FreeHire

fonio

Head of People

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We are fonio.ai – a Voice AI that sounds like a human and handles complete phone calls. Since launching just over a year ago, more than 8,000 businesses trust our technology. We’re currently adding approximately €150,000–200,000 ARR every week.

We’re now active in multiple markets simultaneously: DACH, France, Italy, Poland, the UK, and we've just started our US market – with more in the pipeline.

As our first Head of People, you’ll own everything that touches our most important resource: the people who build and sell fonio.

What you'll do

Hiring & International Expansion

  • Own the entire hiring process end-to-end: From job posting to signed offer

  • Build and manage a recruiting team (internal + external) to handle 40+ open roles simultaneously

  • Set up hiring operations in new markets as we expand internationally

  • Develop and maintain our employer brand across all channels

Culture & People Development

  • Be the guardian of fonio's culture as we scale

  • Design and run onboarding so every new hire hits the ground running

  • Create feedback structures, performance frameworks, and career paths

  • Organize team events, offsites, and rituals that keep us tight as we grow

HR & Structures

  • Own all HR processes, tools, and documentation

  • Handle employment contracts, compliance, and legal requirements across fonio’s jurisdictions

  • Manage payroll coordination, benefits, and expense policies

  • Be the go-to person for everything people-related across the company

What you bring

  • 5+ years in People, HR, or Talent, ideally in a high-growth tech or startup environment

  • You've scaled a team before and know what good looks like at 30, 60, and 100 people

  • Strong recruiting skills. You can source, assess, and close top talent yourself

  • Hands-on and operational style of work: You don't wait for a team to get things done

  • Excellent communicator in English; German is a strong plus

  • Comfortable navigating ambiguity and building systems from scratch

What we offer

  • A founding-level People role with real ownership and impact

  • Direct access to the founders and a seat at the table on company decisions

  • Competitive salary + equity

  • Vienna office (on-site)

  • Free lunch and dinner in the office

  • Regular team offsites and events

  • No-meetings culture: Focus time above everything else

  • A team that's serious about building something big

Interview Process

  1. 15 min Intro Call

  2. 30 min Case Study

  3. 20 min Culture Call Founders