Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 200,000 businesses worldwide â including Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more â with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale.
Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,000 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$8 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If youâre ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.
We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and youâre motivated by our mission and operating principles. You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor.
You're humble and collaborative; turn zeroâtoâone ideas into real products, and you âget stuff doneâ end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, youâll tackle complex, highâvisibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, letâs build whatâs next.
About The Role
We're looking for an exceptional People Operations Lead to join our London office and lead people operations excellence across the EMEA region. This is a high-impact role where you'll manage the small EMEA People Operations team while serving as a subject matter expert to the Global People Ops organisation.
You'll be hands-on â youâre not afraid to roll up your sleevesâone moment you're resolving a critical employee escalation, the next you're designing processes that will scale across the region. Your expertise in operationalising European employment law combined with your drive to leverage AI and automation will position you as the go-to leader for operational excellence across the organisation.
This role requires someone comfortable managing through ambiguity, building foundational processes while addressing daily escalations, and effectively collaborating across all levels of leadership. You'll balance strategic thinking with tactical execution.
What Youâll Do
Lead the People Ops Team: Directly manage and develop the EMEA-based People Operations team, fostering a culture of care, empathy, and high performance. Serve as a hands-on mentor and advisor to People Operations team members globally, sharing best practices, providing guidance on complex issues, and elevating operational standards across all regions. Create an environment of psychological safety where teams feel empowered to ask curious questions and continuously improve
Serve as the UK and EU Expert: Act as a subject matter expert on operationalising employment law and compliance across European jurisdictions (UK, Netherlands, France, and beyond). Translate complex legal requirements into clear, actionable guidance that empowers managers and employees to make confident decisions. Provide hands-on support for complex compliance matters
Drive Operational Excellence and Efficiency: Identify service gaps and implement innovative solutions that enhance service delivery and employee experience. Actively champion AI and automation opportunities to streamline operations, eliminate manual work, and free teams globally to focus on high-value strategic initiatives
Be Hands-On When It Matters: Jump into the details when neededâwhether that's resolving a complex case or personally handling escalations that require senior expertise. Model the standard of service excellence you expect from your team by staying connected to the day-to-day
Deliver Complex, Cross-Functional Projects: Own the execution of time-sensitive initiatives. Ensure every deliverable is on time, within scope, and thoroughly documentedâgetting personally involved in critical workstreams as needed
Partner Strategically with Key Stakeholders: Collaborate closely with People Technology, Legal, Total Rewards, People Partners, and other stakeholders. Serve as the primary EMEA People Ops point of contact, proactively communicating to keep all stakeholders aligned and informed
Leverage Data to Drive Decisions: Use data to monitor team performance, identify trends, and make evidence-based recommendations that improve service delivery and compliance outcomes across the region and inform global practices
What Youâll Need
Deep EU & UK Employment Law Experience & Expertise: 5+ years of HR experience with substantial exposure to EU employment frameworks, including significant hands-on experience in the UK, Netherlands, and France. Extensive knowledge of labor law and compliance requirements across multiple European countries. You navigate regulatory complexity with confidence and can anticipate how changes impact operations across jurisdictions
Experience Driving Efficiency Through Technology: Track record of implementing AI, automation, or service delivery technologies that improved operational efficiency. You're comfortable evaluating and adopting new tools that enhance how teams work
Strong Stakeholder Management: Outstanding communication and collaboration skills. You navigate differing professional opinions diplomatically, build consensus across functions and geographies, and maintain strong relationships even in challenging situations
Leadership Experience: You're a roll-up-your-sleeves leader who balances strategic thinking with tactical execution. You're comfortable leading direct reports while also jumping in to handle complex cases, mentor team members, and personally drive critical initiatives to completion
Ability to Simplify Complexity: Demonstrated ability to translate intricate legal and operational requirements into simple, followable 'how-to' guides that non-experts can easily understand and apply
Strong Program Management: Proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously with strict accountability for results. You balance competing priorities while maintaining quality and meeting deadlinesâand you're not afraid to get into the weeds when projects need hands-on leadership
Comfort Operating in Ambiguity: You thrive when building foundational processes from scratch while simultaneously managing urgent escalations. You can establish structure in chaos without losing sight of long-term strategic goals
To protect you from recruitment scams, please be aware that Airwallex will not ask for bank details, sensitive ID numbers (i.e. passport), or any form of payment during the application or interview process. All official communication will come from an @airwallex.com email address. Please apply only through careers.airwallex.com or our official LinkedIn page.
Airwallex does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Airwallex will not pay any fees to search firms/recruiters if a candidate is submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless an agreement has been entered into with respect to specific open position(s). Search firms/recruiters submitting resumes to Airwallex on an unsolicited basis shall be deemed to accept this condition, regardless of any other provision to the contrary.
Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We donât regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring
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