Senior HRBP - Maternity Leave Cover (Fixed-Term Contract)

At Arkadium, our purpose is to have fun while creating fun - and that's exactly what we've been doing for 20 years. We're the creators behind the world's most-played games. From the Solitaire that came on your Windows machine to hundreds of other games you've come to know and love, you can find our games on Arkadium.com, iOS, Android, and lots of other big sites worldwide.

As a proud Evergreen business, our values of Fierce Drive, Positive Energy, and Living Full Lives are the driving force behind how we run and the choices we make.

We're privately held (aka stable and reasonable about growth), founder-led (aka passionate about our craft), and we consistently rank as a "Best Place to Work" (aka not your typical games company).

We've been recognized by "Happiness Works 2023, 2024, 2025" in Portugal, "Crain's Best Places to Work 2022," and "Great Place to Work 2022 and 2023" in New York!

Interested in becoming an Arkadian? We'd love to hear from you!

About the Role

This is a Senior HRBP, fixed-term maternity cover position, within Arkadium's People Innovation team, requiring strong stakeholder presence and the ability to independently influence decisions, maintain momentum, and provide continuity across recruitment and core People processes throughout the cover period. 

The primary focus of this role is recruitment - leading hiring efforts in close partnership with hiring managers and senior leaders, using data and metrics to drive decisions and outcomes in a fast-paced environment. Beyond hiring, the role spans the full generalist remit of the People Innovation team, with an emphasis on keeping existing programmes running smoothly, maintaining clarity and momentum across the business, and serving as the primary escalation point for complex people or hiring matters, exercising sound judgment and balancing risk, speed, and employee experience. The Senior HRBP will also directly manage a People Ops Intern, supporting their development and day-to-day contribution throughout the contract. 

Important note: This is a fixed-term maternity leave cover position. The contract will end when the current post-holder returns from maternity leave, and will not transition into a permanent role.

Work Location & Hybrid Model (Portugal)

In Portugal, we operate under a hybrid work model that blends remote and in-office work. You will be expected to work onsite one to three times per week.

What You'll Do

Recruitment (Primary Focus) 

• Partner with hiring managers to fill open positions efficiently with qualified candidates who match Arkadium’s values.  
• Manage the full hiring cycle: sourcing, screening, coordinating interviews, collecting feedback, and progressing candidates in a timely manner. 
• Support hiring managers during the interview process, ensuring they are equipped with the tools and guidance they need to evaluate candidates consistently. 
• Facilitate panel interviews and lead scorecard reviews in line with Arkadium's recruitment process, ensuring structured, consistent evaluation across all hiring decisions. 
• Utilise Predictive Index (PI) to support the assessment and selection process for each role, ensuring candidates are evaluated against defined behavioural and cognitive benchmarks. 
• Own and track key recruitment metrics throughout the contract period, using data to proactively manage hiring progress and risks. 
• Use recruitment data to identify bottlenecks, adjust sourcing or process approaches, and provide clear recommendations to hiring managers and leadership. 
• Provide regular recruitment updates and insights to senior stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment on hiring priorities and timelines. 

Onboarding 

• Ensure new hires are well integrated within their first 30,60 and 90 days using existing onboarding frameworks and materials. 
• Partner with managers to set new starters up for success in their roles. 
• Maintain and run existing onboarding processes; collect feedback to ensure quality is upheld. 
• Liaise with the I&T team to facilitate equipment requests for new hires, ensuring all necessary tools and access are in place ahead of their start date. 

Offboarding 

• Manage the smooth offboarding of employees, including administration, compliance with local employment law, and conducting exit surveys. 
• Facilitate necessary conversations and communications with professionalism and discretion. 

People Ops Intern Management 

• Serve as day-to-day manager for the People Ops Intern, providing guidance and regular check-ins. 
• Support and mentor the intern’s development and ensure they have the context and resources needed to contribute effectively. 

Employee Experience, Events & Culture 

• Support the JForce/Events committee in planning and coordinating internal events and celebrations that foster team connectivity. 
• Champion Arkadium’s culture and values in day-to-day interactions and initiatives. 
• Support ongoing employer branding initiatives to maintain Arkadium’s external profile and attract strong candidates. 

Compensation, Benefits & Compliance 

• Manage day-to day benefits administration, including vendor communication, employee queries, and handling any changes during the contract period. 
• Stay current on local employment regulations; maintain internal document libraries and templates. 
• Liaise with legal partners as required, escalating complex matters appropriately. 

Business Partnership & Employee Relations 

• Maintain strong visibility across the business through regular touchpoints with managers and leaders, providing consistent, reliable support and ensuring continuity and alignment, while the Senior Director is on leave. 
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex people or hiring matters, exercising sound judgment and balancing risk, speed, and employee experience. 
• Handle employee relations matters with care and in line with Arkadium's values. 

Performance & L&D Processes 

• Support the execution of existing performance management cycles. 
• Lead the research, evaluation, and implementation of an HRIS or Performance management tool, partnering with stakeholders to assess options, manage the rollout, and ensure successful adoption across the business. 
• Maintain and deliver the monthly L&D rollout programme, tracking key L&D metrics.  

AI Champion - People Innovation 

• Maintain Arkadium’s People Innovation AI Champion initiatives: share updates with the team, support upskilling on AI tools, and sustain existing automation workflows. 
• Bring forward practical, low-lift ideas to apply AI within team processes where relevant. 

Requirements

Recruitment 

• Solid experience leading end-to end recruitment, with a strong track record of partnering with hiring managers and senior stakeholders on hiring strategy and execution. 

• Proven ability to own and track key recruitment data and metrics, identify bottlenecks, adjust sourcing or process approaches, and provide clear, data-led recommendations to hiring managers and leadership. 

• Experience providing regular recruitment updates and insights to senior stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment on hiring priorities and timelines. 

• Experience working with ATS tools to manage end-to-end recruitment workflows; familiarity with Workable is preferred. 

General HR & People Operations 

• Strong communicator and relationship builder, able to partner effectively with managers and employees at all levels, with the confidence to influence independently. 

• Comfortable working independently, managing priorities, and keeping operations running smoothly. 

• High level of professionalism, discretion, and emotional intelligence. 

• Experience supporting or managing junior team members. 

• Familiarity with employer branding, internal events, or employee engagement initiatives. 

• Knowledge of relevant employment regulations (specific to Portugal). 

• Experience with research and implementation of HRIS systems. 

• Experience with AI tools and their application in HR processes. 

• Experience in a fast-paced, tech or gaming environment. 

Benefits

• Competitive compensation with structured performance and career development check-ins;
• Health insurance;
• Additional budget for conferences you are interested in;
• Personal development budget to fuel your passions and desire to learn (Arkadians are taking classes in not only Excel and leadership, but also interior design and even swimming!)
• Time off from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day so we can all enjoy the holidays;
• A unique culture of transparency, true teamwork, and fun;
• Summer Fridays: Fridays off throughout the Summer to have more fun in the sun!