Vienna, Full time (f/m/d)
Chief People Officer
Are you a passionate People Leader with substantial experience in scaling organisations who wants to shape the people agenda behind a fast-growing consumer brand? Do you believe that international growth is ultimately enabled by leadership quality, talent density and organisational clarity – and want to work on these levers at executive level? Are you looking for a role with genuine influence, complexity and responsibility – where People is a core business driver, not a support function? High Five! This could be a perfect match!
Drop by Drop.
waterdrop® is on a mission to help people around the world live healthier, more sustainable lives by rethinking hydration. With its innovative Microdrinks, the company makes drinking more water easy, enjoyable and environmentally responsible – without single-use plastic bottles and with a significantly reduced carbon footprint compared to conventional bottled beverages. Beyond sustainability, waterdrop® is deeply rooted in a passion for sport, performance and an active lifestyle – shaping both the brand and the energy within the organisation.
What began as a bold idea has grown into an international consumer brand. Today, waterdrop® employs around 400 people, with its headquarters in Vienna and teams across multiple international markets, combining a strong DTC business, online marketplaces, owned retail stores and B2B partnerships.
With approximately EUR 150 million in revenue and 20–25% annual organic growth, waterdrop® has reached a pivotal stage: scaling globally while evolving its organisation from channel-driven structures to strong, empowered country organisations. Following years of strong growth, waterdrop® is now sustainably profitable.
With the next phase of growth, People, leadership and organisational clarity are becoming central priorities for waterdrop®’s continued international scaling. The organisation is consciously strengthening its People function to balance a people-centred, sustainable approach with ambitious performance expectations.
This next phase requires a strong leader who understands operations well enough to give clear guidance, challenge structures and ensure scalability – while staying firmly focused on strategic sparring, organisational design and long-term talent decisions that allow the organisation to scale internationally with sustainable impact. Are you ready to drop in?
The opportunity – why this role is truly special
Make People the decisive growth lever
As waterdrop® continues to scale internationally, leadership quality, talent density and organisational clarity become increasingly important. With strong products and demand in place, the company is consciously investing in people and organisational development to sustain growth at scale.
Partner closely with a CEO who truly believes in People
This role offers exceptionally close collaboration with the CEO – not as a formality, but as a true partnership. Martin sees People and leadership as the most critical factors for long-term success and is looking for a CPO who challenges, supports and shapes decisions at eye level.
Step in when experience really matters
waterdrop® has reached a scale where experience, judgement and clarity make the difference. This is not a role to build basic HR foundations. It is a role to shape leadership, performance and culture at scale, exactly when the organisation needs it most.
Lead internationally with real substance
This is not a “HQ role with a global label”. You will build strong country organisations with diverse teams and navigate real cultural and operational complexity – across Europe and beyond.
Operate in a high-impact, high-trust environment
You will work in a demanding setting: fast growth, young leaders, international complexity and real pressure to deliver. In return, you gain trust, influence and room to shape – not politics, not micromanagement.
Find purpose, without naivety
waterdrop® combines a clear sustainability mission with strong commercial ambition. Impact here is not a marketing story – it is a business model that needs to scale. If you are looking for purpose with substance, not slogans, this is your opportunity.
Your experience and strengths...
This role is designed for an experienced People Leader who is comfortable operating both at executive level and close to the operational reality of a scaling organisation.
Proven senior People leadership experience
You have led or significantly shaped the People agenda in a complex, fast-growing environment and know how HR needs to evolve as organisations move from entrepreneurial growth to international scale. This may include full People responsibility – or a senior role with strong exposure to international expansion, organisational design and leadership development.
Strong business and operational understanding
You think and act like a business leader. You understand how People decisions impact growth and long-term value creation – ideally in FMCG, DTC, retail, e-commerce or similarly dynamic consumer environments. You bring hands-on experience in operational restructuring, working closely with Operations to ensure changes are feasible, compliant and culturally coherent.
Deep understanding of Talent, Workforce & Capability Management
You have built and scaled Talent Acquisition, workforce planning and internal capability development in growing organisations. You know how to improve hiring quality, develop talent density and ensure the right talent is in the right roles at the right time.
Experience building leadership and performance at scale
You have designed and implemented leadership development, performance management, compensation and incentive frameworks as well as succession models that support growth, accountability and fairness.
International HR experience across markets and cultures
Ideally, you have operated from a central HQ while enabling and scaling strong country organisations. You understand what it takes to redesign organisations (e.g. from channel-led to country-led models), balance global coherence with local ownership, and work effectively across diverse European labour markets (deep legal expertise is not required).
Data-driven People leadership and executive insight
You are fluent in using People data and KPIs to steer decisions at executive level. You define and track the metrics that matter (e.g. hiring quality, leadership readiness, performance outcomes, succession coverage) and use insights to highlight risks, trends and opportunities – ensuring transparency and accountability across the entire company.
Hear directly from your potential future CEO why waterdrop® exists – and why changing an unhealthy, unsustainable beverage industry takes courage, conviction and execution. Martin Murray is the founder and CEO of waterdrop®, building the company since 2016 with the ambition to rethink hydration and create meaningful, long-term impact.
You are right for this role if you enjoy and excel at...
Turning leadership quality into a real competitive advantage
You don’t treat leadership development as a standalone programme. You set clear leadership expectations and embed them into how the business hires, leads and measures performance. You work closely with leaders in real situations – giving direct feedback and raising the bar where it matters.
Operating in complexity rather than perfection
You thrive in environments that are still evolving and are comfortable getting involved where impact is needed most. You don’t wait for perfect structures or complete information – you prioritise, decide and act pragmatically, while building sustainable systems in parallel.
Challenging the business when it matters most
You are comfortable sparring with senior leaders, including the CEO, addressing uncomfortable topics with clarity, courage and respect. You don’t avoid tension when the long-term health of the organisation is at stake.
Balancing performance and humanity
You believe that high standards and genuine care for people are not contradictions. You actively build a performance-oriented culture with clear expectations and ownership, while staying deeply attentive to the human side of growth, pressure and change
Staying close to the business and the operational reality
You enjoy being where things actually happen: with leaders, teams and markets. You translate strategy into action by being present, accessible and personally involved when impact is needed – not by delegating everything to layers below.
Leading with personal maturity and sound judgement
You combine decisiveness with empathy, toughness with humanity, and ambition with reflection. Especially under pressure, you act with clarity, integrity and responsibility.
Your future team
As Chief People Officer, you will lead and further develop a committed Human Resources team that combines strong operational foundations with a growing strategic and business-partnering mandate. The current Head of Human Resources, Lisa, has decided to leave waterdrop® on her own initiative, creating the opportunity to further evolve the People function in its next phase.
You will work closely with Anna, Team Lead HR Operations Europe, as well as with experienced HR Business Partners Tatjana and Lynda. The team is complemented by Kira, Human Resources Manager, and Mara, Assistant Human Resources, contributing to day-to-day HR delivery and execution. Sandra, Team Lead Human Resources, is currently on maternity leave. Ilaria and Gaurang take care of Office & Workplace topics, shaping the employee experience at headquarters.
You will also work very closely with Martin, CEO, as his trusted sparring partner on all people-related topics, as well as with Tanja, Chief of Staff, to ensure alignment between strategy, execution and organisational development.
Operationally, waterdrop® is further strengthening its setup: a Global Head of HR Operations is currently being hired and will report directly to the CPO. In addition, a strong Legal team, established HR systems (HiBob), clear operational processes and a defined job architecture provide a solid foundation. While operations are well anchored, it will be your responsibility to continuously challenge, steer and collaborate with HR Operations and Legal to ensure efficiency, scalability and compliance across international markets.
Leading at a manager-of-managers level and developing the overall People setup in line with growth is a core part of the role. The scope and expansion of the team will be shaped by you, based on strategic priorities and organisational needs.
Life at waterdrop
Job Facts
Location
This role is based in Vienna and requires a strong physical presence. waterdrop® is deliberately building its organisation around real collaboration, proximity and visibility. You will be working in a modern headquarters building designed to support presence and collaboration, including facilities such as a fitness centre and an on-site restaurant.
Work model & travel
This is not a remote role. Occasional remote work is possible, but the expectation is to be regularly present in the office and accessible to the organisation. The role carries an international scope. Travel is not fixed by policy, but evolves with the build-up of country organisations and leadership teams. As CPO you are expected to actively shape what level of travel is meaningful and necessary.
Your compensation package
The position offers a competitive executive compensation package, reflecting the strategic importance of the role: - Min. EUR 130,000 fixed annual salary (depending on your previous experience) - Up to 30% variable compensation, largely linked to overall company performance - Long-term incentives / ESOP participation
Our hiring process
Initial fact check & short screening
A brief first conversation to align on your motivation, role scope, expectations and mutual fit.
In-depth HR interview
A deeper discussion focusing on leadership approach, experience, decision-making and cultural fit.
Interview with the CEO
A direct exchange with Martin, focusing on partnership, expectations and the future People agenda.
Meeting the team in Vienna
A final on-site day to experience the environment, meet team and key stakeholders and assess mutual fit in depth.
Could this be a match? Let's find out!
For this role, no polished application is required. At the first step, an up-to-date and meaningful LinkedIn profile is fully sufficient – a CV and motivation letter is a nice-to-have, but initially not needed. What's more important to us: After clicking the Apply button, you will find five questions in the application form. These questions are designed to give us an initial understanding of your experience and fit for the role. You can only submit the application once all questions have been answered. Claudia and Lena are your points of contact for this role. If you have any questions about the role or process, reach out to them directly via email or LinkedIn.
Meet us in person
Curious to meet Claudia and Lena in person and find out more about this role? We warmly invite you to our next SmartPX Connect on Thursday, February 19, from 5:30 pm in Vienna – an after-work gathering for People & HR professionals based in Vienna and across Austria.
Whether you are actively exploring this role or simply enjoy exchanging perspectives with peers: SmartPX Connect is a relaxed opportunity to connect, spar and stay close to the HR community.
About SmartPX Community The SmartPX Community (PX stands for People Experience) is an Austria-wide HR community initiated by HR4HR Austria, bringing together People & Culture professionals for inspiration, exchange and peer sparring. From HR for HR.