Chief People & Culture Officer

This role is initially based in Israel, with the exciting potential for future relocation to our hubs in Cyprus or Portugal.

The Yael Schools Network is an ambitious Jewish international education network currently in pre-establishment phase. The first schools are scheduled to open in September 2027, followed by rapid scaling in the years thereafter.

• Planned locations include Limassol (Cyprus) and Lisbon (Portugal)
• All schools are grounded in the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework and a rich Jewish ethos.

Role Purpose

The Chief People & Culture Officer is the senior executive responsible for conceiving, building and leading the People & Culture function across the Yael Schools Network from inception:

• Designing scalable people systems for schools that do not yet exist.
• Supporting rapid organizational growth while maintaining financial discipline.
• Embedding a strong, values-driven culture across all locations.
• Ensuring the organization is sustainable and not reliant on any one individual.

Strategic Responsibilities

Network People & Culture Strategy

• Develop and lead a network-wide People & Culture strategy aligned to the Yael’s vision and values.
• Create frameworks that support both the central network and individual schools.
• Ensure all systems are scalable as new schools join the network.
• Act as a strategic business partner to the Executive Team and Head of Network.

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Scaling

• Lead multinational recruitment for leadership, teaching and professional roles.
• Build recruitment processes for schools that are not yet operational.
• Ensure rigorous recruitment standards, including deep referencing and background checks.
• Plan phased workforce growth aligned to enrollment and operational demand.

Employee Value Proposition & Remuneration

• Design and articulate a compelling Employee Value Proposition for nonprofit international education.
• Design market-competitive remuneration and benefits packages based on local labour markets.
• Balance staff competitiveness with long-term financial sustainability.
• Support longevity and retention of high-quality staff.

Culture, Engagement & Wellbeing

• Build and sustain a strong, values-led organizational culture.
• Foster collaboration and connection across multinational teams.
• Lead staff wellbeing, engagement and belonging initiatives.
• Ensure culture remains strong during periods of rapid growth.

Leadership Development & Capability Building

• Design leadership development pathways across the network.
• Oversee training, professional learning and specialist upskilling.
• Support team building and cross-network collaboration.
• Build internal leadership capacity for long-term sustainability.

Role Design, Performance & Accountability

• Design all Position Descriptions with clarity of purpose and success criteria.
• Implement goal-setting and performance management frameworks.
• Ensure accountability while supporting staff growth and development.
• Promote consistency of expectations across the network.

HR Infrastructure, Compliance & Risk

• Build and lead the People & Culture function across the network.
• Standardize contracts, policies and letters of appointment.
• Ensure compliance with local employment law, working with local legal advisers.
• Oversee multinational payroll partners and employment structures.

Budgeting, Workforce Planning & Sustainability

• Partner with the CFO and COO on people budgets and workforce plans.
• Balance rapid growth with disciplined cost management.
• Ensure staffing models align with enrollment growth and revenue.
• Build financially sustainable organizational structures.

School Launches & Network Expansion

• Lead People & Culture readiness for September 2027 school openings.
• Ensure recruitment, onboarding and systems are in place ahead of launch.
• Support integration of new schools into the Yael network.
• Adapt frameworks as the network expands.

Working Model & Presence

• Role may be based in Israel or another European country.
• Regular in-person presence with the core team (several days per week).
• Periodic travel to school locations in Cyprus, Portugal, Spain and future sites.
• Relocation to a school location is optional.

Key Selection Criteria

Essential

• Senior executive experience in HR / People & Culture leadership.
• Experience building people systems from inception.
• Deep expertise in multinational recruitment and workforce scaling.
• Strong experience balancing growth with budget constraints.
• Proven ability to build culture across geographies.
• Experience working with multinational payrolls and employment frameworks.
• Fluent English (Hebrew an advantage).

Desirable

• Experience in education, nonprofit or international school environments.
• Familiarity with IB or international education contexts.
• Experience supporting organizations from pre-launch through rapid scale.

What We Offer

• A rare opportunity to build a global education network from inception.
• Executive-level influence in a mission-driven organization.
• The opportunity to create scalable, enduring systems and culture.
• Competitive remuneration aligned to local markets.