Senior Director, People M&A

Equinix•Toronto, ON

13d•$200,000 - $300,000

About The Position

The People M&A Leader will oversee and lead the People functions Merger & Acquisition + Emerging Market team and is the strategic partner to the business and deal teams by shaping M&A and divestiture strategies through a people and culture lens. The M&A HR Leader ensures that workforce insights influence deal decisions, drives value realization beyond financials, and safeguards business continuity, culture, leadership, and talent outcomes. This leader will ensure seamless strategy and execution across the full deal lifecycle – from due diligence to integration or separation to stabilising post-event – while safeguarding employee experience, mitigating risks, and ensuring compliance. They will manage a dedicated People M&A delivery team, scaling resources up or down based on deal flow and priorities, and will partner closely with all People teams and business leaders to align people-related integration plans with organizational goals.

Requirements

A significant number of years of proven experience in HR Leadership roles managing large-scale M&A, divestitures, & integration transactions
Strong understanding of end-to-end HR practices, including compensation, benefits, talent management, and HR data & technology.
Familiarity with legal, financial, and operation aspects of M&A from a people perspective
Track record of successfully leading cross-functional, multi-geography integration teams
Leadership Skills: The ability to inspire, empower, motivate, and guide a diverse team. Fosters a collaborative, continuous improvement and high-performance culture that is continuously building capability. Ability to hold teams accountable for results, while balancing efficiency and empathy.
Agility: Ability to see the big picture while navigating complex, fast-changing deal environments. Thrives under pressure and in high-stakes, time-sensitive situations. Disciplined approach to planning, governance, and delivery, ensuring deals close on time and integration goals are met.
Project Management Skills: The ability to manage multiple priorities, projects, and deadlines while maintaining a focus on quality and efficiency.
Detail Oriented & Organized: Highly organized, detail-oriented, and committed to operational excellence.
Collaboration: Influential collaborator and relationship builder who builds trust and works effectively across HR, other functions, and external stakeholders. Drive alignment between HR and other functions on priorities.
Cultural Awareness: Ability to bridge cultures, engage leaders, and create a unified employee experience.
Navigating Complexity: Utilizes high discretion, professionalism, and has a strong ethical compass
Commercial HR Acumen: Understands deal economics and translates people dynamics into business impact.

Responsibilities

Influence deal structure discussions (e.g. asset vs. share deal, TSA complexity, leadership retention).
Drive early people related due diligence findings allow to influence the Corp Dev strategy/bid price to get the best ROI and value to Equinix
Advise on leadership operating model post-close.
Assess talent flight risk, leader disengagement, union or regulatory pressure – before deal signing
Translate workforce implications into clear business trade-offs: Speed vs. adoption, clean exit vs. local relationship impact, cost vs. reputation
Define the overall strategy, approach, and standards for HR M&A activities, ensuring alignment with organizational goals (from due diligence to integration).
Lead the end-to-end HR strategy and execution for all M&A transactions, including feasibility assessments, due diligence, deal execution, and post-close integration.
Define strategies for establishing operations in emerging markets and facilitate their integration into the global HR framework.
Oversee a flexible team of M&A specialists and contributors, scaling capacity up or down in alignment with deal priorities and timelines.
Set performance expectations, track KPI’s, foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement, and ensure high-quality, on-time delivery of services accurately and with high levels of employee satisfaction.
Be fully accountable for the operational execution of all programs in scope.
When not engaged in active transactions, redeploy resources to high-priority HR initiatives within People Experience.
Ensuring adequate HR resourcing pre- and post-transition; including country specific culture and legal/regulatory/statutory requirement expertise.
Will drive regional program management for the region they reside in and oversee execution of other regions delivered via regional M&A team members.
Partner with COEs (e.g. Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, HR Technology) to ensure all HR workstreams have a detailed project plan and it is integrated into the broader enterprise integration plan.
Manage M&A risk assessments and develop mitigation strategies from an HR lens.
Partner with business, Corp Dev, Finance, Legal, and TPT CoEs to ensure people-related risks and costs are factored into deal negotiations and valuations.
Serve as the primary escalation point for HR-related issues during transaction execution and represents the people function at the enterprise M&A working group.
Ensures M&A decisions reflect the needs of employees and protect the employer brand.
Transition new markets to global Operating Model.
Manage delivery of services to Emerging Markets until stabilized – ensuring global standards tailored to market as needed.