal jurisdictions — international experience is required for this role.
• Direct experience with at least two of the following markets: United Kingdom, Switzerland, Spain or Latin America. Given the depth of Swiss operational ownership in this role, experience in Switzerland is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of multi-country employment law, GDPR, and international compliance obligations.
• Experience navigating works council or employee representative body processes in the UK or EU; familiarity with Swiss employment structures is a strong advantage.
• Experience with HRIS platforms and multi-country payroll integrations (e.g., BizNeo, BambooHR and Rippling).
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to operate effectively across cultures and time zones. Strong preference for someone who is bilingual and/or fluent in Spanish; proficiency in French or German is a plus given the Swiss market focus.
• Excellent problem-solving, decision-making, and conflict resolution abilities.
• High emotional intelligence with the ability to lead with empathy and foster a culture of trust across a distributed organization.
• Adept at navigating change management initiatives in a complex, multi-jurisdictional environment.
• Proven ability to collaborate with and influence senior leaders to address complex organizational challenges.
• Visionary mindset with the ability to anticipate future challenges and develop long-term, scalable HR strategies.

You are motivated by:

• Hustle: You inspire others to work as hard as you. You will find a way, no matter how hard the task is.
• Ownership: You have an owner/builder mentality. You care about what you deliver and own your mistakes.
• Proactivity: You don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do or what problems to solve. You are always looking for ways to learn and improve.
• Excellence: You set a high bar and surpass expectations.  You hit your goals and ask for more.
• Humility: You are not above any task in the organization and are willing to drop what you’re doing to help a teammate. 

What you can expect from us

The team:

Capacity team members enjoy the opportunity and benefits of working at an artificial intelligence startup, but with leaders who’ve worked at places like Apple, Ebay, Visa, Answers.com, Oracle, Boeing, and many more world-class companies. The culture at Capacity encourages innovation, independent problem solving, and collaboration as we continue to mature our product in the ever-changing world of AI.

We provide:

• Private health insurance (with option to add eligible dependents)
• Eligibility for participation in the company's Profits Interest Units or Profits Interest Units Appreciation Rights after 90 days of employment, subject to the vesting and other terms outlined in the company’s plan
• 25 days of annual leave per year + bank holidays
• Company Pension
• Group Income Protection
• Group Life Assurance
• A supportive, diverse workplace where we prioritize respect for each other and our clients
• A fun, collaborative and growth-oriented team culture

Salary range:

• The expected base salary for the Director, People Operations (International) role is between £100,000 and £115,000; actual salary will be commensurate with a candidate's experience, skill and location.

Still unsure?

At Capacity we value more than just hard skills.  Our goal is to build a holistic and diverse team.  If you aren’t sure if you qualify, just apply!  We will carefully consider your application and are always grateful for any time and effort invested in Capacity.  

But wait, there’s more!

At Capacity we believe in more than just building amazing products and helping our customers.  Although we are a remote workforce, we remember the neighborhood where we started. We still strive to elevate our community by furthering access to education and careers in the tech space. Our affiliated nonprofit, Create A Loop, brings rigorous computer science courses to underserved communities with little to no access to formal computer science education.  There are many opportunities for our Capacity team members to serve and educate our Create A Loop students throughout the year.