People & Operations Lead, EMEA

Advance your career and become part of Vention's dedicated team: Vention supports some of the most innovative manufacturing companies in automating their production within a matter of days. Vention's Manufacturing Automation Platform (MAP) enables its customers to design, automate, order and deploy equipment directly from their web browser.

What You Can Expect

Competitive compensation package: Fixed salary with performance-based commission or bonus.

30 days of vacation: plenty of time to recharge.

Flexible working: Flexible hours, 1 day per week working from home, and up to 10 days per year of international remote work.

Monthly benefits budget: Flexible and adjustable to your needs.

Optional company pension plan.

Growth & development: Be part of our growth and shape your own career path, with clear opportunities for development and responsibility from day one.

International travel: Opportunity for travel, including visits to our HQ in Canada.

Inclusive culture: Active employee resource groups (ERGs) foster connection, networking, and engagement.

Team events: Regular team events, offsites, and a collaborative international environment.

Community engagement: 2 paid days per year to support a cause you care about.

Corporate discounts: Savings across travel, food, fashion, and more.

About the role

As Vention scales across EMEA, we're investing in a senior people leader to be our anchor on the ground in Munich. Reporting to the VP of People & Culture and partnering closely with our EMEA commercial leadership, you'll be the most senior People & Operations voice in the region. The local leader our team turns to, and the bridge between our Munich office and our Montreal headquarters.

This is a builder's role with a leader's mandate. In your first year, you'll stand up and stabilize the operational foundation of our German entity, office, legal, payroll, and benefits. From there, your enduring focus is people: coaching managers, partnering with leaders, strengthening culture, and making sure the day-to-day experience of working at Vention in Europe is exceptional.

In your first year you will:

Stand up the Munich office. Lead the office move and build-out end-to-end - space, fit-out, vendors, equipment, occupational safety (Arbeitsschutz), and a smooth transition for the team.

Solidify the legal and entity foundation. Partner with internal stakeholders and external advisors (legal, Steuerberater) on GmbH compliance, employment contracts, statutory obligations, and corporate housekeeping (Handelsregister, signatory/Prokura matters).

Establish the operating rhythm between EMEA and Montreal HQ, including cadences, points of contact, and processes used to live-informally with regional leadership.

What You’ll Do

EMEA business operations leadership

Drive the office drumbeat on cross-functional topics spanning Sales-to-Supply chain; ensuring each local function are properly supported from headquarters

Drive “business operations” improvement in the region; working cross functionally with SLT-members

Be the trusted advisor to CEO and CFO on any operational issue in the region; candidly raising improvement opportunities

Help maintain the “one-company culture” from North America to Europe

Be the operational owner for the German office: facilities, lease and property management, supplier and service-provider relationships, procurement, and on-budget office spend.

Act as the local finance-operations bridge to HQ, including expenses, vendor contracts, corporate cards, and coordination with the Montreal finance team on the German books.

Manage travel, events, insurance, IT logistics (with IT), and visitor/guest experience.

People leadership & business partnering

Serve as the trusted HRBP to EMEA managers and employees by coaching leaders, supporting performance management, and handling employee relations with sound judgment and discretion.

Be the on-the-ground partner to the VP of People & Culture: a clear-eyed read on team health, morale, and emerging issues, and a steady local presence when leadership isn't in the room.

Champion Vention's culture in Europe with onboarding, team-building, recognition, and the connective tissue that makes a distributed team feel like one company.

Partner with the Talent Acquisition team on EMEA hiring, from employer brand to candidate experience to a great first day.

HR operations & compliance

Own the EMEA HR backbone: employee files and data, contracts and contractual changes, verifications, time and attendance, leave, and audit-ready records.

Keep us current and compliant with German employment law and regulatory change; coordinate on immigration matters (A1 certificates, inter-office transfers/ICTs) with external partners.

Administer benefits programs (health, bAV) and ensure GDPR-compliant handling of employee data.

Support managers through the full performance cycle, including reviews, development, and the harder conversations (warnings, terminations) in line with local law.

What You Bring to the Table

6+ years in progressively senior HR/People roles, ideally as an HRBP or People generalist with real operational breadth; experience standing up or scaling a regional office or entity is a strong plus.

Deep German employment law and HR operations expertise, including GmbH context, payroll, bAV, and compliance.

The credibility to coach and partner with senior leaders - you operate as a peer to the business, not a back-office support function.

A builder's comfort with ambiguity. You can prioritize across competing demands, drive projects to done, and stay calm and structured when things are in flux.

Fluent English and German, written and spoken.

A hands-on, autonomous, service-minded operator who brings structure, clarity, and judgment - and knows when to escalate.

Ready to help shape the future of industrial automation?

We believe that diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and valued.

If you’re passionate about technology and want to make a real impact in a growing company, we’d love to hear from you.