Director, HR Projects & Transformation - Chicago or Decatur, IL

Archer Daniels Midland•Decatur, IL

About The Position

The Director, HR Strategic Projects & HR Transformation leads enterprise-wide initiatives to strengthen organizational performance, workforce effectiveness, operational excellence, and the employee experience. The role partners with senior leaders to develop and execute HR strategies, organizational effectiveness initiatives, HR and payroll transformation programs, process optimization efforts, and merger and acquisition integration activities. It leads complex cross-functional projects that align people, processes, technology, and organizational capabilities with business priorities, enabling growth, improving efficiency, modernizing HR and payroll systems, and supporting successful change and integration outcomes. The Director leads strategic HR initiatives and organizational planning, assesses and optimizes HR operating models, develops workforce and capacity planning approaches, and establishes measures of organizational effectiveness and service delivery. The role also leads HR and payroll process transformation, technology modernization, and continuous improvement, including system implementations and upgrades, process redesign, testing, change management, deployment, and stabilization. The position leads HR due diligence and integration or separation activities for mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures. It develops transaction strategies, plans Day One readiness, and coordinates employee transfers, payroll transitions, benefits harmonization, HR systems separation, transition service agreements, governance, and synergy tracking. The Director also develops change management and stakeholder engagement strategies and ensures controls, governance, and compliance are embedded in HR and payroll initiatives, including SOX-compliant processes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, Finance, Information Systems, or a related field.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Human Resources, HR Operations, transformation, consulting, payroll, or finance.
Demonstrated success leading large-scale transformation initiatives and complex cross-functional projects.
Experience in organizational design, process optimization, and change management.
Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and organizational integration activities.
Experience implementing or upgrading HRIS and payroll systems.
Strong analytical, strategic-thinking, and executive communication skills.
Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive enterprise change initiatives.
Successful completion of a background check is required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
Lean Six Sigma or comparable certification.
Experience in a global, matrixed organization.
Experience with SAP, SuccessFactors, Workday, Oracle HCM, UKG, ADP, or other enterprise HR and payroll solutions.

Responsibilities

Lead strategic HR initiatives and transformation programs that improve organizational effectiveness, employee experience, scalability, and operational performance.
Develop business cases, implementation roadmaps, governance structures, and success metrics for enterprise HR initiatives.
Identify opportunities to simplify, standardize, and improve HR service delivery and operating models.
Provide strategic counsel to HR and business leaders on workforce, organizational, and operational challenges.
Lead cross-functional teams and influence stakeholders across HR, Payroll, Finance, Technology, Legal, and business functions.
Lead HR strategic planning and align organizational structures, resources, and capabilities with business requirements and enterprise priorities.
Evaluate and optimize the HR operating model to improve efficiency, scalability, and service quality.
Assess HR organizational structures, reporting relationships, resource allocation, and team capacity.
Develop workforce and capacity planning models to support growth, transformation, service expansion, and changing business demands.
Establish and monitor operational metrics, workforce analytics, and service delivery measures.
Assess HR processes, roles, and governance frameworks and recommend organizational improvements.
Support organizational changes associated with HR transformations, service delivery enhancements, system implementations, acquisitions, and divestitures.
Identify opportunities to improve HR skills, processes, technologies, and service delivery models.
Partner with HR leadership to ensure HR organizations are appropriately structured and resourced to deliver sustainable and globally consistent services.
Lead enterprise HR transformation initiatives focused on operational excellence, scalability, and continuous improvement.
Assess and improve end-to-end HR and payroll processes to enhance efficiency, controls, compliance, and customer experience.
Identify opportunities to automate, standardize, simplify, and optimize processes.
Establish governance frameworks, operating procedures, and performance metrics to sustain improvements.
Drive continuous improvement methodologies and best practices, and report on transformation outcomes and operational performance.
Lead payroll system upgrades, implementations, integrations, and optimization initiatives.
Partner with Payroll, HRIS, Information Technology, and Finance to establish technology strategies and priorities.
Define business requirements and oversee process redesign for system enhancements and technology deployments.
Ensure payroll and HR systems support business requirements, operational controls, compliance standards, and employee needs.
Lead testing, change management, deployment, and stabilization for major technology initiatives.
Evaluate HR and payroll technologies and recommend solutions that improve operational effectiveness and employee experience.
Lead HR due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures.
Assess workforce demographics, compensation and benefits programs, labor agreements, HR operations, payroll processes, HR systems, organizational structures, and people-related risks.
Partner with Corporate Development, Legal, Finance, Payroll, and business leaders to evaluate transaction costs, risks, synergies, and integration requirements.
Develop and execute HR integration and separation strategies.
Lead Day One readiness planning, payroll integration, benefits harmonization, talent assessments, and communication planning.
Lead employee transfers, HR systems separation, payroll transition, and transition service agreement activities for divestitures and carve-outs.
Establish integration governance, milestone tracking, executive reporting, and synergy realization processes.
Develop and execute change management strategies for transformational initiatives.
Lead stakeholder engagement, communications, training, and adoption efforts.
Use data-driven recommendations and workforce insights to influence business decisions.
Build partnerships across HR functions and business teams to drive alignment and implementation success.
Ensure appropriate controls, governance, and compliance requirements are embedded in HR and payroll initiatives.
Partner with Internal Audit, Legal, Compliance, Payroll, and Finance to mitigate operational and regulatory risks.
Support SOX-compliant payroll and HR process design, documentation, and controls.
Establish monitoring and reporting mechanisms for ongoing compliance and operational effectiveness.

Benefits

Medical and prescription coverage, dental and vision insurance, and access to an on-site wellness center or gym reimbursement, as applicable.
Flexible spending accounts and a health savings account.
401(k) with matching contributions and a cash balance plan.
Discounted employee stock purchasing program.
Life insurance and disability coverage.
Workers’ compensation, legal assistance, and identity theft protection.
Employee Assistance Program, Employee Resource Groups, and Colleague Giving Programs.
Paid time off, including paid holidays.
Adoption assistance and paid maternity and parental leave.
Tuition assistance.
Company-sponsored training and development resources, including LinkedIn Learning, language training, and mentoring programs.