HR Business Partner

Location: While this position is posted in a specific location, all of Oyster’s positions are fully remote and you can work from home. Forever. To create the best experience for our new hire, this role requires that you be based within UTC+0 to UTC+3.

In this client-facing role, you’ll be the go-to expert for our customers and internal teams, solving complex HR challenges across a number of countries in Western Europe, primarily Portugal, Italy, and Spain. Whether it’s advising on tricky terminations, navigating country-specific compliance, or unblocking sensitive people issues, your deep HR expertise and pragmatic mindset will help our customers feel supported and confident every step of the way. You will champion a high-performance culture, constantly seeking ways to optimize processes and leverage modern tools, including AI, to scale your impact and efficiency. If you thrive on variety, love solving complex problems, and want to shape the future of global work, we want to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

Complex employee relations (ER) matters

• Act as a senior HR expert for complex employee relations (ER) matters across your allocated countries, with particular in-depth knowledge across multiple European countries.

• Provide pragmatic, solutions-focused guidance on high-risk and sensitive cases, including performance management, misconduct, investigations, and terminations

• Navigate nuanced local legal frameworks with confidence, ensuring compliance while supporting business objectives

• Partner closely with internal stakeholders and Oyster customers to deliver clear, actionable advice on complex people issues in a timely and commercially-minded way

Country HR information and knowledge

• Draft country-specific information on a wide range of HR topics in our team format.

• Leverage AI and automation tools to streamline the generation, updating, and scaling of country-specific HR documentation, ensuring rapid and accurate knowledge delivery.

• Answer questions (in the form of tickets) on HR topics which are unable to be resolved by our Lifecycle Operations teams.

• Provide internal Oyster teams with training (or other methods of increasing their knowledge) on HR topics as needs arise.

• Look for opportunities to proactively improve country-specific HR information.

• Attend customer calls when there are questions on country-specific HR information.

• Work with other teams (e.g. Customer Support, Sales, Product, Legal) to problem-solve country-specific issues with your HR knowledge.

Continuous Improvement & High Performance

• Continuously audit and refine workflows and ways of working to reduce response times and elevate service quality.

• Actively leverage AI responsibly to maximize personal output, sharing best practices with the broader People Services team.

• Analyze recurring ticket trends and received queries to identify systemic issues, proactively building preventative resources for internal teams.

Projects

• Lead People Services and cross-functional projects as we work towards our Mission to enable companies to hire anyone, anywhere!

Core Requirements

• Deep employee relations expertise across multiple countries, with hands-on experience handling complex and high-risk cases (e.g. investigations, PIPs, terminations)

• 6+ years of ER & HR generalist experience, with a strong track record of supporting both internal stakeholders and external clients

• Portuguese, Italian and/or Spanish language skills would set you up for success in this role.

• Cross-country HR experience, with a deep global focus (eg, APAC, EMEA, AMER, LATAM). Experience in countries like France would be a big bonus!

• Culturally aware, with a nuanced understanding of local HR practices, norms, and expectations across the regions you’ve supported

• An exceptional communicator, able to translate complex employment topics into practical, accessible advice (both in writing and in conversations)

• Solution-oriented and commercially minded, offering well-reasoned options and confident recommendations when faced with challenging people matters

• Skilled at stakeholder engagement, including presenting confidently to senior leaders, clients, and cross-functional teams

• Change-ready and growth-driven, excited by ambiguity and eager to challenge the status quo to improve processes and outcomes

• People-first mindset, with a strong focus on the experience of our customers, team members, and employees in everything you do

• Tech-Forward & AI-Literate: Digitally savvy with a strong curiosity for HR tech and AI; practical experience using AI tools to accelerate drafting, research, and data analysis is highly valued.

• Continuous Improvement Mindset: A proven track record of optimizing existing processes, scaling operations, and moving from reactive firefighting to proactive problem-solving.

• High-Performance Delivery: Thrives in a metrics-driven environment with a focus on speed, precision, and high-quality outcomes for global customers.

• [BONUS] Demonstrable experience with EORs (Employer of Record) & proven ability to navigate the complexities of international employment and compliance within EORs.

• [BONUS] Additional languages

• [BONUS] Have worked in a fast-paced, scaling startup or global tech environment

• [BONUS] Experience implementing AI tools or automation workflows within an HR or Ops function.

You'll also need

• A reliable home internet connection (or be able to get one)

• Fluent English language

How YOU work

• Work from anywhere: Oyster has no borders or HQ. As long as work is timely, your team is supported, and you're authorized to work where you live, you can work from anywhere.

• Paid time off: Enjoy 40 days off per year (including holidays and vacation), or more if required by your country.

• Mental health support: Access Plumm, our mental well-being service.

• Wellbeing allowance: Each month, receive a wellbeing allowance in your ThanksBen wallet to spend on a wide range of options.

• Flexible parental leave: All new parents are eligible for at least three months’ paid leave, with job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally.

• WFH stipend: Receive a stipend for your laptop and home office equipment to get you set up quickly.