HR & Operations Director - Family Office - Monaco H/F - Emergences RH

Our client is an international family establishing its family office in the Principality of Monaco. The office will run the family's day-to-day operations and, over time, bring together the staff who serve the family as well as the teams of some of its companies.

This search is retained exclusively, and handled in strict confidence, by Émergences RH - an independent recruitment and executive search firm based in Nice, serving clients on the Riviera and in Monaco since 2001.

Confidential search - retained exclusively by Émergences RH

At a glance

• The role: a newly created HR & Operations Director position within a recently established family office, working directly with its leadership
• The scope: HR and payroll for around 50 staff, expenditure control for c. 130 staff, and the running of the Monaco office
• The contract: permanent, full-time, based in Monaco, with occasional travel
• Languages: fluent English for daily use, very good French
• Remuneration: competitive, based on profile and experience
• Start date: as soon as possible

The opportunity

An international family is establishing its family office in the Principality of Monaco. It will run the family's day-to-day operations and, over time, bring together the staff who serve the family as well as the teams of some of its companies.

HR arrangements are already in place. Your task will be to develop them, bring consistency to them and give them the structure a growing organisation needs - as the first person to hold this newly created role.

"This person will be the face of the family for everything to do with HR." - one of the family's advisers

The role

Two hats, both worn in full. As a director, you will shape the HR vision, advise the family and know how to tell them, tactfully, when a decision deserves a second look. As a practitioner, with no HR team beneath you, you will handle every matter yourself, from the employment contract to the payslip, and keep the day-to-day operations running smoothly.

You will look after some 50 people of widely varied nationalities, cultures and generations - household staff, security, childcare and care staff. To them, you represent the family; to the family, you are the guarantor of a fair and compliant framework.

Key responsibilities

HR and Monegasque employment law

• Develop the HR function and bring consistency to existing contracts, the staff handbook, internal regulations and procedures
• Manage the full employee lifecycle, from hiring to departure
• Ensure compliance - hiring priority rules, work permits, international recruitment - and make these rules clear to the family
• Handle sensitive situations and maintain a relationship of trust with the Monaco Employment Department (Service de l'Emploi)

Payroll and personnel administration

• Manage the relationship with the external accountants and check payslips
• Maintain personnel files and embed a culture of discretion across all teams

Expenditure control (c. 130 staff, in Monaco and abroad)

• Set the ground rules: spending policies, limits and budgets
• Analyse discrepancies and challenge any unjustified expenditure
• Automate controls and reporting using digital tools and AI

Monaco office

• Oversee the running of the office and manage the Office Manager

• At least seven years' generalist HR experience, including recent, hands-on practice in Monaco
• A working knowledge of Monegasque employment law: you can see what lies behind a question and know when to call on the right adviser
• Experience of expenditure control (Soldo or similar)
• Fluent English, used daily, and very good French
• Thoroughly at home with digital tools, automation and AI

Experience in a family office or an entrepreneurial, multi-entity environment, and an established network in the Principality, would be an advantage.

Discreet by nature and with a high degree of emotional intelligence, you are comfortable when not everything is yet defined. Faced with high expectations, you can hold your ground - politely but firmly. And you understand that, in the service of a family, being available when the situation calls for it comes with the territory.