People Operations Partner (m/f/d)

Allow us to introduce ourselves

Hello there! We’re Appinio, a global market research company that combines an AI-powered insights platform with expert consultancy. On a mission to make the world a little more fact-based, we help companies understand how consumers think and make smarter decisions.

We started out in Hamburg back in 2014, but we’re now humbled to call the world our playground, with over 260 employees spread across 13 countries (we’re remote-first), 2600+ international clients, delivering research from +190 markets, globally.

Your mission as a People Operations Partner

We are looking for an experienced and passionate People Operations Partner to join our People Team and create unique employee journeys at Appinio that reflect our special culture while enabling international growth.

What you’ll be doing

• Own and drive the full employee experience across Europe (from contract management and onboarding to offboarding, and day-to-day employee requests) while delivering an outstanding employee experience
• Manage our payroll processes in Germany and Austria in close collaboration with external tax offices
• Partner with our EOR provider (Remote) to ensure smooth onboarding, compliant contracts, and accurate processes across countries
• Support audits and ensure accurate, compliant employee data within our HRIS
• Identify opportunities to automate, streamline, and simplify processes, including the use of AI tools
• Take ownership of broader People Operations topics such as policy updates, tool rollouts and process documentation
• Work closely with IT, Finance, and Legal to ensure seamless cross-functional processes, compliance, and a smooth employee lifecycle
• If you are based in Hamburg, you will support with office-related topics

You will thrive in this role if

• You hold a degree in Business Administration, Economics, HR Management, or related fields
• You bring 3+ years of experience in a People Operations or HR role within a fast-paced, international environment
• You are proficient in German & English (additional language skills are a plus)
• You have experience with HRIS systems (ideally Personio or HiBob) for managing employee data and HR processes
• You have strong expertise – and genuine passion – for the operational side of People, while actively challenging traditional “HR admin” approaches (e.g. onboarding, offboarding, and employee lifecycle management)
• You have hands-on payroll experience in Germany (experience with Austria, France, Spain, or the UK is a plus)
• You have experience working with ticketing systems, managing SLAs, and handling employee requests in a structured, people-oriented way
• You live ownership: You proactively identify improvement areas and explore scalable, smart solutions