HR Project Manager

Smurfit Westrock•Atlanta, GA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The HR Project Manager leads a team of HR program professionals and drives process improvement and transformation across North America Human Resources, with primary alignment to Labor Relations, HR service delivery, and the HR PMO. The role connects functional leaders, HR Operations, Shared Services, HRIS, HRBPs, and business stakeholders to translate strategic priorities into simplified, scalable, and sustainable ways of working. The position leads and develops the team, maps current-state processes and experiences, designs future-state processes and governance, and leads approved improvement initiatives through implementation, adoption, stabilization, and performance monitoring. It also administers HR PMO project and portfolio governance, supports portfolio and regional operating rhythms, provides portfolio insights to senior leaders, and coordinates operational excellence priorities and performance measures.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Operations, or a related field.
7+ years of progressive experience in HR Operations, program or portfolio management, project management, Shared Services, or related functions.
Experience leading and developing a team.
Experience coordinating complex, cross-functional programs and translating strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes.
Ability to provide clear insights to senior leaders, navigate competing priorities, influence decisions, and create structure in a complex organization.
Exceptional communication, facilitation, executive reporting, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting Labor Relations, Shared Services, or HR Operations environments.
PMP, Lean, Six Sigma, Prosci, or related certification.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop a team of HR program professionals by setting priorities, performance expectations, and development plans.
Assign and balance team workload to deliver program outcomes, service quality, and continuous improvement.
Build team capability in process design, project discipline, data-driven problem solving, and stakeholder partnership.
Partner with Labor Relations leadership to map and assess current-state processes, experiences, handoffs, systems, controls, and decision points.
Design future-state Labor Relations processes, governance, roles, decision rights, measures, and implementation plans.
Facilitate cross-functional working sessions to clarify priorities, resolve dependencies, and align Labor Relations, HRBPs, HR Operations, HRIS, Centers of Excellence, and business stakeholders.
Lead approved Labor Relations improvements from assessment through implementation, adoption, stabilization, and ongoing performance monitoring.
Map and assess current-state HR service delivery processes, employee and manager experiences, handoffs, systems, controls, and performance measures.
Design integrated, user-centered, scalable future-state processes and service models aligned with business and employee needs.
Connect HR Operations, Shared Services, HRIS, HRBPs, Centers of Excellence, and business stakeholders to resolve dependencies, clarify ownership, and deliver integrated solutions.
Lead improvement initiatives through implementation and adoption, using service data and stakeholder feedback to improve performance and sustain measurable results.
Operationalize and administer the HR PMO project and portfolio governance framework, including intake, prioritization support, stage-gate coordination, execution standards, risk and issue escalation, benefit tracking, and project closure.
Coordinate portfolio reviews, project health reporting, decision logs, integrated roadmaps, dependency management, follow-up actions, and executive visibility across HR initiatives.
Support the Regional HR team operating rhythm, including leadership agendas, workplan and priority reviews, action tracking, decision follow-through, and alignment of regional commitments with the broader HR portfolio.
Provide HR PMO leadership, sponsors, and senior HR leaders with insights on portfolio health, risks, capacity, tradeoffs, dependencies, and required decisions.
Coordinate process standardization, simplification, and efficiency initiatives across assigned portfolios.
Implement and administer approved governance, controls, operating routines, project and portfolio management standards, and executive reporting.
Maintain the performance framework, including KPIs, service measures, benefit realization tracking, and corrective-action follow-up.
Use data and an enterprise perspective to recommend improvement priorities and solutions aligned with HR strategy.