HR Manager

CubeCold’s offers an end-to-end, temperature-controlled logistics solution for storing and transporting food and pharmaceuticals all over Europe, including Ireland and the UK. Recently, the scale-up – owned by I Squared Capital – acquired several European companies. The HR Manager will lead the integration of these companies at the culture and people level.

About CubeCold

For certain products, the right storage is crucial. In the food industry, fresh products often must be kept chilled or frozen to ensure safety and quality. And in the pharma industry, continuous cooled storage is a requirement for keeping some medicines or vaccines safe and effective. Companies in these sectors need cooled storage capacity – which is, traditionally, difficult or expensive to build and maintain in-house.

CubeCold was founded in 2021 to solve this challenge by developing an integrated platform that offers food and pharmaceutical producers with end-to-end logistics solutions. These include the CubeCold network for cooled storage, transport, and value-added services, including customs support.

Its network is the other component of CubeCold’s unique value proposition, next to its platform. They’re supported by I Squared Capital, a globally active private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments in energy, utilities, telco, and transport. CubeCold has acquired several medium-sized family businesses in the UK, Italy, and the Benelux since its launch. These businesses are active in cold storage and transportation, or perform other activities within the cooled storage and logistics value chain. In the future, CubeCold wants to make several strategic acquisitions each year, to further increase its European market share.

The entire CubeCold team – including its central platform team at the Rotterdam headquarters and local teams in the acquired businesses conssist of 450 comprises. With support and financial strength of I Squared Capital and its Management Team of professionals with track records at companies such as Lineage, FrieslandCampina, Rabobank, and TIP Trailer, CubeCold has all the ingredients to realize this ambition.

Vacancy: HR Manager

With its rapid inorganic growth, CubeCold has seen a significant increase in the number of its employees. Most have worked for years in midsize companies or family-owned businesses in Italy, Belgium, or the UK.

Since these companies have joined CubeCold, the organization needs processes and structures that guarantee its company-wide performance and development. Their new HR Manager is the key figure who anchors relevant people processes. This includes contracts, salary structure and pension schemes, a performance cycle, recruitment, and employee satisfaction.

The scope of the HR Manager extends across HR and includes operational and strategic components. They focus on both the short and long term. Certain processes must be addressed right away, such as implementing a standardized Health and Safety Protocol and setting up the implementation strategy of CubeCold’s corporate culture across all locations. In the long term, the HR Manager will implement the right learning and development program and create the HR framework. Priorities will be defined in consultation with the rest of the Management Team.

The HR Manager critically examines existing policies, optimizes processes, and develops new systems and protocols. This role is part of the Management Team, reports to the CEO, and is supported by an intern and an office manager.

“CubeCold is a rapidly growing business, so this role combines strategic and operational responsibilities. The HR Manager will design policies and lead their implementation. For that, building solid relationships with the local managers and finding ways to influence local leadership effectively will be the key to success.” – Gerben Paauwe, CEO of CubeCold 

This role is an excellent step-up opportunity for a high-potential professional with at least a few years of experience. They  don’t need to have experience with every aspect of the role or every HR topic in scope. What they do need is the ability to reach out to the right stakeholders, ask the right questions, make proposals that are both bold and well-founded, and steer discussions with senior leadership both centrally and locally. Since connecting with local colleagues is key, this role involves some travel.

At CubeCold, an HR Manager with a keen eye for people, culture, and organization will have the opportunity to build a high-performing team with high employee satisfaction. This is how they contributie to the creation of a truly one-stop-shop cooled logistics platform and network, and to the preparation of an exit in a few years.

Interested?

CubeCold is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Emma de wit at emmadewit@topofminds.com