Director, Digital Partner HR and Legal in New York, New York at Wella Company

Position Title: Director, Digital Partner for HR and Legal

Location: New York (hybrid 3 days in office)

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.

We disclose the compensation range for positions in compliance with local law. Actual salaries will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to location, experience, skills and in comparison to internal incumbents currently in similar roles. Pay Range: $175,000-210,000 per year. The range listed is just one component of Wella Company's total rewards package for employees. Other rewards may include annual bonus plan or variable pay, depending on the role. In addition, Wella Company provides a rich variety of benefits to employees, including health insurance, life and disability insurance, 401(k) retirement plan, paid holidays and paid time off (PTO).

NOTICES

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected status.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, please email NA.Recruiting@wella.com. This email account will not respond to inquiries regarding the status of a candidate’s application.

Wella participates in the E-Verify Program to confirm eligibility to work in the United States. Information regarding your rights: Know Your Rights and Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision.