Director, Digital Partner HR and Legal

Wella

4d•$175,000 - $210,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Digital Partner for HR and Legal is a strategic and delivery-focused technology leader responsible for enabling Wella’s global HR and Legal functions through scalable, secure, and business-aligned digital solutions. Reporting to the Senior Director of Corporate Functions, this role partners closely with HR and Legal leaders to drive targeted transformation across workforce management, employee experience, compliance, and legal operations—unlocking efficiency, improving service delivery, and ensuring regulatory adherence. This role provides both strategic input and hands-on leadership across the lifecycle of enterprise applications that support HR and Legal processes. It owns and evolves platforms that enable core processes such as Hire to Retire, workforce administration, case and matter management, contract lifecycle management, and compliance reporting. The role ensures these systems are reliable, user-centric, secure, and aligned with global standards and business priorities. This role is accountable for platform operations within the HR and Legal domains, including system stability, service continuity, user satisfaction, and integration with broader enterprise platforms (e.g., ERP, identity, and collaboration tools). It plays a key role in reducing fragmentation, standardizing capabilities, and promoting globally consistent solutions while balancing local regulatory needs. As a trusted technology partner to HR and Legal leadership, this role translates business priorities into actionable technology roadmaps and ensures delivery of measurable value. The role leads a focused team of domain-aligned resources and collaborates across enterprise IT and vendor ecosystems to deliver outcomes across processes such as Hire to Retire and Legal operations.

Requirements

Domain-Specific Platform Leadership – Experience managing HRIS and Legal technology platforms in global environments.
Enterprise Architecture Awareness – Understanding of scalable, integrated systems in HR and Legal domains, including cloud solutions.
Business Partnership & Stakeholder Management – Strong ability to collaborate with HR and Legal leaders to translate needs into technology solutions.
Delivery Discipline – Experience with structured delivery approaches ensuring compliance, stability, and quality.
Vendor Management – Skilled in managing SaaS and service providers within HR and Legal ecosystems.
Data-Driven Thinking – Ability to align platforms with analytics and AI-driven use cases.
Change Enablement – Experience supporting functional transformation and adoption of digital tools in HR and Legal.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in information systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
10+ years of experience in enterprise applications, with focus on HR and/or Legal systems.
Experience partnering with HR and Legal stakeholders, translating business needs into technology delivery.
Proven experience delivering HR transformation (e.g., HRIS, workforce management) and/or Legal technology solutions.
Hands-on experience with platforms such as SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, ServiceNow HRSD, legal case/matter management, or contract lifecycle management tools.
Experience in regulated or compliance-heavy environments preferred.

Nice To Haves

MBA or relevant leadership training is a plus
PMP, SAFe, or equivalent certifications

Responsibilities

Define and execute the application strategy for HR and Legal systems, aligned with business capability models, regulatory requirements, and enterprise architecture standards.
Own and maintain the IT roadmap across key HR and Legal processes (e.g., Hire to Retire, workforce management, legal case management, contract lifecycle management)
Drive modernization by rationalizing legacy applications and promoting scalable, cloud-based solutions.
Promote a “buy over build” approach to enhance speed, reduce complexity, and ensure sustainability of platforms.
Support the shift toward standardized global solutions while accommodating local legal and regulatory requirements.
Partner with Enterprise Architecture to ensure integration, interoperability, and security standards are met.
Oversee delivery and lifecycle management of HRIS, legal systems, and supporting platforms (including SaaS and packaged solutions).
Ensure end-to-end accountability from roadmap through implementation and ongoing operations.
Drive disciplined release management, testing, and change control processes to ensure system quality and compliance.
Champion user-centric design, improving employee and legal user experiences and adoption.
Ensure stable operations in partnership with global IT teams responsible for infrastructure and service management.
Act as escalation point for HR and Legal applications, ensuring continuity of critical processes such as payroll, workforce administration, and compliance reporting.
Serve as a trusted advisor to HR and Legal leaders and global process owners, aligning IT initiatives with functional strategies.
Drive strong collaboration with stakeholders to align platform capabilities with workforce transformation, talent management, and legal compliance priorities.
Support and shape transformation initiatives across Hire to Retire and Legal process domains.
Accelerate outcomes such as workforce digitization, employee self-service, and legal process automation.
Represent HR and Legal technology priorities in governance forums, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy.
Define and track business value, including efficiency gains, user satisfaction, and compliance improvements.
Manage relationships with HR and Legal technology vendors, including SaaS providers and implementation partners.
Ensure vendor performance, contractual compliance, and value realization.
Collaborate with Procurement on sourcing, licensing, and service-level agreements.
Ensure all third-party solutions comply with InfoSec, data privacy, and regulatory requirements.
Support budget management and resource allocation aligned with priorities.
Collaborate with Data, AI & Analytics teams to ensure HR and Legal data is structured, governed, and insight ready.
Support integration of application data into enterprise data platforms.
Enable use of analytics and AI capabilities for workforce insights, compliance monitoring, and legal operations efficiency.
Lead and develop a focused HR and Legal technology team, including functional specialists and delivery resources.
Promote accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
Strengthen partnership with business teams to ensure prioritization and adoption of solutions.
Support talent development and capability building in HRIS and Legal technology domains.