Key Responsibilities
Strategic HR Partnership
- Act as a trusted advisor to plant leadership and management teams.
- Align HR strategies with business objectives, operational priorities, and workforce planning requirements.
- Support organizational design, restructuring, and workforce optimization initiatives.
- Provide coaching and guidance to managers on leadership, employee engagement, and performance management.
Employee & Labor Relations
- Manage complex employee relations matters, including disciplinary actions, grievances, performance issues, and investigations.
- Ensure compliance with German labour law and internal company policies.
- Develop and maintain constructive relationships with Works Councils (Betriebsrat) and employee representatives.
- Lead consultations and negotiations relating to organizational changes, restructuring, working time arrangements, and policy implementation.
- Coordinate external legal counsel where required.
Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning
- Lead end-to-end recruitment activities for salaried and production positions.
- Partner with hiring managers to identify workforce requirements and succession needs.
- Develop strategies to attract and retain skilled manufacturing talent.
Performance & Talent Management
- Drive the annual performance management process.
- Identify talent, succession planning, and development opportunities.
- Support leadership development and employee career progression initiatives.
- Facilitate training programs and organizational capability-building activities.
Compensation & Benefits
- In liaison with corporate, administer salary review, bonus, and incentive programs.
- Partner with corporate compensation and benefits on market benchmarking and compensation recommendations.
- Ensure internal equity and compliance with applicable regulations.
- Support implementation of pay transparency and equality initiatives.
HR Operations & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with German employment legislation, social security requirements, and company policies.
- Oversee employee lifecycle processes including hiring, onboarding, transfers, promotions, and separations.
- Maintain accurate HR records and data reporting in HRIS systems.
- Monitor and analyze HR metrics including turnover, absenteeism, productivity, and employee engagement.
Payroll Responsibilities
- Manage and coordinate the end-to-end monthly payroll process for employees in Germany, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with applicable tax, social security, labour, and statutory requirements.
- Act as the primary liaison with external payroll providers, finance teams, and relevant government authorities to ensure payroll is processed correctly and in accordance with legal requirements.
- Review and validate payroll data, including salary changes, bonuses, shift premiums, overtime, allowances, absences, and termination payments.
- Ensure statutory deductions, tax withholdings, social insurance contributions, and employee benefits are accurately calculated and administered.
- Support payroll audits and maintain payroll records, documentation, and reporting in compliance with company policies and data privacy requirements, including GDPR.
- Manage payroll-related employee inquiries and provide clear guidance on pay, deductions, benefits, and statutory entitlements.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory changes impacting payroll and recommend process updates to ensure ongoing compliance.
- Partner with Finance to support payroll reconciliations, accruals, budgeting, and workforce reporting requirements.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance payroll accuracy, efficiency, controls, and employee experience.
- Ensure confidentiality and security of employee compensation and personal data at all times.
Change Management
- Support business transformation and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Lead HR aspects of reorganizations, and site changes when required.
- Develop communication and employee engagement plans during periods of change.
Health, Safety & Wellbeing
- Partner with EHS and operational leaders to promote a safe working environment.
- Support employee wellbeing initiatives and occupational health programs.
- Participate in return-to-work, accommodation, and absence management processes.
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Law, Psychology, or related field.
- Master's degree or HR certification preferred.
Experience
- 7-10 years of progressive Human Resources experience.
- Minimum 3 years in a manufacturing, industrial, aerospace, automotive, chemicals, or engineering environment.
- Demonstrated experience working with German Works Councils.
- Experience managing employee relations and labor law matters in Germany.
- Experience supporting organizational change and restructuring programs.
Knowledge & Technical Skills
- Strong knowledge of German employment law and industrial relations.
- Understanding of collective bargaining agreements and co-determination requirements.
- Experience with HRIS systems.
- Knowledge of compensation and benefits practices.
- Strong project management and organizational skills.
Leadership Competencies
- Business acumen.
- Strong influencing and negotiation skills.
- Excellent stakeholder management capabilities.
- High level of integrity and professionalism.
- Ability to manage sensitive and confidential information.
- Results-oriented with strong problem-solving skills.
Language Requirements
- Fluent German and English required.
- Additional European languages are advantageous.
Key Success Measures
- Employee engagement and retention levels.
- Effective management of employee relations issues.
- Successful Works Council collaboration and negotiations.
- Recruitment and time-to-fill metrics.
- Compliance with labour legislation and company policies.
- Leadership capability development.
- Achievement of diversity, talent, and succession objectives.
Working Environment
- Manufacturing and office-based environment.
- Regular presence on the production floor.
- Occasional domestic and international travel.
- Ability to work effectively with both hourly and salaried employee populations.
