Director, HR and Health & Safety

Smurfit Westrock•Anderson, SC

About The Position

The Director, HR and Health & Safety is a strategic member of the Bag-in-Box Division Executive Committee, responsible for shaping and leading the Division’s People and Health & Safety agenda across an international manufacturing footprint spanning Italy, France, Spain, Bulgaria, the United States, Canada, Mexico and Argentina. The role partners closely with the Divisional CEO, General Managers, and local HR and H&S teams to ensure the organization has the leadership, capabilities, structure, culture and working environment needed to meet its strategic and operational objectives and support business development. The position combines strategic leadership with close involvement in day-to-day manufacturing operations. It requires an experienced HR leader comfortable working across countries, cultures and employment environments, with regular international travel and occasional extended periods away from the North American home location. The Director leads and coordinates an international network of approximately 15 indirect reports, consisting of local HR and Health & Safety Managers based at manufacturing sites.

Requirements

Fluent in both Spanish and English.
Proactive, action-oriented, and able to make decisions quickly in a dynamic environment.
Strong problem-solving, analytical and organizational skills, with high attention to detail.
Strong operational mindset and ability to drive accountability and follow-up.
Hands-on leadership style and ability to motivate teams while building a strong performance culture.
Takes ownership, delivers results and drives operational improvements.
Able to manage multiple priorities while maintaining high operational standards.
Effective communicator and collaborator across all organizational levels and different cultures.
Able and willing to travel regularly across the Division’s international locations.

Responsibilities

Partner with the Division CEO and leadership team to translate business strategy into people, organization and workforce priorities across the Division.
Lead the Divisional HR and Health & Safety strategy and agenda, ensuring priorities support operational, commercial and financial objectives across countries and sites.
Lead and execute organization design and workforce planning in support of business transformation, investments, restructuring, acquisitions, integrations and other significant organizational changes.
Drive talent and succession planning for critical leadership, operational and technical roles, and support internal mobility across the Division.
Strengthen leadership capability and organizational effectiveness by identifying, developing and retaining talent and supporting managers in appointments and development decisions.
Lead and develop the Divisional HR/H&S community, building capability, collaboration and consistency across sites.
Use workforce data and analytics to identify trends, risks and opportunities and support business decision-making.
Lead employee and labor relations, including guidance on complex employee matters, union and works council relationships, negotiations, restructurings and sensitive organizational changes.
Oversee compensation, benefits and reward practices, including annual salary reviews, incentive programs and key compensation decisions in partnership with Group and regional teams.
Ensure strong HR governance and compliance, maintaining appropriate policies, controls and employment practices in line with local legislation and Group requirements across all countries.
Lead and coordinate an international network of approximately 15 indirect reports comprising local HR and Health & Safety Managers.
Travel regularly internationally, including occasional extended periods away from the North American home location.