Smartly.io

VP, Global Talent & Workforce Strategy

London, England, United Kingdom Full Time

Smartly is seeking a Vice President, Global Talent & Workforce Strategy to architect and lead our global talent strategy. This role shapes how Smartly scales across markets, capabilities, and business models. Reporting to the Chief HR Officer and partnering closely with the CEO, CFO, and Executive Team, you will define how talent, workforce planning, and organizational design enable long-term growth and competitive advantage.

This is a strategic leadership role accountable not only for hiring outcomes, but for building the systems, infrastructure, and decision frameworks that ensure Smartly’s talent strategy drives capital efficiency, innovation capacity, and sustainable scale.

What You Will Do

  • Define and lead a multi-year global workforce strategy aligned to Smartly’s business ambition and growth plans
  • Shape enterprise capability roadmaps across technical, commercial, and emerging domains, including machine learning and advanced engineering
  • Partner with Finance on long-range capacity modeling, productivity assumptions, and build vs. buy vs. mobility trade-offs
  • Influence executive-level decisions on organizational design, sequencing, and global expansion
  • Own global talent acquisition strategy and execution across EMEA, UK, US, and APAC
  • Integrate internal mobility as a core lever of talent supply and career growth across the company
  • Establish enterprise-wide standards for assessment, calibration, and talent quality to ensure consistent, data-driven hiring outcomes
  • Co-lead global site strategy and new market entry, evaluating labor markets based on skill density, cost structure, and strategic fit
  • Elevate Smartly’s ability to attract and compete for ML and advanced engineering talent, building durable pipelines in specialized markets
  • Lead and develop a distributed global Talent organization, building senior leaders who operate with autonomy and accountability

What We Are Looking For

  • Strong experience leading global talent functions at scale, including executive-level ownership of Talent Acquisition and workforce strategy
  • Experience in a high-growth technology environment (e.g., late-stage or Series D+ company)
  • Proven track record building and leading global TA organizations across multiple regions
  • Deep expertise recruiting both advanced technical talent (ML, engineering) and commercial roles
  • Experience shaping workforce strategy during rapid scale and international expansion
  • Strong financial fluency and comfort influencing enterprise-level trade-offs and investment decisions
  • Systems-oriented thinking — you design infrastructure and decision frameworks, not just processes
  • High judgment, low ego leadership style with the ability to operate effectively at executive level

Why You’ll Love Working Here

  • Inclusive Culture: Join a team of over 750 Smartlies representing more than 60 nationalities across 24 locations in 13 countries, we foster a culture built on trust, transparency, and open feedback.
  • Global Impact: Be part of a company making a global impact, directly influencing our customers and business growth.
  • Wellbeing Focus: Enjoy generous healthcare packages, mental health services, and a healthy work-life balance with paid holidays and family leave.
  • Total Rewards: Benefit from equity options, performance-based rewards, competitive compensation, and ample career development opportunities.
  • Hybrid Workplace: We work in a hybrid model, balancing office and remote work, with the option to work abroad for up to 30 days.

About Smartly

Smartly is the AI-powered advertising technology company transforming ad experiences for brands and their consumers. Our comprehensive advertising platform seamlessly integrates the capabilities of media, creative, and intelligence to power more than 800 billion impressions and generate more than 300 billion creatives annually, delivering tangible business outcomes for brands and advertisers.

Smartly is the only company in the industry recognized as a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Creative Advertising Technologies with PwC validating the results it delivers for brands. We manage creative and media for 700+ brands worldwide and $6B in ad spend across the largest media platforms, including Facebook, Google, Instagram, Pinterest, Snap, and TikTok. Our end-to-end technology, unmatched access to media platforms and exceptional customer service help Fortune 500 brands to reach and engage consumers and learn what performs best.Smartly is a multinational and diverse team of 750+ Smartlies from 60+ nationalities, working in 13 countries. Together, we want to create and maintain an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and heard. Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion approach is at the heart of it.

Visit Smartly to learn more.


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