HR Business Partner - 6 months contract

About Toloka

At Toloka AI we create data that powers leading GenAI models and innovations. We work with frontier labs, big tech, renowned AI startups, enterprises and non-profit research organizations worldwide. We use a combination of Experts + Crowd + Tech Platform to teach AI models to reason and evaluate their efficacy and safety. We have experts in more than 50 different domains—from doctors and lawyers to physicists and engineers—and boast one of the most diverse global crowds, representing over 100 countries and speaking 40+ languages. We are a well-funded startup with an enviable portfolio of clients including Anthropic, Amazon, Microsoft, poolside, Recraft, and Shopify.

Recently, we secured strategic investment led by Bezos Expeditions with participation from Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify and board advisor to leading GenAI companies, who now serves as our Chairman of the Board. Our remote-first team is globally distributed around the world: USA, UK, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Serbia, and more.

About position

We’re looking for an experienced HR Business Partner to join our international People team. In this role, you will serve as a strategic advisor to business leaders and work closely with managers on all HR-related topics. This is a full-time, 6‑month position (with the possibility of extension), and candidates must be located in Belgrade, Serbia.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with business leaders to understand strategic goals and translate them into people plans (workforce planning, org design, capability building).

• Provide coaching and guidance to managers on performance management, feedback, employee development, and difficult conversations.

• Lead and support employee relations matters , ensuring fair and compliant outcomes.

• Own and drive company-wide communication on behalf of the business and leadership — including employee and manager meetings, written announcements, internal posts, and change communications — ensuring timely, clear, and consistent information flow across the organization.

• Set up and analyze HR data and people metrics (turnover, engagement, performance) to identify trends and recommend actions.

• Support talent management processes: succession planning, high‑potential identification, promotions, and internal mobility.

• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition to define hiring needs, profiles, and selection criteria; support critical or senior hires as needed.

• Drive the performance management cycle (goal‑setting, check‑ins, reviews, calibration) and ensure quality and consistency of evaluations.

• Advise on compensation and benefits topics within corporate guidelines, including offers, adjustments, and retention actions.

• Support organizational change initiatives (restructuring, integrations, new ways of working), including communication and change‑management plans.

• Ensure HR policies, procedures, and practices are well understood and consistently applied; contribute to policy improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, or related field; Master’s or HR certification (CIPD, SHRM, etc.) is a plus.

• 3+ years of progressive HR experience, including as HR Generalist and/or HR Business Partner supporting managers directly.

• Strong knowledge of international employment law and core HR disciplines (employee relations, performance, compensation, talent management).

• Proven experience coaching managers and influencing senior stakeholders.

• Ability to interpret data and metrics to drive decisions and tell a clear “people story” to the business.

• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship‑building skills.

• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, changing environment and managing multiple priorities.

• High level of discretion, integrity, and sound judgment.

• • Russian native level and fluent English