Head of People

The role

You will build and protect the culture of the Novi Sad office and support managers. You will act as a senior partner to the US-based CEO and the leadership team.

What you will do

• Build and maintain a strong, unified culture in the Novi Sad office and keep it aligned with the US team.
• Handle policy compliance, team conflicts, and underperformance.
• Run regular pulse checks and give the CEO a clear picture of how the Serbian team is doing.
• Coach engineering leads and managers to lead their teams effectively.
• Introduce clear, objective performance expectations and review cycles.
• Help identify top performers and address underperformance.
• Own the hiring process end to end.
• Manage and work with freelance recruiters for sourcing.
• Own onboarding and offboarding.
• Keep contracts, policies and benefits compliant with Serbian labor law and aligned with market practice.

Required qualifications

• 7+ years in HR / People Ops, including time in a senior or leadership role with real responsibility for people and culture.
• Hands-on experience dealing with personnel issues: working with managers, teams and individuals, coaching, difficult conversations.
• Experience in a software or tech company and with international teams.
• Working knowledge of Serbian labor law and employment contracts.
• Fluent English and Serbian.
• Based in Novi Sad (or ready to relocate before the start date) and committed to working from the office 4-5 days a week.

Nice to have

• Experience with US-based companies
• University degree (law, HR, psychology, business or similar)
• Experience in technical recruiting or in automotive / embedded software
• Experience managing an HR team or freelance recruiters
• Law degree

Benefits

• Private health insurance
• 20 days of paid vacation plus sick leave and Serbian public holidays
• A direct line to the CEO and real influence on how the company grows

About the company

The client is a company of approximately 35 employees in Serbia and the US.