People

HR Manager

Job Description & Chart of Accountability

About atWork

atWork is a B2B2C corporate meal platform revolutionizing employee welfare benefits across Europe. With current operations in Tirana generating €750K ARR and ambitious plans to scale to €5M+ while expanding into Italy, Spain, UK, and Germany, we are building a high-performance organization that combines technological innovation with exceptional people practices.

As we grow from 10 team members to 50+ across multiple markets, we need a strategic HR leader who can architect the people infrastructure, culture, and talent strategies that will fuel our rapid expansion and position atWork as an employer of choice in the competitive European tech ecosystem.

Position Overview

The HR Manager is a foundational leadership role responsible for building atWork’s people operations, culture, and organizational capabilities from the ground up. This position requires a strategic HR professional who can balance the demands of rapid scaling with the imperative to maintain quality, compliance, and employee engagement across multiple European jurisdictions.

The ideal candidate will be a hands-on builder who can establish HR systems, processes, and programs while also thinking strategically about long-term organizational design, talent acquisition, and culture development. This role reports directly to the CEO and serves as a trusted advisor on all people-related matters, from Series A preparation and equity structuring to performance management and international expansion planning.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning

●Design and execute recruitment strategies to scale from 10 to 50+ employees across Albania, Italy, Spain, UK, and Germany.
●Build talent pipelines for critical roles including B2B Sales, Operations, Technology, Product, Marketing, and Customer Success.
●Develop employer branding strategies to position atWork as a top destination for tech and startup talent.
●Establish partnerships with universities, coding bootcamps, industry associations, and recruitment agencies across target markets.
●Create structured interview processes, assessment frameworks, and candidate evaluation criteria ensuring quality and diversity.
●Manage end-to-end recruitment lifecycle from job posting to offer negotiation and onboarding.
●Build workforce planning models aligned with revenue growth, market expansion, and Series A milestones.

Organizational Design & HR Infrastructure

●Design organizational structure supporting rapid growth while maintaining operational efficiency and clear accountability.
●Develop role definitions, reporting relationships, and decision-making frameworks across all departments.
●Implement HRIS (Human Resources Information System) for employee data management, payroll integration, and analytics.
●Create standardized HR processes for onboarding, offboarding, performance reviews, promotions, and compensation adjustments.
●Establish employee handbook, policies, and procedures covering workplace conduct, remote work, time off, and benefits.
●Build documentation systems ensuring compliance with employment laws across multiple European jurisdictions.
●Design scalable HR operations that can support 50+ employees across 5+ countries by Series A.

Compensation, Benefits & Equity Management

●Develop competitive compensation frameworks benchmarked against European tech startups and SaaS companies.
●Design salary bands, commission structures, and bonus programs aligned with company stage and market positioning.
●Manage equity allocation strategy, ESOP administration, and cap table implications.
●Establish benefits packages including health insurance, meal allowances, professional development, and wellness programs.
●Create total rewards statements helping employees understand full value of compensation, equity, and benefits.
●Partner with CEO and Finance on budgeting for headcount costs, benefits expenses, and recruitment investments.
●Prepare compensation analysis and equity scenarios for Series A fundraising and investor due diligence.

Performance Management & Employee Development

●Implement performance management system with clear goal-setting (OKRs), regular feedback, and annual reviews.
●Design career progression frameworks and promotion criteria for all functional areas.
●Create learning and development programs including mentorship, training budgets, and skill development initiatives.
●Establish 360-degree feedback mechanisms and coaching culture that encourages continuous improvement.
●Manage performance improvement plans (PIPs) and difficult conversations with empathy and legal compliance.
●Build succession planning for critical roles ensuring business continuity during rapid growth.
●Partner with managers to develop their people leadership capabilities and HR acumen.

Culture, Engagement & Employee Experience

●Define and cultivate atWork’s core values, culture, and behavioral expectations as foundation for scaling.
●Design employee engagement initiatives that foster belonging, collaboration, and high performance.
●Implement regular pulse surveys, town halls, and feedback mechanisms to monitor organizational health.
●Create onboarding experiences that accelerate new hire productivity and cultural integration.
●Build internal communication strategies ensuring transparency, alignment, and information flow across distributed teams.
●Organize team-building activities, company events, and rituals that strengthen relationships and celebrate wins.
●Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives ensuring atWork builds representative, equitable teams.
●Maintain employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) above 40 and voluntary turnover below 15% annually.

Legal Compliance & Risk Management

●Ensure compliance with employment laws across Albania, Italy, Spain, UK, Germany including labor codes, tax regulations, and data privacy (GDPR).
●Manage employment contracts, amendments, and terminations in accordance with local legal requirements.
●Partner with legal advisors and local HR consultants on complex employment matters and market entry.
●Establish workplace safety, harassment prevention, and conflict resolution procedures.
●Maintain accurate employment records, immigration documentation, and audit-ready compliance files.
●Manage employee relations issues, disciplinary actions, and investigations with appropriate documentation.
●Prepare HR due diligence materials for Series A including org charts, compensation data, equity ledgers, and compliance documentation.

HR Analytics & Strategic Planning

●Build HR metrics dashboard tracking headcount, attrition, time-to-hire, offer acceptance rates, and diversity statistics.
●Conduct workforce analytics identifying trends, risks, and opportunities in talent management.
●Develop multi-year people strategy aligned with company growth trajectory and Series A milestones.
●Create scenario planning models for different growth paths and their HR implications.
●Benchmark atWork against best-in-class tech companies on key people metrics and practices.
●Provide strategic counsel to CEO and leadership team on organizational design, talent strategy, and culture evolution.
●Present HR insights and recommendations to Board of Directors demonstrating people excellence and readiness for scale.

Required Qualifications

Experience

●7-10+ years in HR leadership roles with minimum 3-5 years in fast-growth tech startups or scale-ups.
●Proven track record scaling HR function from 10-50+ employees in B2B SaaS, technology, or high-growth companies.
●Experience building HR infrastructure from scratch including policies, systems, and processes.
●Demonstrated success supporting companies through fundraising cycles (Seed, Series A) and investor due diligence.
●Background managing multi-country European employment including Italy, Spain, UK, Germany, or similar markets.
●Experience with equity compensation, ESOP administration, and cap table management in startup contexts.
●Track record as strategic business partner to founders and C-suite executives.

HR Expertise

●Deep knowledge of full-cycle recruiting for technical and commercial roles in competitive talent markets.
●Expertise in compensation design, salary benchmarking, and equity structuring for startups.
●Strong understanding of performance management systems, OKRs, and employee development frameworks.
●Experience implementing HRIS platforms (BambooHR, Workday, Personio, Hibob, or similar).
●Knowledge of European employment law including labor codes, termination procedures, and works councils.
●Proficiency in HR analytics, metrics tracking, and data-driven decision making.
●Understanding of culture development, employee engagement, and organizational design principles.

Strategic & Leadership Skills

●Strategic thinking with ability to connect people initiatives to business outcomes and growth objectives.
●Business acumen including financial literacy, P&L understanding, and commercial awareness.
●Executive presence and communication skills for board presentations and C-level advisory.
●Change management capabilities to guide organization through rapid growth and transformation.
●Influencing skills to drive adoption of HR initiatives without formal authority over all functions.
●Project management excellence with ability to juggle multiple priorities and deliver results independently.

Technical & Analytical Skills

●Advanced proficiency with HRIS platforms, applicant tracking systems (ATS), and HR technology stack.
●Strong Excel/Google Sheets skills for workforce planning, compensation modeling, and analytics.
●Experience building dashboards and reports using data visualization tools (Tableau, Looker, or similar).
●Comfortable with modern collaboration tools (Slack, Notion, Asana, Google Workspace).
●Ability to leverage AI and automation tools to increase HR efficiency and employee experience.

Personal Attributes

●Builder mentality with comfort operating in ambiguous, resource-constrained startup environments.
●Hands-on executor who can both design strategy and implement tactical solutions independently.
●Empathetic people advocate who balances employee needs with business requirements.
●High integrity and discretion when handling confidential employee and company information.
●Entrepreneurial mindset with bias toward action, experimentation, and continuous improvement.
●Cultural intelligence and adaptability for working across diverse European markets and teams.
●Passion for technology, innovation, and building world-class organizations.

Language Requirements

●Fluent English (required for all company communications and international operations).
●Italian, Spanish, or German language skills highly preferred for market expansion.
●Albanian language skills advantageous for local team management.

Performance Metrics

●Headcount Growth: Successfully scale team from 10 to 50+ employees across 5 markets.
●Time-to-Hire: Maintain average time-to-hire under 45 days for critical roles.
●Offer Acceptance Rate: Achieve 80%+ acceptance rate on final offers.
●Employee Retention: Maintain voluntary turnover below 15% annually.
●Employee Engagement (eNPS): Achieve and maintain eNPS above 40.
●Onboarding Effectiveness: New hires achieve 90%+ satisfaction with onboarding experience.
●Performance Review Completion: 100% on-time completion of quarterly/annual performance reviews.
●HR Systems Implementation: Successfully implement HRIS and ATS within first 90 days.
●Compliance: Zero employment law violations or legal disputes.
●Diversity Hiring: Achieve 40%+ diverse representation in new hires.
●Series A Readiness: Complete HR due diligence preparation with zero critical issues.
●Budget Management: Manage HR budget within 5% variance while supporting growth objectives.