Head of People Operations

✨ Why this role is special

• You will build a department, not inherit one. You will be Joko's first Head of People Operations. The foundations exist — experienced team members owning our core people processes across three countries, a strong compliance track record — but the department structure, the operating model, and the roadmap are yours to design.

• You will do it at a real scale moment. Joko is a profitable scale-up entering its international chapter, set to grow from 100+ people today to 200+ within 18 months , across France, Spain, the US, and soon more. The processes you design now are the ones that much larger company will run on.

• You will operate at the frontier on tooling and AI. AI is used daily across Joko, and People Operations is one of the highest-leverage places to apply it. You will have the tools, the budget, and dedicated BizOps support to automate aggressively and build one of the most modern People Ops setups out there.

What you will do

As Head of People Operations, your mission is to build the operational backbone that lets Joko double in headcount without losing an ounce of reliability. You will report to the VP People and manage the People Operations team: two People Operations Managers today, four soon .

• Build and lead the People Ops team: Hire, coach, and grow your People Operations Managers. Organize ownership across countries and specialties so the team scales smoothly, with no single point of failure — every critical task has a named backup.

• Own our core people processes end-to-end: Payroll, contracts, benefits, time off, and onboarding/offboarding administration across France, Spain, and the US — accurate, compliant, and on time, every time.

• Anticipate scale: Project the company 18 months ahead and build for it today: country playbooks (our Spain entity is ramping up now, and more markets will follow), clean org data, and reliable workforce reporting for planning and reviews.

• Own systems and data: Take full ownership of our HRIS and people data. Make People data a single source of truth, automate everything that should be automated — with AI and with dedicated support from our BizOps team — and keep improving the employee-facing experience of every process.

• Own compliance: Ensure compliance with French and Spanish labor law hand-in-hand with our Head of Legal and external counsel, anticipate regulatory changes, and keep our documentation ready for audits, fundraising, and due diligence at any moment.

• Deliver a human employee experience: Make sure every employee interaction with People Ops is fast, accurate, and discreet, with clear and accessible policies — reliability people can feel.

• Partner across the company: Work closely with Finance (payroll reconciliation, headcount and budget actuals), Legal (labor law), Talent Acquisition (fast, flawless contracts and pre-onboarding), and Workplace Management.

Who we're looking for

• Experience: 8+ years in People Operations or HR , including several years managing a team, in high-growth tech startups or scale-ups — you've lived through a similar headcount inflection.

• A builder: You've stood up or rebuilt a People Ops function, not just run one that was already in place. You know what to build now versus what can wait.

• Expertise: Deep command of French payroll and labor law; exposure to Spanish or US employment matters is a strong plus.

• Systems thinker: You've owned an HRIS, you design processes that hold up at 3x the headcount , and you are rigorous about data quality.

• Analytical skills: You reason with data — headcount, payroll, budget actuals — and build reporting that people trust.

• Attention to detail: You thrive on precision, organization, and reliability — in People Ops, the details are the job.

• Entrepreneurial mindset: You thrive in fast-moving, ambiguous environments. You take ownership without being asked, you welcome feedback, and you go the extra mile by default.

• AI fluency: You already use AI tools daily in your own work and have a point of view on which parts of People Ops should be automated — the People team is expected to lead by example on this front.

• Discretion: You handle sensitive matters — disciplinary cases, offboarding, personal data — with absolute integrity.

• Manager-coach: You grow the people you manage, and you see developing your team as core to the job.

• High standards, hands-on: You set the bar high and you are never afraid to roll up your sleeves — you can run a payroll cycle yourself if needed.

• Languages: Fluent in French, fluent in English (our working language). Spanish is a plus.

• Location: Based in France or Spain.

Our perks

(Some of the benefits listed below are available to full-time positions only)

At Joko, we believe that flexibility and trust are essential. Our work environment reflects this through:

• Flexible remote : If you live in Paris, you can choose to work from our office or from home with no constraints. If you live elsewhere, we can provide access to a coworking space and a coworking budget.

• Work from anywhere : Want to spend a month in Italy while working? You can work from most countries in the world for up to 3 months per year .

On top of that, we offer plenty of perks:

• Top-market compensation

• Equity for everyone with the chance to own a piece of what you build

• Half-day each week dedicated to leveling up with AI by exploring new tools, iterating hard, and sharpening your skills

• Yearly offsite in amazing locations and budget for team-building events & monthly in-person gatherings

• Contribution to your ClassPass subscription

• 8-week leave paid 100% for the second parent