HR Specialist (Headway)

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.headway.inc/">Headway Inc</a> is a global tech company, revolutionizing lifelong learning by creating digital products for over 150 million users worldwide. Our mission is to help people grow. We’re proud to be ranked 4th among <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/collection/worlds-top-edtech-companies-2025/">the World’s Top EdTech Сompanies</a> by TIME magazine. We believe lifelong learning should be accessible, personalized, and impactful to each individual. That’s how we change the world and why we bring together exceptional minds.</p><p>The core of our achievements is our team. We believe in people and shared values <a target="_blank" href="https://www.notion.so/Values-7f16a889d78e4f80bd5cfffa842b18c8?pvs=21">SELECT</a>. That’s why, together with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daryna-shymanovska-967846234/">Daryna Shymanovska</a>, Talent Acquisition Manager at Headway (Headway Inc), we’re looking for a HR Specialist who will help Headway teams thrive long-term through effective HR processes, talent development, and a healthy, human-oriented environment.</p><h3><strong>The product and team you will be working with:</strong></h3><p>You’ll work with the HR team in close partnership with People Operations — a team focused on enabling business goals through manager development, stronger cross-team collaboration, and building a mature people management system. We support stable performance, high engagement, and a strong employee experience.</p><p>In this role, you’ll support the <a target="_blank" href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/headway-daily-micro-learning/id1457185832">Headway</a> product team — the team behind our flagship app with summaries of nonfiction bestsellers, daily insights, and gamified challenges. Headway is the world’s most downloaded book summary app and has been featured as App of the Day in 30+ countries, including the US, the UK, and Canada.</p><h3><strong>Your mission:</strong></h3><p>To ensure long-term, successful collaboration between employees and Headway by supporting effective HR processes, talent development, and a healthy, human-oriented work environment.</p><h3><strong>Why this is exciting:</strong></h3><ul><li><p>The business clearly understands and values the strategic importance of HR.</p></li><li><p>Direct impact on business performance, team health, culture, and development.</p></li><li><p>Freedom and responsibility — with ownership over meaningful initiatives.</p></li><li><p>High level of engagement and genuine care within the team (People Operations in particular and Headway Inc overall).</p></li><li><p>A wide range of tools and opportunities to use them (with budgets and full support to try new approaches).</p></li><li><p>A people-oriented culture where relationships, clarity, and trust matter.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>What will you do:</strong></h3><ul><li><p>Manage the full employee lifecycle within the Headway product team: onboarding → development → performance → offboarding.</p></li><li><p>Build a healthy team environment, run 1:1s, and stay connected with teammates.</p></li><li><p>Support performance cycles: work with low-performance cases, support PDP creation, and help teammates grow.</p></li><li><p>Advise leaders on people-related topics and help managers work effectively with their teams.</p></li><li><p>Work closely with the Middle Managers to strengthen team autonomy and development.</p></li><li><p>Foster individual contributors growth, engagement, and effectiveness to drive sustainable team performance and business impact.</p></li><li><p>Strengthen engagement and a culture of collaboration within the Headway product team.</p></li></ul><h3><strong>What do you need to join us:</strong></h3><ul><li><p>3+ years of HR experience (product IT is a plus, but other backgrounds are also welcome).</p></li><li><p>Hands-on experience across the full employee lifecycle.</p></li><li><p>Experience supporting managers — and the ability to challenge them when needed.</p></li><li><p>A structured, strategic approach to working with people and teams.</p></li><li><p>A problem-solving mindset and ability to find simple, practical solutions.</p></li><li><p>Ownership, attention to detail, and genuine care.</p></li><li><p>English — Upper Intermediate.</p></li><li><p>Alignment with the values of our team (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.notion.so/Values-7f16a889d78e4f80bd5cfffa842b18c8?pvs=21" style="border:0px solid rgb(238, 239, 242);color:rgb(0, 0, 0);text-decoration:underline;font-weight:500;"><strong>SELECT</strong></a>).</p></li></ul><h4><strong>What do we offer:</strong></h4><ul><li><p>Work within an ambitious team on a socially impactful education product.</p></li><li><p>An office with a reliable shelter, generators, satellite internet, and other amenities.</p></li><li><p>Access to our corporate knowledge base and professional communities.</p></li><li><p>Personal development plan.</p></li><li><p>Compensation for English language learning, external training, and courses.</p></li><li><p>Medical insurance and full sick leave compensation.</p></li><li><p>Company doctor and massage in the office.</p></li><li><p>Sports activities: running, yoga, boxing, and more.</p></li><li><p>Corporate holidays: we go on a week-paid holiday to rest and recharge twice a year.</p></li><li><p>Supporting initiatives that help Ukraine. Find out more about our projects <a target="_blank" href="https://makeheadway.notion.site/Headway-bf73080ade3249ffb875785c1e3f868e?pvs=4">here</a>.</p></li></ul><h4><strong>Working schedule:</strong></h4><p>This is a full-time position based in Kyiv with a hybrid setup. We stay flexible, but for this role our focus is on working from the office most of the time — it helps to stay close to context, and many of the Headway product team members are based in Kyiv.</p><p><strong>Are you interested?</strong></p><p><strong>Send your CV!</strong></p><p><span>We’ve created a </span><strong>Talent Guide</strong><span> to help you navigate our hiring process with clarity and confidence — and get the most out of each stage. </span>Take a look <a target="_blank" href="https://makeheadway.notion.site/Headway-Inc-Talent-Guide-25e16bdf9fd280a59655d35ba4d57954?pvs=143">here</a>.</p>