[Netherlands] Lead, HR Generalist (Dutch Speaker)

Company Description

Santen is a specialized life sciences company with a proud 130-year heritage focused exclusively on ophthalmology. As a Japan-originated, global company with our footprint in over 60 countries, we are dedicated to delivering innovative treatments and digital solutions for eye health and addressing vision-related social issues for people around the world.

Job Description

We are looking for an HR Generalist to oversee HR processes for our diverse, international workforce in the Netherlands. This role ensures smooth and seamless HR operations, covering the entire employee lifecycle—from onboarding to offboarding, including payroll and benefits. The position collaborates closely with the EMEA HR team, business functions (Customer Facing, Health Care, and Corporate), and external service providers to ensure compliance, efficiency, and alignment with Santen’s HR strategy.

The ideal candidate will provide local HR expertise, support talent management, drive process improvements, and ensure legal compliance while fostering a strong company culture.

What you'll do:

• Recruitment & Onboarding – Support hiring managers in collaboration with Santen Talent Acquisition or temp agencies. Ensure a positive candidate experience, cultural alignment, and an efficient onboarding process.
• Performance & Development Cycles – Assist in performance reviews and promotion cycles to drive a high-performance culture, ensuring clear goal setting, development planning, and recognition strategies.
• Talent Management & Succession Planning – Partner with HR Business Partners to conduct local People and Organization (POD) reviews, identify key talents, and develop succession plans for critical roles.
• Compensation & Benefits – Oversee and improve local compensation plans, including salary structures, benefits, social security, tax implications, pension schemes, and employee insurance. Serve as a local expert on market trends.
• Payroll & Expatriate Management – Manage payroll processing in collaboration with an external provider. Handle expatriate payroll, compensation, and benefits in compliance with international assignment guidelines, including visa and tax-related matters (e.g., 30% ruling).
• HR Systems & Data Management – Maintain and update HRIS (SuccessFactors), ensure data accuracy, and generate insights from HR metrics to support decision-making.
• Employee Relations & Compliance – Act as the primary HR contact for employees and managers, ensuring compliance with Dutch labor laws, resolving conflicts, and fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture.
• GDPR & Data Privacy – Set guidelines and processes to ensure compliance with GDPR and local regulations regarding employee data privacy.
   

This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to a high-performing HR function within a multinational environment while shaping the employee experience and driving operational excellence.

Qualifications

What You’ll Bring to the Role

• Educational & Professional Background – Master’s degree in HR Management, Business Administration, Law, or Economics. Certifications in Project Management, Leadership, or Coaching are a plus.
• HR Generalist Expertise – At least five years of relevant experience in an international and Dutch HR environment, with strong knowledge of employment laws, compliance, and best practices.
• Hybrid & Regional Work Experience – Experience in hybrid workplaces (office presence on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and familiarity with the Amsterdam/Randstad work environment.
• Fluency in Dutch & English – Strong written and spoken communication skills in both languages. 
• Stakeholder Management – Comfortable communicating professionally with (senior) management and taking initiative in employee engagement, training, and HR-related programs.
• HR Technology & Data Analytics – Proficiency in HRIS (SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters), Microsoft 365, MS Forms, and people analytics to manage HR operations effectively.
• Process & Compliance Management – Experience in structured, SOP-driven organizations with a strong compliance framework. Familiarity with AI-driven HR solutions is a plus.
• Talent Acquisition & Presentation Skills – Skilled in recruitment strategies, interview techniques (CBI/STAR or similar), and delivering clear presentations both in written format and in front of live or virtual audiences.

Additional Information

Grow your career at Santen 

A career at Santen is an opportunity to make a difference. Through our long-term vision outlined in Santen 2030, we are committed to be a Social Innovator - addressing the social and economic needs of people with visual impairments. We have team members around the world using their diverse talents to unlock new modalities and drive innovations for patient outcomes, education and treatment. At Santen, we believe in empowering all our team members with flexible ways of working and a highly inclusive work environment. 

The Santen Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We are committed to building diverse teams and ensuring a safe and inclusive physical and virtual workplace for every one of our team members. All employment decisions are based on business needs, role requirements and individual qualifications regardless of race, color, ethnicity, national origin/ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/ expression, age, disability, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.  

If you require any kind of accommodation during our recruitment process, please let the recruiter from our team know.