Upvest, founded in 2017, enables any financial institution to offer great investment experiences to its customers. Upvest is an investment firm regulated by the German supervision authority (BaFin). The company currently employs 160+ people across Europe with its headquarters based in Berlin, Germany.

The company is backed by the world’s largest venture capital funds and investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock, Earlybird, HV Capital, Notion Capital, and ABN Amro Ventures, as well as by renowned fintech entrepreneurs (including Maximilian Tayenthal, founder of N26, and Felix Haas, founder of IDnow).

We’re looking for fintech enthusiasts to join us in creating the financial infrastructure of tomorrow. We’re building the first European Investment API to enable any financial institution offering a wide range of efficient and transparent investment products, such as stocks and ETFs in nominal, portfolio, and fractional form. Our mission and vision is to make investing as easy as spending money.

We’re based in Berlin but would consider hiring remotely in Germany for this role. If you do want to move to Berlin though, we’re happy to support your relocation.

Position Summary:
The VP People will play a pivotal role in shaping and driving our culture and the people strategy at Upvest and will also be involved and provide inputs to the wider company strategy. This position requires a dynamic leader with a proven track record in building and leading People functions, fostering a positive workplace culture, and implementing effective talent management strategies. Your experience should clearly demonstrate how you have had a strategic impact on the organisations you were at, and that you are comfortable being one of “the faces of Upvest” both internally and externally.

Responsibilities:
You and your (already existing team of 8) will own all key elements of a modern People function for an international organisation of 150-200 employees, from strategic leadership to talent acquisition and management, employee engagement, well-being and relations, culture, performance management, learning and development, benefits and compensation, all the way to People metrics and analytics. Given your experience, we surely don’t need to explain what these mean in more detail and will spare you the time… ;-)

Journey ahead:
Upvest is at an exciting and pivotal phase of its development. In the near future we will see continued commercial scaling of our company and our product offering being available in many countries across Europe and beyond, serving millions of end users. We seek a People leader who has been on such a journey before - especially in industries which require a special focus on the regulatory environment and compliance. Upvest has an unwavering commitment to be the home for great talent and we are proud to say that our employee happiness/eNPS is higher than at most other companies. We are looking for a leader in this role who can take this to the next level residing on the solid foundations we have built so far.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field;
• Master's degree and HR certification (e.g., SHRM, HRCI) preferred.
• Proven experience as a senior People leader in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, ideally a successful startup/scaleup. Experience in a highly regulated industry like financial services strongly preferred.
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal and communications skills, great “feel” for people and ability to build strong relationships across all levels of the organisation.
• Strong strategic thinking and business acumen.
• Process driven individual with in-depth knowledge of People best practices, (German) employment laws and regulations.
• English & (some) German language proficiency
• Our headquarter and most employees are in Berlin, Germany, so being present there regularly is a must.

Why Upvest?

• We're working on solving a hard problem: fixing the European securities financial infrastructure that empowers more people to be able to invest. You have the opportunity to contribute to this change.
• We invest in you. From access to a personal coach, development budget and plenty of opportunities to grow in your role.
• We take hiring seriously with a strong focus on keeping a high bar when interviewing (equally important is that we hire decent people, who are passionate about their craft and helping us achieve our shared mission).
• While we're not quite fully-remote, we are committed to being a flexible employer, as we understand you don't have to be in the office to do your best work.
• We live a culture of empowerment, trust (that we hire the best people and get out of their way) and openness (there's a greater advantage in sharing information than keeping it to ourselves).

Our values:

• Learn and grow. We aim high to shape our future. We give and request honest feedback knowing that we develop together. Progression over Perfection.
• Team first. We make it easy for others. We value our differences and are open to others' opinions. We win and celebrate together! Team over Egos.
• Own the outcome. Whether we win or we lose, we stand together. We are proactive and get the job done. Outcome over Process.
• Tell the story. We always start with the why. We share knowledge to empower others. Transparency over Complexity.

Upvest is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees