People & Performance Lead

Looking for a new adventure? You’ve come to the right place.

We're an Amsterdam-based team of 60+ (and counting) with 20+ nationalities amongst us! A varied bunch of “Citizens of The World” with a wide range of skills and hundreds of thousands of kilometers under our travel belts. And we have something important in common (other than our very well-worn passports): We want to change the way people travel. 

And that's exactly what we're doing, with the travel app to plan, track, and relive trips in a smart and beautiful way.

Polarsteps has over 10 million users already, but, for us, this is just the beginning. We have big plans for the future, and so we need even more talented and enthusiastic people to help us on our journey.

Want to know more about us? Here you go.

Your expedition: People & Performance at Polarsteps

We want to be the very best tech scale-up to work for in the Netherlands (if not the world!). That means creating and maintaining a happy team. And not just kinda happy or happy enough — we mean really genuinely happy. Because we truly care about our people and the unique company culture that they help us to create.

For this to happen, we go above and beyond in thinking of ways to improve life at Polarsteps. We always keep our eyes and ears open to create initiatives that truly matter. Our company continues to grow, we want to nurture our unique culture and ensure that we operate efficiently as we scale our team.

At the end of the day, the basis of any successful company is the team behind it, and looking after ours is a priority. As a People & Performance Lead, you will be at the forefront of this very important goal — making a difference on an operational, organizational, and human level.

❗We are searching for a People & Performance Lead to join our team! In this role, you’ll be covering for our Head of People & Operations Sascha during her maternity leave from mid-March until the end of August. After her return, your focus will be on strategic People & Performance projects and supporting the People & Operations team where needed.

Your itinerary:

What your journey at Polarsteps will look like day-to-day.

- Together with our People & Operations Specialists, you’ll continue to improve Polarsteps' People processes and policies to ensure a great employee experience. Think about topics such as compensation & benefits, employee representation, learning & development.

- You’ll be in charge of our organization's and individual's performance in the broadest sense, you run and improve our Performance Appraisal process, help team leads manage performance, and ensure operational efficiency throughout the organization.

- You identify areas for improvement or start up new initiatives that are needed as our company enters a new growth phase.

- You will lead Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity initiatives as Polarsteps grows.

- March - August 2025: You’ll be covering for our Head of People & Operations Sascha and you’ll be the team lead for our People & Operations Specialists Lou & Clara and Lead Recruiter Relinde, reporting into our CEO Clare. You’ll also work closely with our Tech recruiters Sandi and Sandy and our Finance Manager Stephen.

The equipment in your backpack

What we’re hoping you’ll bring with you.

- 5+ years of experience in a leading People/HR role. Ideally in a scale-up in the growth phase from 50 - 200 team members.

- A thorough understanding and experience working on performance management, compensation & benefits, learning & development, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

- Passion for cultivating a positive, inclusive workplace culture that reflects company values.

- Experience leading a (small) team

- Knowledge and experience of Dutch employment law

- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

- A positive, pragmatic and solution-oriented mindset

1st class extras

Some cool things to make the journey extra sweet.

- A yearly free flight or train ride to a random location! Give our Teleporter a spin here.

- A shiny new MacBook to work your magic on.

- Hybrid working. Split your time between the office and your home as you see fit.

- An extensive home office set-up — everything from noise-canceling headphones to a standing desk.

- 30 days of vacation (for adventures or sitting on the couch, it's up to you)

- Two paid Culture Days for days that are important to you but not recognized by the official Dutch calendar.-

- The option to switch up your Zoom background by working from another country for up to 8 weeks a year.

- A personal development budget for that curious mind of yours!

- A pension plan to help you save for those around-the-world retirement trips.

- Delicious daily team lunches.

- Awesome monthly parties, as well as team trips away.

- A lively office in downtown Amsterdam, with travel costs reimbursed.

- Free Polarsteps Travel Books to contain all your far-flung adventures.

At Polarsteps, we believe the best products are built by people as diverse as the travelers using our apps! That's why we specifically encourage people underrepresented in the tech industry to apply for a role with us. Because we believe that diversity — be it age, race, sexual orientation, physical ability, ethnicity, or gender identity — makes both the world and the workplace better.

Think this is the path for you? Find out more about how we hire.