Senior HR Generalist - EMEA

About Canonical

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and the publisher of Ubuntu. We are a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with over 1,200 colleagues across 75+ countries. We operate as a founder-led, profitable, and growing organization that values excellence and remote-first workflows.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior HR Generalist to support our EMEA region. You will act as a driver and practitioner for both regional and global HR initiatives, providing precise, compliant, and scalable HR operations. You will partner with leadership to shape the future of our HR function while managing the full employee life-cycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver precise and compliant HR operations with high accuracy.
• Collaborate with the EMEA HR Manager and Global Head of HR on regional and global impact.
• Manage talent development, succession planning, performance assessments, onboarding, and culture initiatives.
• Partner with managers on organizational design, workforce planning, and employee engagement.
• Work with the HRIS team to refine operational processes.
• Coach and advise people managers on employee relations across multiple countries.
• Drive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
• Design new policies and lead business-critical HR projects.

What We Are Looking For

• Exceptional academic track record.
• HR experience leading regional initiatives within a technology business.
• Strong EMEA regional HR experience (France, Germany, or UK is a plus) with knowledge of local labor laws.
• Experience business partnering with senior stakeholders.
• A hands-on approach to daily HR routines combined with leadership capabilities.
• Strong project management skills and data-driven decision-making abilities.
• Fluent in business English (written and spoken).
• Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events.

Nice to Have

• Experience with immigration/mobility, payroll, or benefits oversight.
• Knowledge of HR systems and databases.
• Professional HR certifications and facilitation skills.

Benefits

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints.
• Personal learning and development budget of $2,000 USD per year.
• Annual compensation review and performance-driven bonus.
• Comprehensive benefits including maternity/paternity leave and Employee Assistance Programme.
• Travel opportunities for company events with travel upgrades for long-haul flights.