About The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup is not just another nonprofit. It is an organization tackling one of the defining environmental challenges of our time: removing plastic from our oceans and preventing it from reaching them in the first place.

Since its founding, The Ocean Cleanup has turned an ambitious idea into a global movement, developing and scaling technologies designed to clean up the world’s oceans and rivers. With solutions operating across the globe and an ever-growing body of evidence that large-scale plastic pollution can be tackled, the organization is helping turn what once seemed impossible into reality.

This is an opportunity to be part of that story.

As HR Manager, you will play a critical role in enabling the people behind this mission to do their best work. You will help shape the organization, develop leaders, strengthen culture, and build the people practices needed to support a global workforce tackling a problem that affects the entire planet.

This is more than an HR leadership role. It is an opportunity to help build the organization that is helping write the next chapter in the fight against ocean plastic.

The People & Organization (P&O) team plays a vital role in making that mission possible by enabling our people to thrive. We translate ambition into action by attracting purpose-driven talent, supporting our teams through every stage of the employee journey, ensuring full compliance with employment laws and payroll processes, and providing learning & development support to all our staff members.

About the Position

We are seeking an experienced HR Manager to lead our P&O team, drive the people strategy, and provide proactive HR business partnering to support leaders and employees across the organization.

As HR Manager, you will lead our People Operations and Business Partnering team. You will set clear goals and priorities, coach and develop team members, manage performance and conduct reviews, and allocate workload and resources. You will maintain a positive and inclusive team culture, ensure effective cross-functional communication, monitor team metrics and continuous improvement, and uphold accountability for delivering high-quality HR services and strategic business partnering.

You will act as a strategic sparring partner to leaders across the organization, helping translate business needs into practical people solutions. As an Employee Champion and Change Agent, you will help strengthen organizational health, develop managers, and ensure our people practices support both our employees and the wider mission of The Ocean Cleanup.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of People Business Partners, Operations Specialist, and Generalist.

• Set clear goals, priorities, and direction for the team, defining how the Business Partner function engages with and enables the business.

• Act as a strategic sparring partner to leaders, identifying people needs and requirements and serving as a trusted point of contact for HR matters.

• Shape and drive People strategies across a global workforce, ensuring alignment across regions and business priorities.

• Build and drive organizational health by ensuring the organization is structured and equipped to achieve its objectives.

• Educate, coach, and partner with managers on performance management, employee development, and effective leadership.

• Lead and advise on complex employee relations, organizational development, performance, compensation, talent, and change matters.

• Influence and build strong, trusted relationships with stakeholders across the organization.

• Build credibility and trust among employees and resolve employee concerns with compassion, sound judgement, and follow-through.

• Lead core People processes within designated teams, including performance calibration, compensation cycles, and promotions.

• Manage team performance and conduct reviews, allocate workload and resources, and support the continued growth and development of the HR team.

• Monitor team metrics and identify opportunities for continuous improvement, ensuring accountability for high-quality HR services.

• Collaborate with the wider People & Organization team on strategic projects from inception through to implementation and rollout.

• Oversee the monthly payroll process and the provision of key People information, including KPIs and OKRs.

• Ensure HR practices, policies, and processes comply with applicable employment laws and organizational requirements.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Psychology, or a related field.

• 10+ years of HR experience, including significant experience in senior Business Partnering within a fast-paced, international environment.

• Demonstrated experience leading and developing an HR, People, or Business Partnering team, with a strong track record of coaching and developing people.

• Strong experience across organizational development, change management, employee relations, performance management, compensation, and talent development.

• Proven ability to set team direction, translate People strategy into clear priorities, and enable a team of Business Partners to deliver meaningful impact.

• Strong business acumen and the ability to connect People strategies with broader organizational goals.

• Experience working in scale-ups, technology companies, or international organizations is a plus.

• Knowledge of Dutch labour law.

• Familiarity with HR systems such as Personio and Culture Amp, with an appreciation for data-driven decision-making.

• Excellent communication, coaching, influencing, and conflict-resolution skills.

• Ability to build strong, trusted relationships with stakeholders at all levels of an organization.

• A proactive, pragmatic, and hands-on approach to problem-solving.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, mission-driven environment.

We recognize that strong candidates may come from different professional and career backgrounds. Even if you do not meet every qualification listed, we strongly encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills, experience, and motivation to contribute to our mission.

Compensation & Perks

• Hybrid working model (approximately 2–3 days per week in the Rotterdam office).

• Opportunity to contribute to a mission-driven organization with global impact.

• Collaborative and international working environment.

• Leadership responsibility across the People Business Partner and Operations team.

• Opportunity to shape and drive the people strategy across a global workforce.

• Exposure to large-scale organizational and people initiatives.

• Opportunity to work closely with leaders and influence people-related decisions across the organization.

• Equal opportunity and transparent hiring approach.

• Support for individual needs and an inclusive workplace culture.

Additional Details

• Starting date – ASAP.

• Location – Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

• Conducting a pre-employment check may be part of this recruitment process.

• At The Ocean Cleanup, we believe we are stronger together, while harnessing the uniqueness each individual brings. That is why we take a fair, equal opportunity, and transparent approach to hiring and welcome special needs requests.