Head of People and Culture

Job description

XY Sense is an AI powered IOT sensor company on a mission to use data to create workplaces people love.

As a next-generation occupancy sensor which delivers powerful real time data for the world’s largest companies, XY Sense is enabling workplaces to future proof the way they plan, use and monitor office space. Not only is this supporting workplace productivity in a hybrid world, it is enhancing employee wellbeing and providing energy saving and cost reducing strategies for global real estate teams – all whilst preserving privacy with 100% anonymity.

At XY Sense, each of us is driven to change workplaces for the better around the world and ultimately improve how humans interact with the built environment through powerful analytics and real-time, actionable insights. To help us achieve this mission, we are seeking a Head of People & Culture to join our global team and lead our people function as we scale.

The work you’ll do

This role is all about building and sustaining a high-performing, engaged and well-supported team. You will also be owning the full people lifecycle with support from our leadership team, expanding our global workforce, and driving a strong culture across distributed teams.

Key jobs in the life of this role will include;

• Taking responsibility for shaping and delivering XY Sense’s people strategy in partnership with the ELT and leadership team. You will own the full people lifecycle for the organisation and be proactive.
• Supporting organisational design and workforce planning aligned with business growth.
• Overseeing the end-to-end employee lifecycle across XY Sense’s global workforce, ensuring employment frameworks, policies and practices support employees across multiple jurisdictions.
• Leading and maintaining the company’s performance management framework. Guide managers in effective performance conversations, feedback and development planning.
• Being proactive in building and implementing people processes that enable the entire people function at XY Sense to scale.
• Ensuring robust HR governance, documentation and compliance standards are in place and consistently up to date. You will maintain all people systems as the source of truth.
• Supporting hiring and onboarding practices that attract and retain high-quality talent.
• Leveraging people and culture insights to identify engagement opportunities and inform our organisational design, culture architecture and positioning.
• Supporting succession planning and leadership development initiatives.
• Helping embed a positive and inclusive culture across distributed teams and supporting initiatives that enhance employee wellbeing and leadership capability.

What you’ll need to bring

• A proven track record in senior HR / People & Culture roles, ideally within a scaling or growth-stage organisation. At least 10 years of experience – owning and exceeding your goals. You know how to work in a complex environment with a global team.
• To be networked across the HR and people & culture landscape. You may come from a strategic HR, organisational development, or people operations background – or a unique combination of all three.
• People savviness - You can critically analyse and strategise people challenges.
• Outstanding interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence the decision process and convey people-led value propositions to senior leaders.
• Proficiency in people reporting, data and the use of HR systems and people analytics tools.
• Strategic, persistent with an entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to be part of a fast-growth environment.
• Experience navigating or managing complex employee relations and multi-jurisdictional HR challenges.
• It is fantastic if you have experience working within a start-up / scale-up, ideally in tech or a similar emerging-category business.
• Prepared to get hands on with building and implementing people processes that enable the entire people and culture function at XY Sense to scale.

As a person you are;

• An entrepreneurial spirit with a can-do attitude. We are a company growing fast so need people who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty.
• Hungry for growth – both your own growth and the growth of your work.
• People-centric. You have a strong understanding of the employee experience and organisational culture.
• A critical thinker. You think strategically and you are highly analytical when it comes to people planning and organisational design.
• An excellent communicator with great interpersonal and communication skills.
• Empathetic and can channel different points of view. You are able to establish and maintain excellent relationships and credibility quickly.

What we will offer in return

• A competitive remuneration package (base + superannuation) and attractive ESOP.
• Flexible work arrangements to balance work and life.
• Tremendous growth and upside opportunities.
• A team that values equality, respect, and helping each other thrive at work.
• A chance to be a foundational team member in our rapidly growing global company.