Director, Digital Partner - HR and Legal in LND, England at Wella Company

Position Title: Director, Digital Partner for HR and Legal

Location: Hybrid

Reports to: Senior Director, Technology Business Partnering for Finance, Corporate Services & ERP

Direct Reports: 1

Scope: All Brands

ABOUT THE WELLA COMPANY

Together, WE enable individuals to look, feel, and be their true selves.

Wella Company is one of the world’s leading beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands such as Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin and ghd. With 6,000 employees globally, presence in over 100 countries, Wella Company and its brands enable consumers to look, feel, and be their true selves. As innovators in the hair and nail industry, Wella Company empowers its people to delight consumers, inspire beauty professionals, engage communities, and deliver sustainable growth to its stakeholders. For additional information about the Wella Company please visit www.wellacompany.com.

THE ROLE

The Director, Digital Partner for HR and Legal is a strategic and delivery-focused technology leader responsible for enabling Wella’s global HR and Legal functions through scalable, secure, and business-aligned digital solutions. Reporting to the Senior Director of Corporate Functions, this role partners closely with HR and Legal leaders to drive targeted transformation across workforce management, employee experience, compliance, and legal operations—unlocking efficiency, improving service delivery, and ensuring regulatory adherence.

This role provides both strategic input and hands-on leadership across the lifecycle of enterprise applications that support HR and Legal processes. It owns and evolves platforms that enable core processes such as Hire to Retire, workforce administration, case and matter management, contract lifecycle management, and compliance reporting. The role ensures these systems are reliable, user-centric, secure, and aligned with global standards and business priorities.

This role is accountable for platform operations within the HR and Legal domains, including system stability, service continuity, user satisfaction, and integration with broader enterprise platforms (e.g., ERP, identity, and collaboration tools). It plays a key role in reducing fragmentation, standardizing capabilities, and promoting globally consistent solutions while balancing local regulatory needs.

As a trusted technology partner to HR and Legal leadership, this role translates business priorities into actionable technology roadmaps and ensures delivery of measurable value. The role leads a focused team of domain-aligned resources and collaborates across enterprise IT and vendor ecosystems to deliver outcomes across processes such as Hire to Retire and Legal operations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Application Strategy & Architecture (Success Factors, QMS, ADP, etc)

• Define and execute the application strategy for HR and Legal systems, aligned with business capability models, regulatory requirements, and enterprise architecture standards.
• Own and maintain the IT roadmap across key HR and Legal processes (e.g., Hire to Retire, workforce management, legal case management, contract lifecycle management)
• Drive modernization by rationalizing legacy applications and promoting scalable, cloud-based solutions.
• Promote a “buy over build” approach to enhance speed, reduce complexity, and ensure sustainability of platforms.
• Support the shift toward standardized global solutions while accommodating local legal and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture to ensure integration, interoperability, and security standards are met.

Solution Delivery, Operations & Lifecycle Management

• Oversee delivery and lifecycle management of HRIS, legal systems, and supporting platforms (including SaaS and packaged solutions).
• Ensure end-to-end accountability from roadmap through implementation and ongoing operations.
• Drive disciplined release management, testing, and change control processes to ensure system quality and compliance.
• Champion user-centric design, improving employee and legal user experiences and adoption.
• Ensure stable operations in partnership with global IT teams responsible for infrastructure and service management.
• Act as escalation point for HR and Legal applications, ensuring continuity of critical processes such as payroll, workforce administration, and compliance reporting.

Business Engagement & Value Delivery

• Serve as a trusted advisor to HR and Legal leaders and global process owners, aligning IT initiatives with functional strategies.
• Drive strong collaboration with stakeholders to align platform capabilities with workforce transformation, talent management, and legal compliance priorities.
• Support and shape transformation initiatives across Hire to Retire and Legal process domains.
• Accelerate outcomes such as workforce digitization, employee self-service, and legal process automation.
• Represent HR and Legal technology priorities in governance forums, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy.
• Define and track business value, including efficiency gains, user satisfaction, and compliance improvements.

Vendor & Partner Ecosystem Management

• Manage relationships with HR and Legal technology vendors, including SaaS providers and implementation partners.
• Ensure vendor performance, contractual compliance, and value realization.
• Collaborate with Procurement on sourcing, licensing, and service-level agreements.
• Ensure all third-party solutions comply with InfoSec, data privacy, and regulatory requirements.
• Support budget management and resource allocation aligned with priorities.

Data, Analytics & AI Integration

• Collaborate with Data, AI & Analytics teams to ensure HR and Legal data is structured, governed, and insight ready.
• Support integration of application data into enterprise data platforms.
• Enable use of analytics and AI capabilities for workforce insights, compliance monitoring, and legal operations efficiency.

Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead and develop a focused HR and Legal technology team, including functional specialists and delivery resources.
• Promote accountability, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
• Strengthen partnership with business teams to ensure prioritization and adoption of solutions.
• Support talent development and capability building in HRIS and Legal technology domains.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

Key Skills & Competencies:

• Domain-Specific Platform Leadership – Experience managing HRIS and Legal technology platforms in global environments.
• Enterprise Architecture Awareness – Understanding of scalable, integrated systems in HR and Legal domains, including cloud solutions.
• Business Partnership & Stakeholder Management – Strong ability to collaborate with HR and Legal leaders to translate needs into technology solutions.
• Delivery Discipline – Experience with structured delivery approaches ensuring compliance, stability, and quality.
• Vendor Management – Skilled in managing SaaS and service providers within HR and Legal ecosystems.
• Data-Driven Thinking – Ability to align platforms with analytics and AI-driven use cases.
  Change Enablement – Experience supporting functional transformation and adoption of digital tools in HR and Legal.

Qualifications & Experience:

Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in information systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• MBA or relevant leadership training is a plus

Preferred certifications:

• PMP, SAFe, or equivalent

Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in enterprise applications, with focus on HR and/or Legal systems.
• Experience partnering with HR and Legal stakeholders, translating business needs into technology delivery.
• Proven experience delivering HR transformation (e.g., HRIS, workforce management) and/or Legal technology solutions.
• Hands-on experience with platforms such as SAP SuccessFactors, Workday, ServiceNow HRSD, legal case/matter management, or contract lifecycle management tools.
• Experience in regulated or compliance-heavy environments preferred.

WHAT WE OFFER

• 25 days holiday + additional day off for your birthday (not including bank holidays)
• 3 days’ personal leave for your own signification life events
• 2 paid days off for volunteering/charity work
• Optional Wella Pension Scheme (8% employer contribution, 3% employee contribution)
• Optional Family Private Medical Insurance Cover
• Income Protection
• Life Insurance (8x base salary up to 2 million payable in the event of your death in service of Wella)
• Staff Discount (80% of all hair products, 40% OPI, 1 x 50% ghd)
• EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
• Gym Benefits
• Eye Tests
• WOW Program (Bonus following exit from KKR, eligible after successful probation. For permanent employees only)
• Workplace/Nursery Benefits
• 4 weeks working remotely abroad
• Early Friday Finish during Summer
• Car Allowance

EEO OPPORTUNITIES

The Wella Company wants to meet the aims and commitments set out in its equality policy. This includes not discriminating under the Equality Act 2010 and building an accurate picture of the make-up of the workforce in encouraging equality and diversity.

We offer equal employment opportunity to qualified individuals without regard to race, religion or belief, color, national origin, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Wella Company with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact us at: https://www.wellacompany.com/consumer-affairs

We strongly believe that cultivating a diverse workplace gives a company strength. The combination of unique skills, abilities, experiences and backgrounds creates an environment that produces extraordinary results. EOE Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Disabled.

English - Please click on this link to review the Notification of Equal Opportunity Rights poster