Flexibility, new challenges and transferable skills: creating a unique career at Delivery Hero

Every career path is unique. By trying things out, knowing your strengths, and developing new skills, you can create amazing opportunities.

When Project Manager Mirjam Abele first joined Delivery Hero in 2012, the company was only just starting out. Since then, she’s taken a leap from tech to HR, taking on a completely different role. We talked to Mirjam about accepting new challenges, shaping a career that fits your lifestyle, and what the future at Delivery Hero holds.

Hi Mirjam, you’ve been working at Delivery Hero for almost six years, what has that been like so far?

When I joined Delivery Hero in 2012, I started in the IT department and was already working on various people-related projects. After two years I joined the product team and started working as a Product Manager across different platforms.

When we moved into the new office building in 2016, I switched to the people operations team and supported the office management team until I went on parental leave. When I came back I joined Jeri’s (Doris, Chief People Officer) team, where I am still working today.

You just took over the role of Project Manager in people operations. What does that entail?

I’m currently taking care of the workplace strategy for Delivery Hero. This entails juggling multiple projects such as finding new office locations, improving our current workplace by working on a sustainability concept for the office, creating design concepts with more meeting space, collaborative space and quiet zones, etc. Overall, we want to create a great workplace experience for our employees!

Seems like you had quite a journey here at Delivery Hero!

Yes, I did! When I joined, Delivery Hero was still in a startup spirit with no more than 200 employees, everyone worked on multiple topics and day by day our workplace changed. For me it was a great opportunity to grow and learn many different skills in a fast changing environment.

What was the biggest challenge for you when changing roles?

When I started working as a Product Manager, my first team worked on backend topics such as order transmissions or the creation of vouchers. I had to dive into this new world in a very short time. With my non-technical background this was quite a challenge!

Being flexible in my job was always important to me and I am happy that my manager supports this way of working

Did it come naturally to make such a change?

I think there are always new opportunities in a fast growing company like ours. As a product manager you use data to improve your product and make your customers happy. The same goes for HR; we are trying to enhance our employees’ experience. Nowadays there are tools to help with this, but implementing and running them is a challenge, especially when there is data involved.

Having a product background definitely helped me, and I’m sure there are lots of opportunities within the people operations team for me to explore! There are so many great initiatives in place where I can contribute something with my background.

You’re also a mom, how do you manage family and career?

Fortunately I can work very flexible hours. Sometimes I just work in the evening when the baby sleeps, and my partner does the same, so we have more time with her in the afternoon. Being flexible in my job was always important to me and I am happy that my manager supports this way of working.

What motivates you?

Since Delivery Hero is growing so fast, we are always facing new challenges. The way we work is changing and as a company we need to find new concepts to adapt our workplace to the employees’ needs. It motivates me that I can be part of building a fantastic employee experience and see that newbies come to our office and love working here.

Where will your Hero Journey take you next?

Currently I am excited to dive into my ongoing projects, so I will stay on this island for a bit until I venture out. There are many more exciting departments at Delivery Hero to explore!

To find out more about current openings and what it’s like to work at Delivery Hero, head over to our career page.