Principal Head of HR

About the role

The Principal, Head of HR is accountable for Bridge Capital's people strategy, HR operating model and organizational capability across its private equity platform. Acting as the senior people adviser to executive leadership and functional heads, the role ensures workforce planning, executive talent, organization design, performance, rewards, succession, employee relations and culture support the platform's investment mandate and growth agenda. The position also builds the HR team, systems, policies, data discipline and external-provider network needed for a high-performance, cross-border investment organization.

Key responsibilities

• Define and lead the people strategy, HR operating model and annual workforce agenda in line with the private equity mandate and platform growth.
• Advise executives on organization design, workforce planning, executive talent, succession, leadership effectiveness, performance and material people risks.
• Evaluate the CEO and CXO teams for succession gaps, key-person dependencies and retention risks, and evaluate the equity pool, vesting schedules, performance hurdles and leaver provisions.
• Review employment classifications, pension and benefit obligations and compliance exposure across jurisdictions, and monitor workforce indicators such as regretted attrition, time-to-fill, talent bench strength and engagement.
• Build talent-acquisition and workforce-planning processes for investment, finance, legal, compliance, investor-relations, corporate-development and portfolio-operations functions.
• Lead succession planning, talent reviews, development actions and retention strategies, and set up performance management, goal-setting, feedback and calibration processes.
• Develop compensation, incentive and benefits frameworks, and lead organization design for new functions, expansion, restructurings and integrations.
• Oversee employee relations, investigations, grievances and disciplinary matters, and establish HR policies, governance and compliance controls.
• Build HR analytics covering headcount, vacancies, hiring, performance, succession, retention, compensation and organizational risk, and partner with portfolio companies on people priorities.
• Build and lead the HR function and external-provider network, using appropriate technology and disciplined cost management.

Required profile

• Typically 15 or more years of progressive HR leadership experience in private equity, alternative asset management, investment banking, financial services, professional services or another high-performance international environment.
• Demonstrated experience advising executive teams on organization design, workforce planning, executive recruitment, succession, performance, rewards, employee relations and culture.
• Strong understanding of the talent needs of investment, finance, legal, compliance, investor-relations, corporate-development and portfolio-operations functions.
• Proven ability to handle executive and employee matters with discretion, independence and sound judgment.
• Commercially grounded knowledge of executive compensation, incentives, market benchmarking and retention.
• High integrity, executive presence, resilience, service orientation and analytical rigor; excellent written, verbal and interpersonal skills.
• Bachelor's degree required; willingness to travel internationally and relocate where appropriate.
• Cross-border experience and cultural fluency strongly preferred; professional fluency in Arabic, Spanish, French or another relevant language is a plus.