Director, HR Enablement & Transformation - Americas

Novanta•Apex, NC

About The Position

The Director, HR Enablement is responsible for leading the HR Enablement team and executing strategy across the Americas region. The role ensures HR solutions, programs, and services align with business priorities and deliver a consistent, high-quality employee and manager experience. It leads HR Enablement professionals and acts as a strategic partner to business leaders, Talent Partners, Centers of Excellence, and HR Operations. The Director drives organizational effectiveness, manager capability, process excellence, workforce insights, technology adoption, and HR transformation initiatives across the region. The role requires strong business acumen, executive stakeholder management, and the ability to influence change across a complex and growing organization. As a senior HR leader, the Director translates enterprise HR strategies into regional execution and identifies opportunities to simplify, scale, and improve outcomes.

Requirements

At least 8 years of progressive HR leadership experience.
Experience leading HR teams across multiple sites or business units.
Proven success leading organizational change and transformation initiatives.
Experience partnering with senior business leaders and executive stakeholders.
Strong background in workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, talent management, and employee experience.
Experience driving adoption of HR technology and process improvement initiatives.
Experience building and scaling HR processes.
Strong technology, digital HR, AI, and automation experience.
Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, including interpreting workforce data and identifying trends.
Continuous improvement mindset and experience supporting organizational change and transformation initiatives.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership to HR Enablement professionals supporting multiple business units, manufacturing sites, and corporate functions across the Americas.
Drive consistency in HR delivery, manager effectiveness, organizational capability, and employee experience while balancing enterprise standards with local business requirements.
Serve as the senior escalation point and subject matter expert on complex people, organizational, and workforce matters, partnering with Talent Partners, Centers of Excellence, HR Operations, Legal, and business leadership to resolve issues and mitigate risk.
Lead and develop the HR Enablement team, fostering high performance, collaboration, and continuous growth.
Partner with business leaders, Talent Partners, and site leadership to build capability, support career development, and prepare the team to meet evolving business needs.
Ensure consistent execution and adoption of enterprise-wide HR programs, processes, policies, and tools across multiple locations and business units.
Drive a One Novanta employee and manager experience while addressing regional and business-specific needs.
Oversee employment compliance matters across the region and ensure HR practices, policies, and programs comply with applicable labor and employment laws.
Partner with Legal and Centers of Excellence to assess risk, interpret regulatory requirements, and implement compliant solutions.
Lead regional HR transformation and continuous improvement initiatives using Novanta Growth System methodologies, change management principles, automation, and AI-enabled solutions.
Identify trends and opportunities across sites, businesses, and geographies, and partner globally to drive enterprise-wide improvements.
Develop and execute regional HR Enablement resource strategies, ensuring effective deployment of resources across business units, locations, and organizational priorities.
Evaluate service delivery models, organizational needs, and workforce demands to optimize support.
Use workforce analytics, engagement data, retention trends, organizational health metrics, and business insights to identify opportunities and risks and translate data into actionable outcomes.