At Skillsoft, we believe skills fuel growth. Our mission is to empower every organization and every learner to turn constant change into continuous growth. As part of the team, your skills will help organizations understand what skills they have, what they need next, and how to apply them in ways that drive real performance and progress.
Principal HR Specialist
Skillsoft’s People Operations team is a strategic business function focused on putting employees first by humanizing systems and creating a positive employee experience throughout the employee lifecycle. Our team partners closely with employees, managers, HR Business Partners, and global teams to drive operational excellence, engagement, and compliance while supporting business needs.
We are seeking an experienced Principal HR Specialist in France to support France and Germany. In this role, you will have an opportunity to play a critical role in delivering an exceptional employee experience while ensuring efficient HR operations across the employee lifecycle. This role combines hands-on operational support with employee relations expertise, labor compliance, and local country ownership. The ideal candidate will have strong experience supporting HR operations within France and Germany, including French Works Council (CSE) management, employee relations, and employee lifecycle processes in a multinational environment.
Responsibilities
People Operations & Employee Lifecycle
- Support end-to-end employee lifecycle activities across France and Germany including onboarding, employee changes, transfers, and offboarding
- Ensure a smooth onboarding experience for new hires through preparation of employee documentation and coordination of onboarding activities
- Maintain employee records and HR systems while ensuring data accuracy and compliance with legal and company requirements
- Manage employee-related data changes including working hours, leave administration, and benefits-related updates
Employee Relations & Labor Relations
- Manage and coordinate French Works Council/CSE activities including preparation, consultation requirements, documentation, and stakeholder management
- Provide guidance and support to managers regarding employee relations matters and local employment practices
- Partner with HR Business Partners and leadership on employee cases including performance concerns, workplace issues, disciplinary actions, and policy interpretation
- Act as a trusted point of contact for employees and managers on people-related matters.
- Ensure local compliance with labor laws and employment regulations
Payroll, Compensation & Benefits
- Support payroll preparation through management of employee data and variable payroll inputs
- Coordinate compensation and benefits administration activities
- Partner with payroll teams to ensure timely and accurate processing
Training, Health & Employee Well-being
- Manage the administrative aspects of the French training plan and associated legal obligations.
- Coordinate occupational health appointments and related processes
- Support workplace well-being and employee engagement initiatives
- Serve as disability advocate where applicable
Data, Reporting & Projects
- Conduct analysis of HR data to support decision-making and provide operational insights
- Create and maintain reports and dashboards tracking key HR metrics
- Identify opportunities to improve People Operations processes and employee experience
- Lead or participate in HR initiatives and projects, ensuring successful execution
- Collaborate with global HR teams to support regional and global programs
Skills & Qualification Requirements
- Minimum 8-10 years of experience in People Operations, HR Operations, or Employee Relations roles
- Strong experience independently managing French Works Council/CSE processes
- Robust working knowledge of French labor law
- Experience supporting HR operations and employee lifecycle activities in Germany
- Knowledge and experience with HRIS systems (Workday preferred)
- Must be Fluent in both French and English languages with strong written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently
- Be detail oriented with strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills
- Experience working in HR organizations with a high level of confidentiality and discretion
- Project management and stakeholder management skills
- Have a process improvement mindset with a focus on employee experience
Preferred Skills & Experience
- Experience working in multinational and matrixed organizations
- German fluency highly preferred
Skillsoft (NYSE: SKIL) is a global leader in AI-native skills management for the human + AI era. By unifying learning, real-time skills intelligence, and workforce insights, Skillsoft helps enterprises build their Skillforce™ — humans and AI working together to drive measurable business outcomes. Through personalized, interactive learning across leadership, technology, and compliance, Skillsoft enables organizations to close critical skill gaps and accelerate transformation. Skillsoft is trusted by thousands of organizations worldwide, including 60% of the Fortune 1000, and supports a global community of more than 105 million learners. Learn more at skillsoft.com.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us.
If this opportunity intrigues you, we would love for you to apply!
NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES: We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Skillsoft does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Skillsoft employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Skillsoft Employment Agency Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.
Skillsoft is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.
Skills Required
- 8-10 years experience in People Operations, HR Operations, or Employee Relations
- Experience independently managing French Works Council (CSE) processes
- Robust working knowledge of French labor law
- Experience supporting HR operations and employee lifecycle activities in Germany
- Experience with HRIS systems
- Experience with Workday
- Fluency in French and English (written and verbal)
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently
- Detail oriented with strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills
- Experience working in HR organizations with high confidentiality and discretion
- Project management and stakeholder management skills
- Process improvement mindset with focus on employee experience
- Experience working in multinational and matrixed organizations
- German fluency
What the Team is Saying
Skillsoft Compensation & Benefits Highlights
How does Skillsoft ensure its pay and bonus plans are competitive?
Skillsoft’s compensation is supported by employee feedback around market-rate pay, bonus opportunities, benefits and total rewards. The company pairs compensation with flexibility, learning access and career development programs that employees describe as part of the overall value of working there.
- Market-aligned pay and bonus opportunities: Employees describe Skillsoft’s compensation as competitive, especially in roles with bonus potential. Employees surveyed on external review sites cite “salary plus bonus potential” as market rate, quarterly bonus access in sales and a strong compensation plan. A marketing employee cited “great pay,” while a solution design architect described Skillsoft as offering a “very competitive benefits and total compensation package.” (Comparably; Glassdoor)
- Performance-based rewards: Skillsoft employees point to bonus opportunities as part of the company’s rewards approach. A software engineer said their bonus was “excellent,” while sales employees cite quarterly bonus access as part of their compensation package.
- Benefits as part of total rewards: Skillsoft’s total rewards are also supported by employee comments about health benefits, insurance benefits, flexible time off, remote work and work-life balance. Employees surveyed on external review sites cite health benefits and insurance benefits as strengths, while other employees highlight great benefits, remote-first work and flexibility as part of the employee experience. (Comparably; Glassdoor)
- Growth and learning as added value: Skillsoft’s rewards approach is connected to its employee growth culture. The company provides employees with access to Percipio, Aspire Journeys, role-based pathways, instructor-led training, coaching and CAISY® simulations. Employees describe Skillsoft as a place with “continuous learning opportunities across the tech stack” and “no better place to learn and grow.”
● External signals:
○ Compensation and bonus: Employees on external review sites cite market-rate salary plus bonus potential, quarterly bonus access in sales, a strong compensation plan, “great pay” and an “excellent” bonus as compensation strengths. (Comparably; Glassdoor)
○ Total rewards: Employees on external review sites describe Skillsoft as offering “great benefits,” a “very competitive benefits and total compensation package” and benefits that support work-life balance, flexibility and employee growth. (Glassdoor)
○ Health and insurance: Employees on external review sites cite health benefits, insurance benefits and good health plans as strengths of Skillsoft’s employee experience. Mental health benefits are also listed among Skillsoft’s employee benefits. (Comparably)
○ Flexibility as a reward: Employees on external review sites connect rewards not only to pay, but also to remote work, flexible hours, flexible time off, independence and management that avoids micromanaging. (Glassdoor; Comparably)
Bottom line: Skillsoft supports competitive pay through market-rate compensation, bonus opportunities and a broader total rewards experience that includes benefits, flexibility and career development.
Skillsoft Insights
What We Do
Skillsoft (NYSE: SKIL) is a global leader in AI-native skills management for the human + AI era. By unifying learning, real-time skills intelligence, and workforce insights, Skillsoft helps enterprises build their Skillforce™ — humans and AI working together to drive measurable business outcomes. Through personalized, interactive learning across leadership, technology, and compliance, Skillsoft enables organizations to close critical skill gaps and accelerate transformation. Skillsoft is trusted by thousands of organizations worldwide, including 60% of the Fortune 1000, and supports a global community of more than 105 million learners. Learn more at skillsoft.com.
Why Work With Us
We help the world's biggest companies build better workforces — and we invest just as much in our own people. Learning new skills is a core part of your job here. We're fully remote, spread across the globe, and united by a shared belief that learning changes careers.
Gallery
Skillsoft Offices
Remote Workspace
Employees work remotely.
