HR Generalist

Summary

Join Canonical, a leading open source software provider, as an HR Generalist supporting the EMEA region. This role involves providing HR guidance to team members and managers, partnering with line managers on employee relations, ensuring accurate employee data processing, and managing benefit programs across EMEA. You will also liaise with the finance team, support the full employee life cycle, automate administrative tasks, and lead HR system development. The ideal candidate will have an exceptional academic record, relevant professional qualifications, and excellent insights into EMEA HR practices and employment laws. This position requires a self-directed, organized individual with strong communication and problem-solving skills. Canonical offers a distributed work environment, a personal learning and development budget, annual compensation review, and various other benefits.

Requirements

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Relevant professional qualification and certifications
• Excellent practical insights into German, UK and/or French HR practices and employment laws
• Self-directed, organised problem solver with the ability to prioritise and meet goals and deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to exercise discretion, sound judgement, tact and diplomacy in all communications
• Fearless and principled approach to professional interactions at every level of the business with commitment to confidentiality of sensitive information
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events, with at least one trip of two full working weeks

Responsibilities

• Provide HR guidance to team members and managers, setting high expectations of behaviour and performance
• Partner with line managers to provide employee relations advice on global policies and procedures
• Ensure accuracy and timeliness in processing employee changes, joiners and leavers
• Manage and drive benefit programs spanning our EMEA location (UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Spain)
• Liaise with our finance team on monthly payroll, projects and enquiries
• Support the full life-cycle of HR including onboarding, benefit administration, and departure
• Apply critical thinking to automate and reduce administrative tasks
• Take a lead role in the management, continued development, and integration of our HR system
• Act as a system expert and advocate for the global HR team
• Produce data driven reports to inform and influence HR initiatives
• Lead and participate in projects where you’ll see the impact of your work
• Support internal resource groups to drive initiatives such as diversity and inclusion
• Create, update and maintain corporate policies that have a global lens with local application
• Ensure consistency of application of our HR policies and procedures

Preferred Qualifications

Knowledge of other EMEA laws and practices is beneficial

Benefits

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year
• Annual compensation review
• Recognition rewards
• Annual holiday leave
• Maternity and paternity leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
• Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long haul company events