Job Description

Vida Plena is an innovative hospitality group founded in Lisbon in 2018, dedicated to making our guests and team feel truly at home. We pride ourselves on delivering warm, blissful experiences, fostering a diverse and inclusive atmosphere, serving top-quality fresh food, and providing exceptional service.

The Role

As an international HR Business Partner you'll be the day-to-day People partner of our venues and operations leadership across Portugal and the UK. You'll advise venue managers and head chefs, own employee relations cases from start to finish, and help build the processes that keep our teams fair, compliant and motivated.

It's a hands-on generalist role for someone who is credible with operators, calm in sensitive situations and genuinely invested in people — someone who can sit with a head chef in the morning and a lawyer in the afternoon. You'll report to the Head of People and work closely with Operations, Finance and the wider People team.

Main Responsabilities

• Business Partnering: Be the first point of contact for venue managers, head chefs and Operation leaders on people topics. Coach managers on feedback, expectations and difficult conversations, and spot early signals such as turnover, absence and team climate.
• Employee Relations: Own ER cases end to end — grievances, disciplinary and performance processes, probation reviews, terminations and exits — with impartial fact-finding, clear documentation and respect for legal deadlines.
• Strategic Alignment: Work closely with Operations and department heads to understand their goals, workforce needs and skill gaps, and turn them into clear People priorities.
• Workforce Planning & Succession: Partner with leaders on headcount planning and budgeting, seasonal ramp-ups, succession planning for key venue roles and performance reviews.
• People Data & Insights: Use HR metrics, engagement and engagement surveys and turnover data to spot trends early, and turn them into practical actions with managers.
• Change Management: Guide teams through restructures, venue openings and closures, scaling transitions and new policy rollouts, with clear communication and support for managers.
• Labour Law & Compliance: You own knowledge on Portuguese Labour Law and make sure company policies and our inclusion standards are applied consistently across venues. Work with external lawyers and advisers when needed.
• Compensation : Maintain our salary grid and job classifications, work with Finance and payroll on contract changes and final settlements, and contribute to salary benchmarks and pay reviews for Operations roles.
• Performance & Leadership: Run and improve our performance management scheme for venue managers and head chefs, support improvement plans fairly, and contribute to leadership development and the onboarding of new venue leaders.
• People Projects: Contribute to company-wide initiatives such as our code of conduct roll-out, quarterly goals (OKRs), engagement surveys and eNPS action plans.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years in HR generalist or HR Business Partner roles in the hospitality sector
• Familiar with HRIS ( Human Resources Information System)
• Hands-on experience owning employee relations and disciplinary processes
• Solid knowledge of Portuguese labour law
• Credibility with operators and the ability to give direct, practical advice
• A data-informed and AI-driven mindset: comfortable using HR metrics and AI to spot trends and make the case for action
• Experience supporting organisational change and fast paced environment
• Excellent written and spoken Portuguese and EnglishA plus: experience setting up HR in a new country or entity is a plus!

What's in For you?

At Vida Plena, you're not just taking a position; you are joining a community that values joy, respect, and a collective pursuit of excellence. If you're prepared to bring your expertise, passion, and innovation to our team, we're excited to welcome you into our fold.

• A generous welcome at our venues — enjoy special discounts
• A bright, two-floor office in Cais do Sodré — with a big terrace and river view
• Office bar — and an allowance for fresh coffee and pastries,
• Hybrid work model — a balance between office and home
• Private Heath Insurance after probation
• Up to 3 weeks/year working from abroad — log in from wherever inspires you
• Vida Plena Activities, every week — yoga, surf, kart racing, and more
• We care about wellness — supporting physical health through dedicated Studiorise spin classes, and mental well-being through our partnership with Mindpartner, offering access to a trusted psychologist network and