Associate People Director – Corporate Functions - EMEA

Craft:

Job Description:

We are seeking a passionate and strategic Associate People Director who thrives on building high-performing teams, partnering with stakeholders, and fostering an inclusive, engaging culture. This role blends strategic oversight with hands-on involvement to align people strategies with business objectives, ensuring the continued success of the Activision Blizzard operations in EMEA.

Reporting to the Senior People Director, you will serve as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to the AB Go-to-Market (GTM) teams, who drive Franchise Marketing and Communication plans across the region, contributing to an annual revenue of $1.4 billion. Additionally, you will provide support to our AB & King (ABK) Corporate Functions, such as Finance, HR, IT, Information Security, and more.

You will be a collaborative, influential and skilled at navigating a complex matrix organization while balancing the diverse HR needs of various stakeholders. Partnering closely with Center of Excellence (COE) and the broader HR team, you will deliver impactful, results-driven initiatives.

You will work with leaders across ABK to develop and implement people strategies and solutions that align with both short-term priorities and long-term organizational goals. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and enhance the employee experience during a pivotal and dynamic period of change.

To thrive in this position, you must be a people-focused problem solver with exceptional emotional intelligence and integrity. You will bring outstanding attention to detail, a proactive approach, and strong critical thinking skills to drive meaningful outcomes.

Your role within the Kingdom

• Build trusted relationships with leaders, coaching and supporting them in executing people initiatives
• Translate business strategies into people and organizational priorities, driving cultural and operational transformation
• Serve as a strategic advisor, influencing decisions that align with business goals and people priorities
• Partner with leaders to improve the organization structure and operating model
• Design and execute people strategies including delivery of cyclical activities, learning initiatives, engagement activities and process improvement
• Partner with COEs to leverage expertise in Talent Management, Diversity & Inclusion, and Employee Engagement
• Lead processes such as talent planning, succession planning, workforce planning, performance management including compensation and equity planning 
• Partner with Talent Acquisition to ensure strategic hiring that aligns with business needs and DE&I goals.
• Drive retention strategies and create skilling plans to address development gaps for critical roles.
• Leverage data to inform decisions, shape strategies, and influence stakeholders with compelling storytelling.
• Analyse key people metrics (e.g., attrition, talent gaps) to identify trends and drive actionable solutions.
• Champion Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), embedding these values across all people strategies.
• Lead organizational development and cultural initiatives, ensuring effective communication and seamless implementation.
• Guide leaders through change management processes to enable smooth transitions and maintain high engagement.
• Lead and participate in other cross-functional projects as needed to improve HR processes, policies, and systems

We’re looking for a highly skilled and motivated HR professional who embodies our values and thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. You will have a blended background of strategic and operational HR skills continuously applied to improve the company’s culture. Ideal candidates will demonstrate:

• Strong coaching and advisory skills, with the ability to build trust and influence across all levels of leadership
• Expertise in talent management, workforce planning, organizational design, and change management and can ensure excellence in the execution for all people-related processes
• Proficiency in analysing and interpreting data to drive insights, actions and build a people-centric plan with relevant initiatives
• Strong communication and storytelling skills to effectively convey complex ideas
• Initiative in a fast-moving environment; proactive problem solver, roll-up-one’s-sleeves attitude with courage of conviction and steadfast integrity
• Outstanding project and process management skills with a track record of delivering high-quality results in a complex, dynamic business environment
• Strategic business partnering experience gained from complex, matrixed organizations
• A proactive, hands-on approach balanced with strategic thinking
• A growth mindset and a passion for fostering inclusive, high-performing cultures
• Resilience and adaptability to thrive in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment
• A team player that values being part of a collaborative and high performing team
• In-depth knowledge of UK employment law

Nice to have

• Experience in digital, entertainment, or technology sectors
• Proven track record in organizational development and talent management at a senior level
• Experience of working in an international diverse environment and a strong understanding of DE&I principles

About King

At King, we're Making the World Playful. Heard of Candy Crush? We're the creators behind it. With game studios in Stockholm, Malmö, London, Barcelona and Berlin, and offices in Dublin, San Francisco, New York, and Malta, we have a 20-year history of delivering some of the world's most iconic games in the mobile gaming industry and are on a mission to level-up the little moments for our more than 200 million active monthly users. But we aren't just crushing it with candies, we're also behind Farm Heroes, Bubble Witch, Pet Rescue and loads of other sweet games. As a leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world, King is part of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft.