Head of People

About the Role 

Reporting to the COO, the Head of People will lead and evolve our People function—guiding everything from talent acquisition and performance management to employee engagement and systems strategy.

You’ll serve as a strategic partner to our executive and functional leaders—ensuring we have the people, practices, and culture in place to enable a thriving and high performing global team. You’ll lead us through this next stage of business maturity – evolving from the initial startup phase and into our next chapter that reflects our current team, size, complexity, and business needs. Rather than build a People function from scratch, your mission will be to strategically guide us through a refresh. 

This is a unique opportunity to shape a deeply mission-driven, globally distributed company, with 80+ global team members. We have offices in 4 locations and presence in 10+ countries. This role will be based in our London office.

This role is ideal for a dynamic systems-thinker who is equally comfortable with strategic problem-solving as they are with effective execution of people operations.

What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership

• Partner with the Chief Operating Officer to define and lead our global People strategy, translating business needs into thoughtful people practices that support performance, growth, and belonging
• Build trusted relationships across the organization, shifting from transactional HR to clear strategic business partnership, providing guidance, support and value-add to the executive team, managers, and team members alike 
• Lead the full employment lifecycle: talent planning, recruitment, development, retention, team performance, org design and effectiveness, identifying where differential effort is needed to drive impact
• Drive organizational impact through strong internal stakeholder relationships, persuasive communication, and the ability to navigate ambiguity and build consensus across diverse perspectives

People Systems & Operational Excellence

• Elevate and implement refreshed people-centered systems and workflows
• Manage and “level up” current programs and policies that reflect values of 'seeing-the-human', accountability, experimentation, and disruption
• Leverage technology (including AI) to streamline People processes, systems, and workflows across the organization – staying up-to-date on the latest HR tech
• Manage core HR responsibilities as needed, including total rewards, compensation, employment law, compliance, and immigration across multiple countries
• Collaborate with tech, finance, and legal teams to keep People compliant and aligned
• Coach and grow a small, high-impact People team

Employee Experience & Culture

• Design and implement a program to embed organizational values across various touchpoints of the employee lifecycle
• Design initiatives that strengthen engagement, reinforce our values, improve internal communications, and cultivate a connected, high performing culture 

Data & Insight

• Refresh and maintain effective listening and feedback systems to measure engagement and drive continuous improvement 
• Use people data to identify and surface trends, risks, and opportunities; informing leadership and strategic decisions and initiatives
• Support leadership in using data to better understand employee needs and organizational health

Talent Acquisition

• Evolve the full-cycle recruitment process from fragmented, passive hiring to intentional and strategic active recruiting, while ensuring an exceptional hiring and candidate experience across all regions
• Develop and implement innovative sourcing strategies, employer branding initiatives, and robust interview processes to attract top talent globally
• Establish and track key recruitment metrics to continuously improve efficiency and effectiveness

About You

First and foremost, you care deeply about people and the work we do. You’re energized by streamlining systems, solving people challenges, and cultivating teams that thrive. You’re also a connector: empathetic, strategic, and culturally attuned across borders.

We think you’ll thrive if you…

• Bring 10+ years of experience in People & Talent, People Ops, or Organizational Development (ideally in a startup or purpose-driven company)
• Have led across the full employee lifecycle with technical depth in one or more core areas (talent acquisition, engagement, performance, L&D, organizational design, total rewards, etc.)
• Are an exceptional strategic thinker and problem-solver with a bias for action
• Are a strong business partner who can advise senior leaders and coach managers with confidence
• Are a natural relationship-builder with cross cultural fluency
• Operate with data fluency and know how to use metrics and data to inform strategy and performance
• Are an excellent communicator who brings clarity and authenticity across levels, cultures, and channels
• A continuous learner who stays abreast of People technology and talent trends, and eager to leverage AI across all People work
• Are highly organized and adaptable, with the project management chops to juggle competing priorities
• Have experience with tools like Lattice, Greenhouse, Excel/Sheets, and modern HRIS platforms
• Have a proven ability to navigate and thrive in ambiguous, ever-changing environments
• Are excited by our mission and eager to support impact-driven organizations around the world
• Are based in London and have permanent work authorization in the UK

Bonus points for:

• Functional commercial experience outside of People & Talent
• Experience working across multiple countries and employment contexts
• Background in social impact, international development, or equity-centered work
• Passion for building inclusive, collaborative workplace cultures

Why 60 Decibels?

• Work on meaningful challenges with global impact
• Join a curious, mission-aligned, and genuinely kind team
• Lead a strategic function with the trust and support of leadership
• Be part of building a company where people love to work—and grow

📨 Sound like a fit?

If you're ready to lead people strategy for a company committed to listening and impact, we’d love to hear from you.