Global People (HR) Expansion Lead - Verda - Helsinki

At Verda, we're building a fully featured European AI cloud - with everything needed to train, experiment with, and deploy AI models at scale. We are a full-stack AI infrastructure company, meaning we design, operate, and optimize the compute powering modern AI workloads across training and inference. Our infrastructure runs on 100% renewable energy, helping build a more sustainable AI ecosystem. Join Verda while it's still being built - not once it's finished. As we continue to scale internationally, we are looking for a Global People Expansion Lead to build the operational foundations that enable Verda to hire, onboard, and support employees in new markets around the world. This is a highly cross-functional role sitting at the intersection of People, Legal, Finance, and Operations. You will be responsible for evaluating, planning, and executing country expansions, ensuring Verda can hire compliantly, efficiently, and consistently across multiple jurisdictions. This is not a traditional HR role focused on employee relations or talent management. Instead, you will act as the architect and program manager behind our international growth—building the frameworks, vendor ecosystem, and operational infrastructure that make global hiring possible. You will be the go-to expert on employment setup, entity readiness, EOR/PEO strategy, and country launch execution. You will lead Verda's international expansion efforts, owning the process of enabling hiring and employment in new countries from initial assessment through operational readiness. You will evaluate market entry options, including legal entities, EORs, PEOs, and other employment models, partnering closely with Legal, Finance, and external advisors to determine the most effective approach for each market. You will build and manage expansion playbooks covering employment, payroll, benefits, compliance, onboarding, and operational requirements for new countries. You will coordinate country launches across multiple stakeholders, ensuring all employment infrastructure is in place before hiring begins. You will establish and manage relationships with payroll providers, benefits vendors, EOR partners, legal advisors, and other external partners required to support international growth. You will assess employment-related risks and compliance requirements across jurisdictions, helping ensure Verda remains compliant while maintaining a strong employee experience. You will also help create scalable global standards for employment, mobility, onboarding, documentation, and workforce operations as the company expands. As Verda grows, you will become a key advisor on global workforce strategy, helping leadership make informed decisions about where and how we expand. You will need 6+ years of experience in international People Operations, Global Mobility, Expansion, HR Operations, Employment Law, or a related field. Experience opening entities, launching operations, or enabling hiring in multiple countries is required. Strong understanding of international employment models, including entities, EORs, PEOs, contractors, and global payroll is essential. Experience managing complex cross-functional projects involving People, Finance, Legal, and Operations teams is necessary. Strong understanding of employment compliance and workforce-related risks across multiple jurisdictions is required. Experience selecting and managing external vendors and service providers is needed. Strong program management and execution skills are important. Ability to navigate ambiguity and build processes from scratch is required. Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills are essential. A commercial mindset with the ability to balance speed, compliance, cost, and employee experience is necessary. Nice to have experience in a technology, cloud, AI, or scale-up environment, supporting rapid international expansion, familiarity with equity administration and international compensation considerations, experience working with global HRIS, payroll, and workforce management systems, and using AI and automation to improve operational scalability. Practicalities include location: Helsinki, hybrid mode: 3 days per week in the office, employment type: full-time and permanent, reporting line: VP People. The role involves building the future of AI cloud infrastructure, with a focus on international growth and operational excellence.