Senior People Partner – International

Role Overview

• Serve as the senior People Partner to the Head of International and the International leadership team.
• Build deep business understanding, earn trust quickly, and partner on the full range of People challenges, from org design and workforce planning to talent management and culture.
• Provide strategic, hands-on input across all key People priorities, including team effectiveness, leadership development, growth and impact frameworks, and cultivating a high-performance culture that scales across markets and time zones.
• Partner with TA and the Head of International to drive talent density. You will stay ahead of hiring needs, identify where we need to move fast, or where we need to challenge our approach.
• Partner with the broader People team to ensure global programs land with real impact across International markets, particularly in our newer pioneer markets.
• Build shared frameworks and aligned ways of working while preserving space for local nuance.
• Act as the connective tissue between the global International People strategy and local execution.
• Own the International People strategy end-to-end. Build the frameworks, align the leadership team, and make them real.
• Lead the embedding of a strong, consistent performance culture across all International markets.
• Ensure leaders have the tools, language, and support to manage performance well, and that accountability is a feature of the culture, not an afterthought.
• Drive consistency in how talent is identified, developed, and retained across regions. Make clear what 'great' looks like, and hold that bar.
• As International scales, part of this role is protecting what makes Canva special. Growth is only sustainable if the culture scales with it.
• Partner with leaders & broader people teams to make sure new Canvanauts are set up to thrive in our culture, not just onboarded into a process.
• Spot early when culture is drifting in a market, name it, and work with the leaders to course-correct.
• Guide the International organisation through ambiguity with confidence, always a few steps ahead.
• Lead or support change management for structural changes, ensuring leaders are equipped, people are informed, and transitions land well across culturally diverse markets.

Requirements

• Have extensive HR Business Partnering experience within hypergrowth and fast pace environments.
• Deep expertise across core HR disciplines: performance management, org design, leadership development, talent management, and change.
• Experience supporting international or geographically distributed businesses.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior leaders (including at the Head of function level) and act as a credible strategic thought partner.
• Track record of building and embedding performance culture, not just running performance cycles.
• You know the difference and can do both.
• Have strong commercial acumen. You connect People strategy directly to business outcomes and articulate the "so what" of your work with clarity.
• Are proactive by nature and and thrive in ambiguity, always a few steps ahead and energised by new challenges.
• Have exceptional judgement, you know what to prioritise, when to escalate, and how to navigate competing demands across multiple markets with grace.
• High emotional intelligence and cultural adaptability. You’ll work effectively across global contexts and understand that the same approach doesn't land the same way everywhere.
• Champion innovation in people practices, continuously evolving our approach to support an exceptional workplace and culture.
• Bring energy and presence to the people around you. You are a trusted partner to all Canvanauts, not just leadership. You can walk into a room and land the same message regardless of the audience: clearly, warmly, and in a way that moves people.

Benefits

• Equity packages
• we want our success to be yours too
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and supports you personally
• In house crafted on-demand library of learning programs such as AI/ML School, Canva Product Skills, Internal Coaching and much more.