HR Business Partner Director - International

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design. This role is based at our London campus and follows a hybrid way of working. You have choice in where and how you work. We trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

We're looking for a Senior Strategic HR Business Partner who will help build Canva's international organisation. You’ll partner directly with the Head of International and their leadership team, working across the full breadth of international people challenges—from performance culture and org design to talent outcomes and leadership capability. You’ll be accountable for the people strategy that drives our market growth, from establishing a strong performance culture across markets to ensuring consistency in how we develop leaders, manage talent, and execute people programs at scale.

You’ll bring calm, clarity, resilience and systems thinking to a fast‑moving, hypergrowth environment, and you’ll know when to go deep and when to go wide. You’ll be an experienced HR enabler who thinks strategically but is also prepared to roll up your sleeves and get things done. We want someone who has partnered with international businesses before, not just implemented global HR programs. Someone who understands that great people partnering in complex, multi‑market environments means setting direction, enabling others, and driving outcomes.

You know that meeting the business where it’s at, building exceptional foundations and positive relationships is the key to ensuring those high‑impact, highly strategic pieces of work land with positive impact at scale.

What You’ll Do

• International Business Partnering: Serve as the senior people partner to the Head of International and the international leadership team. Build deep business understanding, earn trust quickly, and partner on the full range of people challenges—from org design and workforce planning to talent management and culture. Provide strategic, hands‑on input across all key people priorities, including team effectiveness, leadership development, growth and impact frameworks, and cultivating a high‑performance culture that scales across markets and time zones. Partner with TA and the Head of International to drive talent density.
• Performance Culture & People Strategy: Own the international people strategy end‑to‑end. Build the frameworks, align the leadership team, and make them real. Lead the embedding of a strong, consistent performance culture across all international markets. Ensure leaders have the tools, language, and support to manage performance well, and that accountability is a feature of the culture, not an afterthought.
• Change & Transformation: As international scales, part of this role is protecting what makes Canva special. Growth is only sustainable if the culture scales with it. Partner with leaders and broader people teams to make sure new Canvanauts are set up to thrive in our culture, not just onboarded into a process.

You’re Probably a Match If You

• Have HR business partnering experience within hypergrowth and fast‑pace environments.
• Deep expertise across core HR disciplines: performance management, org design, leadership development, talent management, and change.
• Experience supporting international or geographically distributed businesses.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with senior leaders (including at the Head of function level) and act as a credible strategic thought partner.
• Track record of building and embedding performance culture, not just running performance cycles.
• Have strong commercial acumen.
• Are proactive by nature and thrive in ambiguity, always a few steps ahead and energized by new challenges.
• Have exceptional judgement; you know what to prioritise, when to elevate, and how to navigate competing demands across multiple markets with grace.
• High emotional intelligence and cultural adaptability.
• Champion innovation in people practices, continuously evolving our approach to support an exceptional workplace and culture.
• Bring energy and presence to the people around you.

What’s in It for You?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard - and we do - but you’ll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for every success in and outside of work.

Here’s a Taste of What’s On Offer:

• Equity packages — we want our success to be yours too.
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents & carers.
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup & more.
• Flexible leave options that empower you to be a force for good, take time to recharge and support you personally.
• In‑house crafted on‑demand library of learning programs such as AI/ML School, Canva Product Skills, Internal Coaching and much more.

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process. Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.