Chief People Officer / Head of Talent

Location: Barcelona (preferred)

Working pattern: 3 days per week in office

Travel: Regular leadership cadence (approx. 2-3 trips per quarter)

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a private equity-backed, high-growth technology business with a global footprint. Having successfully scaled, the company is now entering its next phase: focused growth, product innovation, and building deeper organisational capability-particularly across engineering and product.

The organisation operates with globally dispersed go-to-market and sales teams, complemented by concentrated tech and product hubs in key locations.

With the CEO based in Barcelona, there is a strong preference for this role to be located there, working closely alongside the executive team.

This is a pivotal moment for the business. They are seeking a Chief People Officer / Head of Talent to design and embed a world-class talent and leadership strategy that supports sustained performance and long-term value creation.

The Role

This is a talent-first CPO role, focused on organisational capability rather than hiring volume, while also providing oversight of the broader HR function.

You will work directly with the CEO and executive team as a trusted advisor, bringing clear, practical, high-impact counsel to shape leadership, performance, and talent across the organisation.

Key areas of focus include:

Talent Management & Succession

• Build and embed a robust, scalable succession planning framework
• Identify and accelerate high-potential talent
• Strengthen leadership pipelines and critical role coverage

Leadership & Management Development

• Design and implement a practical, high-impact management development framework
• Elevate leadership capability across all levels
• Lead structured leadership forums (QBRs, executive offsites, and twice-yearly management gatherings)

Organisational Effectiveness

• Shape a high-performing, focused organisation aligned to strategic priorities
• Drive alignment across global leadership teams (C-suite and C-1)
• Support capability building across distributed commercial teams and centralised tech functions

Executive Partnership

• Act as a trusted, commercially-minded advisor to the CEO
• Provide clear, direct, and outcome-driven counsel
• Balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery

People Strategy & HR Leadership

• Define and execute a clear people strategy aligned to business goals
• Lead and develop a lean HR team (~8), spanning HR operations and talent acquisition
• Ensure strong operational foundations while keeping the focus on talent and leadership impact
• Oversee reward frameworks, including variable compensation and equity

What We’re Looking For

• Deep expertise in talent management, succession planning, and leadership development
• Proven success building management development frameworks at scale
• Experience in PE-backed and/or high-growth, tech-enabled environments
• Strong exposure to product and engineering-led organisations with distributed teams
• Comfortable operating in a lean environment with selective hiring
• Experience leading broad HR functions alongside strategic talent priorities
• Highly practical, direct, and non-political in approach
• Ability to operate as a credible and trusted advisor at CEO level
• Experience guiding organisations through focus shifts and evolving priorities
• Excellent communication skills in English (business language)

Key Characteristics

• Snappy, pragmatic, and action-oriented
• High emotional intelligence with the ability to build strong, lasting relationships
• Confident challenger-constructive, grounded, and solutions-focused
• Balances clarity with empathy
• Commercially sharp with a global mindset

The SR Group (UK) Limited is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.