Head of People

Adliswil - Zurich - Switzerland, Amsterdam '- Noord-Holland - Netherlands, Copenhagen - Hovedstaden - Denmark, London - England - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Warsaw - Mazowieckie - Poland

Head of People - Northern Europe
The Head of People is the People Partner to the President of the Northern Europe business, working with them and their leadership teams to deliver comprehensive support whilst creating and leading projects and strategic transformation initiatives that produces maximum value and output from employees so that the business delivers what is required of them to achieve its overall targets and business plans.

The Head of People will be the coach, challenger, partner and trusted advisor to the President and Leadership Team. The incumbent will be an innovative thinker, focused on creating and delivering a People strategy that adds measurable value in key areas such as talent and development, learning and development, employee engagement, employer brand and People practices and policies, all of which focus on delivering exceptional customer outcomes. In addition, the incumbent will lead the People stream in important areas including M&A integrations, new wins and transitions, restructure programmes, cultural and organisational development programmes. Effective delivery in the Head of People role requires the incumbent to interface with local/regional leaders and the local/central People Function.

The Head of People will work with the leadership team to embed a culture based on CBRE's RISE values which underpins high-performance, fairness, teamwork, growth and people development to achieve our vision and targets. The incumbent is a leader who understands the demands of driving a talent led business and therefore brings industry leading thinking across all areas of the People discipline to advance the People agenda and ultimately positions CBRE as a market-leading employer which provides a unique 'edge' when we are bidding for and retaining customers.

To be successful the Head of People will be a visible and vocal leader, not afraid to be innovative or disruptive to achieve the best outcomes. At all times the Head of People will act with the highest amounts of integrity and professional standards.

What You'll Do

• Analytics/Ai Use data and fact-based analysis to anticipate talent needs and provide insights to the business for competitive decision making

Change Management

• Act as a change expert, making sure that employee engagement and communication is at the core of change programmes and supporting leaders in delivering change through people.
• Drive leaders to continuously challenge their structures so that they are constantly aligned to current business needs; support leaders in developing their structures to this end.
• Take the lead in managing works councils, trade unions or similar stakeholders/parties representing employee interests in the workplace.

Culture

• Create and deliver initiatives that preserve and develop the organisational and regional culture
• Constantly review and assess the culture of the organisation through active, vocal engagement with leaders and managers and take any steps necessary to maintain CBRE's culture and RISE values

Employee Engagement and Experience

• Lead the implementation and delivery of CBRE's employee engagement survey process and own the associated action plans following the survey

Internal Stakeholders

• Contribute to the leadership team and act as a commercially astute business partner, coaching and challenging stakeholders where necessary so that their teams produce the outcomes required to deliver the business plan.
• Work with the President and leaders to deliver a compelling employee value proposition that differentiates us in the marketplace and supports/reinforces CBRE as an employer of choice.
• Build and maintain regular, high-quality contact with key internal stakeholders.

Leadership

• Understand what is required in each area of the business and develop people plans that focus on the delivery of those outcomes.
• Provide leadership on People policies and processes, policy development (in line with country practices) and strategic implementation in support of achieving business plans and growth.
• Provide insight and practices from outside of CBRE to stretch internal thinking/practices and advise internal users on current and future market capabilities.
• Be visible and accessible to stakeholders and employees.
• As part of the People Leadership Team contribute to the broader leadership of People in AMS
• Ensure that the business is always compliant with internal policy requirements and external legal requirements and take all steps necessary to make sure this always remains the case.

People Support

• Deliver People support that effectively meets the day-to-day requirements of the business.
• Provide tailored support in areas such as recruitment, employee relations and performance management whilst making sure that line managers are owning the delivery of all outcomes related to people management.
• Work closely with People Shared Services and Centres of Excellence to ensure business needs are met and a seamless, collaborative service is delivered to internal stakeholders by the whole People function.

People Team

• Attract, recruit and retain members of the People Team and provide mentoring and career development.
• Motivate and lead the People Team and create a high-performance, delivery-based culture.
• Deliver active and regular communication to ensure business requirements are understood.
• Actively foster a culture of 'one team' across the network.

Success in this role will be measured through defined targets as follows:

• Delivery of business revenue, profit targets, cashflow and other financial objectives as a key member of the leadership team
• Alignment across the region to the Local Operating Model
• Effective succession planning that develops and retains talent, measured through low attrition and high employee engagement scores
• Talent development and retention targets
• Achievement of the GWS Local NE business plan and People Team Roadmaps

What You'll Need

• Superior written and verbal communication skills with strong oral presentation skills
• 100% Customer Focused towards internal and external customers, with relentless aim on driving value and solutions that further the company's goals and objectives
• High level communication skills to leverage genuine engagement with cross functional and cross business teams to implement strategies and solutions
• Capable of working in a matrix environment
• Builds productive and trusting relationships with employees, peers and leaders in a complex matrix organisation
• Effectively manages teams, communicating vision/direction and motivating people
• High level of geographical cultural awareness with the ability to adapt style and requirements to meet the desired business outcomes within the region/country
• 10+ years of progressive People experience which includes multi-country talent environments
• Deep experience in the business partner and employee relations functions of HR.
• Experience of being an effective influencer and accomplished influencer
• Successful experience of working in a corporate, large matrixed environment
• Hands-on experience of transitions, unions and variations in employment regulations for the specific countries in scope and the ability to manage effectively within them as required
• Able to operate in a fast paced and high-volume business with strong resilience and an ability to lad and manage change
• Have run change, transformation and reorganisation programmes and achieved the required outcomes
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast paced and complex environment
• Able to challenge, be tenacious and have difficult conversations
• HR vocational training
• CIPD qualified or equivalent country industry body

Why CBRE
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2024 revenue). The company has more than 140,000 employees (including Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves clients through four business segments: Advisory (leasing, sales, debt origination, mortgage serving, valuations); Building Operations & Experience (facilities management, property management, flex space & experience); Project Management (program management, project management, cost consulting); Real Estate Investments (investment management, development). Please visit our website at

Our Values in Hiring
At CBRE, we are committed to fostering a culture where everyone feels they belong. We value diverse perspectives and experiences, and we welcome all applications.

Service line:
GWS Segment