Team Lead People Operations [Europe]

Portugal·LisbonPermanent – Full Timelead

People OperationsHuman Resources

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Overview

Ready to lead, disrupt and reinvent the sleep industry? We are Emma – The Sleep Company. Founded in 2015, we have grown into the world’s largest direct-to-consumer (D2C) sleep brand,

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People OperationsHuman Resources

Ready to lead, disrupt and reinvent the sleep industry?

We are Emma – The Sleep Company. Founded in 2015, we have grown into the world’s largest direct-to-consumer (D2C) sleep brand, with a presence in over 20 markets and more than 35 Emma stores across Europe.   

Our mission is simple: to develop sleep comfort products that empower our customers to awaken their best every day. Today, our products are trusted by millions and recommended by leading consumer associations worldwide. 

It’s our people who bring this mission to life. At Emma, you’ll join a driven, international team that values ownership, collaboration, and continuous knowledge sharing. With colleagues from over 70 nationalities, we combine diverse perspectives with a shared ambition to learn, grow, and create lasting impact, together. 

You'll lead the day-to-day operations and development of the People Operations EU team, owning delivery, quality, and the team member's growth.

Beyond the team leadership, you'll operate as a trusted advisor to our CHRO and other senior leaders on sensitive people topics, always having compliance and the business needs in mind. That means bringing sound judgment, clear recommendations, and the credibility to influence decisions at that level.

The team is actively moving toward a People Partnering model, meaning you'll increasingly be a trusted voice and point of contact for managers and Emmies on people topics. You'll also shape the future of People Operations:: thinking ahead platform management and reducing operational complexity as well as manual work through AI adoption. You will partner with the P&O Excellence team to turn that vision into practice.

Team leadership: priorities, workload distribution, development, and quality of delivery across all team members
Senior leadership advisory: acting as a trusted advisor to our CHRO and senior leaderson people topics across EU, bringing clear recommendations and sound judgment on complex or sensitive situations around labour law and similar topics

Operational ownership of payroll, contracts, onboarding, offboarding, mobility, audits and labour law compliance across our EU entities

External provider management: payroll partners, legal counsel, benefits vendors, EOR providers, with structured performance evaluation and accountability

EU entities continuous improvement: continuously managing and resolving open topics across countries, applying prioritization and strategic judgment on what to tackle and when

Future of people operations: setting the vision for how People Operations EU should evolve, and partnering with external providers, and internal teams (Excellence teams) and to deliver it

5+ years of HR/People Ops experience with a strong focus on EU compliance, labour law, and HR process design across multiple jurisdictions

Proven experience leading or managing a team: driving engagement, setting direction, developing people, holding your team accountable

Capability to navigate across different country contexts, manage projects autonomously, and make decisions without deep local expertise in each, knowing when to seek input and when to act

Strong business acumen paired with a sense for compliance: Finding a good balance to do what is the best for Emma while keeping an eye on the local and EU regulations

Experience in managing external providers (payroll, legal, EOR) with rigor

Strong communication skills: able to translate complex legal or operational topics into clear, actionable guidance for senior stakeholders and non-specialists.

Fluent in English; additional European languages a plus

Experience with a range of HR platforms is a nice to have; familiarity with Personio, Remote and Perk specifically is a plus.

Responsibility and decision-making authority from your first day

The opportunity to work on challenging tasks that contribute to your professional growth

Work independently and as part of a dedicated, international team

Private Health Insurance and 24 vacations days per year, with 1 extra day per year worked (until a limit of 29 days per year)

22 remote days per quarter policy, with offices in Parque das Nações, Lisbon.

Work with and learn from experts in diverse fields

Get to know your team members at our exciting company events

Working from a pet-friendly office

We are on a mission to become No.1 in the world of sleep, and we’re looking for driven, ambitious people to help us shape what’s next. If you’re curious, hands-on, and ready to challenge the status quo, you’ll find the space here to make things happen and create real impact. 

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and are committed to building an inclusive workplace. We celebrate diversity and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion or belief, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age.

Our aim is to get back to you within a few days. Due to the high volume of applications, there may be slight delays, but we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.  