People & Communications Director, US West & Canada

KONE•Lisle, IL

18h•Onsite

About The Position

Founded in 1910, KONE is a global leader that provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization that add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Our mission is to improve the flow of urban life and make our world’s cities better places to live by providing innovative solutions that help make people’s journeys safe, convenient and reliable. Our operations in over 60 countries around the world has helped us achieve our position as an innovation and sustainability leader with repeated recognitions by Forbes, Corporate Knights for clean capitalism and others. This role acts as the enterprise-level architect for high performance culture, leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and transformation across KONE’s frontline operations in the United States & Canada. This role serves as the principal strategic partner to Senior Vice President who oversee a portfolio exceeding $1.5B USD in P&L, 3,000+ employees, wide-scale unionized field operations, and complex, regionally distributed service organizations. Acting one level below the CHRO, this leader accelerates transformation by shaping organizational design, simplifying structures and decision paths, elevating leadership capability, mobilizing talent with courage, and embedding execution discipline while reinforcing our corporate culture. They lead with courage, speed, and simplicity – driving cultural and operational shifts required to enable business growth, digital transformation, modernization, and outstanding customer and employee experience. This role leads and directs a team of 2 senior leaders to deliver and execute and leads/participates on critical committees that drive organizational policy and decision-making requiring strong influencing and business partnering. At KONE, we foster an innovative and collaborative culture, valuing each individual's contribution. Employee engagement and sustainability are key focuses, promoting ethical practices and mutual respect. We're proud to offer experience and opportunities to help you achieve career and personal goals while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. We hire individuals who value culture because we believe culture drives innovation. We value your authentic self. Collaborative, creative, and supportive work environment. Passionate about safety, quality, and innovation. We care about the communities where we live and work. At KONE, our purpose is to shape the future of cities. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, we move two billion people every day, making their journeys safe, convenient, and reliable with smart and sustainable People Flow®. In 2025, KONE had annual sales of EUR 11.2 billion, and at the end of the year over 60,000 employees in close to 70 countries. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive and successful Human Resources experience, preferably with a multinational company
Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (HR, Labor Relations, Business, etc.), or 12+ years of equivalent experience
Advanced influencing, facilitation, storytelling, and communication skills, including the ability to translate complex strategy into simple, repeatable narratives for frontline audiences
Demonstrated capability in coaching leaders to lead others—strengthening clarity, accountability, empowerment, and performance through trust‑based leadership
Strong organization design capability to drive a high‑performance culture and operational excellence
Ability to operate with multidimensional leadership expectations—balancing transformation, performance, results, and people leadership
Strong business and financial acumen; ability to partner on incentives, pricing, fixed costs, and other business levers impacting delivery and profitability
Strong analytical and insight capabilities—able to synthesize workforce, engagement, performance, and business data (e.g., Workday, engagement tools, BI) into actionable leadership insights
Strong organization design, workforce planning, and capability development skills, including designing and driving multi‑district change programs end‑to‑end
Demonstrated knowledge and experience working within Federal and State Employment Laws
Proven success in coaching and developing talent and teams
Excellent verbal, presentation, facilitation, and written communication skills
Demonstrated ability to lead projects across business units, ensuring effective change management and the ability to lead others through change
Ability to work collaboratively in a matrix organization
Demonstrated ability to set priorities to ensure timely completion of deadlines
Ability to navigate ambiguity, provide solutions to problems, and make informed decisions
Inspiring Purpose - Leading change and ability to motivate and engage
Agile Mind - Business Sense
Focus on Momentum - Drive for results, decisiveness, and composure
Steady Presence - Resilience and courage
Authentic Connection – Concern for others and integrity
Empowering Approach – Delegating and empowering, and Coach and development

Responsibilities

Strategic Business Partnering
Leadership Effectiveness & Capability
Team Leadership & Development
Organizational Development & Workforce Planning
Change & Transformation Leadership
Culture, Engagement, DEI, & Belonging
People Communications
Data, Insights, & Operating Rhythm
Governance, Compliance, & Risk Management

Benefits

Competitive salary
Flexible work schedule
Opportunities to learn and grow
401K Employer Match
401k Employer Non-elective Contribution
Well-being Program
Medical, Prescription, Dental and Vision Insurance
Digital Health Solutions & Telehealth
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP)
Family & Medical Leave
Parental Leave
Leave to Care for a Domestic Partner
Paid Time Off & Holidays
Company Paid Life and AD&D Insurance
Supplemental Life and AD&D Insurance
Company Paid Short-term and Long-term Disability
Buy-Up Long-term Disability
Critical Illness Insurance
Hospital Indemnity & Accident Insurance
Identity Theft Protection
Legal Insurance
KONE Credit Union
Tuition Reimbursement
Commuter Benefits
Annual Base Pay Range: The national hiring range for this role is $215,800 – $283,290.
Variable Compensation KONE Annual Bonus plan at 25% Target Incentive (70/30) based on achievement of company goals and individual goals.