Head of People

Head of People & CultureLocation: Coimbra, Portugal (Hybrid)About Loop Future:Loop Future combines technology, innovation, and sustainability to create digital solutions that shape the future. By integrating software engineering, cloud solutions, salesforce expertise, and intelligent sourcing, Loop Future connects people, systems, and industries — driving efficiency, growth, and global impact. We are Headquartered in Portugal, with offices in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Leiria and Braga; we are also supported by our international offices in the UK, Switzerland and India. The company brings together a diverse and talented team committed to delivering cutting-edge digital experiences into domains such as TV &Media, Satellite & Space, Consultancy, Retail and many other domains.About the Role:This is a leadership-team role with real influence in a scale-up business. You will be a trusted adviser to senior management, capable of handling difficult performance and organisational conversations with confidence, while remaining a visible, credible source of support for employees across the business, and whilst you will be supported by country-specific HR Managers, you will also be able to step in to deal with specific situations yourself as needed.Core responsibilities:Own and actively shape Loop Future's people and culture strategy, ensuring it supports business goals while remaining authentic and aligned with our goal of being a genuinely great place to work.Lead initiatives around employee engagement, wellbeing, inclusion and retention across all regionsOverall ownership of HR operations, ensuring robust, compliant and consistently applied People processesPersonally handle, or directly oversee, complex and sensitive employee relations cases where senior input is required.Ensure policies are practical in each of our locations, up-to-date, and understood by managers and employees.Ensure smooth functioning of training and development for new and existing employeesLead, coach and develop a small team of country-specific HR Managers based in Portugal and India.Set clear priorities, standards and ways of working for the HR function, and manage team performance.Contribute to leadership-team discussions on structure, resourcing and long-term workforce planning.Requirements:5 to 10 years' experience in senior HR / People leadership roles within mid-sized organisations, operating as a trusted partner to executive and senior leadership teams.Strong background in professional services, consulting or similar businesses, where you understand the tension between employee wellbeing, client commitments (including being seconded to client teams), utilisation and performance.Hands-on experience owning HR in multi-country environments, with accountability for outcomes rather than only passive exposure to international teams.Demonstrable experience in personally creating, evolving and enforcing policies, ensuring they are practical, understood, and applied consistently — not simply documented.Ability to operate credibly at both strategic and operational levels, moving seamlessly from leadership-team discussions to direct involvement in sensitive people matters when requiredExperience managing and developing more junior HR team membersExcellent written and spoken English and Portuguese, with the confidence and clarity to communicate effectively at all levels of the organisation.More detailed job description available at request.