(Senior) People Business Partner - Performance

Who we areHelsing is a defence AI company. Our mission is to protect our democracies. We aim to achieve technological leadership, so that open societies can continue to make sovereign decisions and control their ethical standards.As democracies, we believe we have a special responsibility to be thoughtful about the development and deployment of powerful technologies like AI. We take this responsibility seriously.We are an ambitious and committed team of engineers, AI specialists and customer-facing programme managers. We are looking for mission-driven people to join our European teams – and apply their skills to solve the most complex and impactful problems. We embrace an open and transparent culture that welcomes healthy debates on the use of technology in defence, its benefits, and its ethical implications.The roleJoin Helsing as a People Business Partner and take on a pivotal role in shaping our most valuable asset: our people. The People team is at the strategic centre of Helsing and with deep partnerships across the business. We are seeking an experienced People professional who can forge strong relationships, cultivate high-performing teams through effective performance management, and drive strategic HR initiatives within a fast-paced, mission-focused organisation.As a People Business Partner, you will play a crucial role in our mission by ensuring our people strategies directly support our strategic objectives. You will partner with leaders to build, scale, and retain the world-class talent essential for revolutionising the future of defence and security.The day-to-dayPartner strategically with assigned business units to deeply understand their objectives and translate them into actionable people plans: spanning talent management, organisational design, workforce planning, and change leadership.Provide expert guidance, coaching, and practical support to leaders and employees on all aspects of performance management, including objective setting, ongoing feedback, formal performance reviews, and developing improvement plans.Drive and support key People initiatives and programmes, from talent reviews and succession-planning to employee engagement, well-being, and culture-building activities across a fast-paced, multinational environment.Leverage people data and insights to identify trends, diagnose challenges, and proactively develop data-driven solutions that enhance organisational effectiveness and employee experience.Collaborate closely with the broader People team (e.g., Talent Acquisition, People Operations) to ensure consistent, integrated, and impactful People policies and processes.You should apply if youPossess 5+ years of progressive experience in a People Business Partner-like role, ideally within a high-growth, technology-driven, or mission-critical environment.Demonstrate deep and practical expertise in designing, implementing, and managing robust performance review processes, driving a culture of high performance and accountability.Have a proven track record of building strong, trusted relationships and influencing outcomes with leaders and employees across all levels, particularly within complex, diverse teams.Are adept at coaching, enabling, and challenging constructively, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.Are a strategic, systems-level thinker with the ability to translate complex business needs into practical, and effective people solutions.Possess exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, enabling effective collaboration and persuasive articulation of ideas to diverse stakeholders.Are analytical and comfortable leveraging data to inform decisions, measure impact, and drive continuous improvement in people processes.Are proficient in written and spoken German.Note: We operate in an industry where women, as well as other minority groups, are systematically under-represented. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all the listed qualifications; ability and impact cannot be summarised in a few bullet points.Nice to HaveExperience working in a scale-up or highly dynamic, rapidly evolving company environment.Familiarity with the tech, defence, or national security industries.Experience with the implementation or optimisation of HRIS systems (we use HiBob).Proficiency in other languages such as French, Spanish or Polish.Join Helsing and work with world-leading experts in their fieldsHelsing’s work is important. You’ll be directly contributing to the protection of democratic countries while balancing both ethical and geopolitical concernsThe work is unique. We operate in a domain that has highly unusual technical requirements and constraints, and where robustness, safety, and ethical considerations are vital. You will face unique Engineering and AI challenges that make a meaningful impact in the worldOur work frequently takes us right up to the state of the art in technical innovation, be it reinforcement learning, distributed systems, generative AI, or deployment infrastructure. The defence industry is entering the most exciting phase of the technological development curve. Advances in our field of world are not incremental: Helsing is part of, and often leading, historic leaps forwardIn our domain, success is a matter of order-of-magnitude improvements and novel capabilities. This means we take bets, aim high, and focus on big opportunities. Despite being a relatively young company, Helsing has already been selected for multiple significant government contractsWe actively encourage healthy, proactive, and diverse debate internally about what we do and how we choose to do it. Teams and individual engineers are trusted (and encouraged) to practise responsible autonomy and critical thinking, and to focus on outcomes, not conformity. At Helsing you will have a say in how we (and you!) work, the opportunity to engage on what does and doesn’t work, and to take ownership of aspects of our culture that you care deeply aboutWhat we offerA focus on outcomes, not time-trackingCompetitive compensation and stock optionsRelocation supportSocial and education allowancesRegular company events and all-hands to bring together employees as one team across EuropeHelsing is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or gender identity. Please do not submit personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning your health, or data concerning your sexual orientation.Helsing\’s Candidate Privacy and Confidentiality Regime can be found here. #J-18808-Ljbffr