Executive Director, People & Talent (Future CPO) | London / Dubai / Singapore | $180,000 – $220,000
We’re working exclusively with a profitable, privately owned SaaS business entering its next significant phase of growth to find an Executive Director of People & Talent with a clear, defined pathway to Chief People Officer.
This is not a maintenance role. It’s a build role.
The Opportunity
The business currently employs approximately 500 people across 15 countries. The mandate is to take that to 1,000+. To do that, they need someone who has been in that seat before. Someone who has professionalised, scaled, and transformed a People function inside a high-growth environment and who relishes the challenge of building something that outlasts them.
You’ll report directly to the CEO and Chief of Staff, lead a global team of 15 HR professionals across EMEA and APAC, and have the authority and visibility to truly shape the organisation’s future.
What You’ll Be Building
- A scalable global People function fit for the next phase of growth
- Frameworks, structures, and operating models that don’t exist yet
- A culture and engagement strategy across a genuinely international workforce
- Leadership development capability for a rapidly evolving executive team
- World-class global HR across Internal HR, People Services, and Business Services
What They’re Looking For
First, let’s be clear about what they’re not looking for. If you’re a process-heavy, corporate HR leader who thrives in a mature, structured environment, this probably isn’t the right fit.
They want someone who is:
- High energy, commercial, and entrepreneurial, a modern People leader, not a traditional HR Director
- Experienced scaling a People function from 250–500 employees to 1,000+
- From a SaaS, Technology, or Tech-enabled Services background
- A builder, not an inheritor. Someone who creates structures rather than maintaining them
- Comfortable with ambiguity, comfortable challenging CEOs, and comfortable operating globally
- Deeply experienced across EMEA and APAC markets
The Package
- $180,000 – $220,000 base salary (paid in local currency)
- London (preferred), Dubai, or Singapore
- Defined pathway to Chief People Officer
- Global remit from day one
- Direct access to the CEO
- The chance to leave a genuine legacy in a business that’s going places
If you’re a People leader who has built rather than inherited, who leads with energy rather than process, and who wants to be part of something genuinely exciting — I’d love to have a confidential conversation.
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JGA Recruitment Group Ltd (“We”) are committed to equality of opportunity for all applications regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. We strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.
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