Head of People

Title: Head of People / Group HR DirectorLocation: Montpellier or Paris (hub-based, hybrid)Contract: Full-time, permanentSeqOne is looking for a driven, business-oriented People leader to design and scale its global people strategy across ~125 employees and multiple international entities. As the guardian of SeqOne’s values and key behaviours, you ensure they are embedded in how the company hires, onboards, develops, rewards and makes tough decisions, so that growth never comes at the expense of culture, quality or patient impact.About SeqOneSeqOne is a fast-growing genomic software scale-up on a mission to make precision medicine accessible by providing advanced bioinformatics and cloud solutions to clinical laboratories and hospitals. With more than 125 team members across four subsidiaries and over 10 countries, SeqOne combines deep scientific expertise, modern SaaS technology and regulated healthcare operations to support cancer and rare disease diagnostics worldwide.The company is entering a new scaling phase: structuring leadership layers, harmonising practices across entities, and accelerating international expansion while maintaining high standards for quality, compliance and innovation. The Head of People plays a central role in this journey, acting as a strategic partner to the CEO and leadership team.Our values and key behaviours :At SeqOne, values are not slogans; they describe how decisions are made and how people are expected to behave every day. The Head of People is directly accountable for translating these values into concrete processes, leadership habits and rituals across the organisation.Unstoppable Positivity – We approach challenges with energy, resourcefulness and a solution-first mindset, turning constraints into opportunities instead of getting stuck in complaints. We value people who learn from setbacks, iterate quickly and keep moving forward even when things are ambiguous or hard.Customer Pulse – Our customers operate in healthcare, and their work has a direct impact on patients’ lives, so understanding their reality and anticipating their needs is central to our mission. We build long-term, trust-based relationships, react quickly to issues and keep quality and regulatory expectations at the heart of what we do.Excellence Explorers – We are driven by curiosity, high standards and measurable impact, treating excellence as an ongoing journey rather than a fixed target. We prioritise what really moves the needle, rely on data to guide decisions, and challenge the status quo to reach world-class levels in our products, services and operations.Open Heart, Hands-On – We combine kindness, humility and direct feedback with a strong sense of ownership and reliability. We help each other succeed, speak up honestly even when conversations are uncomfortable, and follow through on our commitments because everyone’s work is interconnected.As Head of People, you are expected to role-model these values, help managers internalise them, and ensure they are reflected in hiring criteria, performance reviews, leadership development and recognition practices.Key Responsibilities :Strategic people leadershipo Define and lead the global People strategy aligned with SeqOne’s business objectives, values and international roadmap.o Advise the CEO and executive team on organisation design, leadership structure, succession and change management across entities.o Harmonise core People policies and frameworks across countries while respecting local legal and cultural specificities.Organisation design, talent and cultureo Design organisational structures that support focus, autonomy and collaboration across tech, product, scientific and commercial teams.o Own the global talent strategy: workforce planning, senior hiring, internal mobility, and talent reviews to maintain a high talent density.o Shape culture by turning SeqOne’s values and behaviours into clear expectations for managers and teams, and by building rituals that reinforce them.End‑to‑end people operationso Oversee the full employee lifecycle: recruitment, onboarding, probation, performance, promotions, mobility and exits.o Ensure robust, scalable HR operations (contracts, benefits, documentation) and supervise payroll providers to guarantee accuracy and compliance in all countries.o Design compensation, benefits and variable remuneration frameworks that are competitive for tech/biotech profiles and consistent with SeqOne’s stage and values.International HR and complianceo Act as the primary People point of contact for employees and managers in ~10 countries, working with local partner, legal, payroll and immigration experts as needed.o Monitor and ensure compliance with employment regulations, social bodies and health & safety requirements in each jurisdiction.o Support M&A, restructuring and international expansion by planning and executing the people and culture components.Leadership, development and engagemento Build a coherent approach to learning and development, with a strong focus on manager capability, feedback culture and growth mindset.o Own the performance and development cycles, ensuring they drive clarity, accountability and improvement rather than bureaucracy.o Set up listening mechanisms (surveys, qualitative feedback) and lead follow-up actions to strengthen engagement and alignment to values.Employee relations, risk and datao Handle sensitive HR topics (complex performance cases, disciplinary actions, exits) in a way that is firm, fair and consistent with SeqOne’s values.o Partner with external counsel and internal stakeholders to anticipate and mitigate people-related risks, including during due diligence processes.o Develop and maintain People analytics dashboards (headcount, attrition, hiring, engagement, diversity) to guide decisions and demonstrate impact.Profile and what we offerSeqOne is looking for a driven leader, not just an HR administrator. The right person is a builder who wants to leave a mark on how a mission-driven tech company scales.You bring :10+ years of progressive HR / People experience, including several years partnering directly with C‑level leaders in a fast-growing tech, software or deep‑tech company.Proven experience in an international context (France plus at least one other major geography), comfortable working with different labour law frameworks via local advisors.A track record of designing and implementing people systems (organisation design, performance, compensation, L&D) that support rapid growth without over‑engineering.Strong business acumen: you understand how people decisions affect revenue, execution, quality and patient outcomes, and you can engage confidently with finance and operational metrics.Bilingual French and English, with the ability to negotiate, influence and handle sensitive topics in both languages.High personal ownership and courage: you are willing to have difficult conversations, challenge leaders when needed, and stand for SeqOne’s values in complex situations.SeqOne offers :A central leadership role at the intersection of advanced genomics, software and healthcare, where your work directly enables better care for patients worldwide.The opportunity to architect and scale a modern People function almost from scratch, with strong executive sponsorship and room to experiment.A collaborative, values‑driven culture that combines ambition, scientific rigour and hands‑on teamwork.Competitive compensation and benefits, with a hub-based hybrid model between Montpellier and Paris that respects both impact and work-life balance.If you recognise yourself in this description and want to build the people and culture engine of a mission‑driven tech scale‑up, SeqOne would be glad to meet you.