Head of People Relations (f/m/d)
As Head of People Relations, you own the People Relations department end to end across De Gruyter Brill. Your team partners with leaders on organizational design, workforce planning and succession and brings in country-specific expertise, language and legal knowledge to employees. You lead a team of around seven colleagues across multiple countries, report directly to the CPCO, and become DGB's central point of contact for works council relations.
At De Gruyter Brill, we are dedicated to diversity, equal opportunity, and building an inclusive culture where everyone belongs. We believe in individual potential, so please apply even if you don’t meet every requirement—passion and a willingness to learn matter as much as qualifications.
- Lead and develop the global People Relations function, ensuring consistent standards, processes, and collaboration across global and regional teams
- Act as a strategic business partner to the Chief People & Culture Officer and senior leaders on organizational design, workforce planning, succession planning, and leadership matters
- Partner with business leaders to drive organizational effectiveness, change initiatives, and people strategies that support business objectives
- Oversee the global recruitment strategy, ensuring an inclusive, high-quality hiring process and building talent pipelines for critical roles
- Taking take of an independent operational division (business unit), including active responsibility for employee life cycles including recruiting
- Serve as the senior escalation point for complex employee relations matters, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant case management across all locations
- Ensure compliance with employment legislation, works council requirements and global HR governance while maintaining standardized employment documentation and policies
- Lead and monitor the People Relations and recruitment budgets, driving operational excellence and cost-effective people solutions
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, Law or a related field
- Minimum of 5 years of HR experience, ideally within an international organization
- Solid knowledge of recruitment, employment law, and employee relations, including strong works council collaboration
- Experience with modern HR systems and a strong understanding of HR processes and best practices
- Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to drive process improvements
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills with strong negotiation abilities and a high level of integrity and discretion
- Fluent in English and German to best lead the global team; additional languages are an advantage
We offer you
Berlin | Vollzeit | 1.10.2026
- An exciting professional challenge for one of the innovation drivers of the publishing industry
- Family-friendly working time models, flexitime, and flexible home office arrangements to support a healthy work-life balance, alongside a substantial vacation allowance and additional special leave days
- Extensive benefits and allowances for a healthy, balanced life
- Development budget and opportunities for training and personal development
- Passionate colleagues in diverse, international teams; joint team events and company parties