[Hiring] HR Operations Leader @Wella

Role Description

The People Support Center Leader – Southwest Europe is a senior People Operations leader responsible for the end-to-end delivery, stability, and continuous improvement of Payroll, Time & Attendance, and Benefits Administration services across the Southwest Europe region.

Reporting to the Global Head of People Support Center, this role combines deep functional expertise with strong leadership, vendor management, and transformation capabilities. The PSC Leader will ensure high-quality service delivery while driving automation, standardization, and modernization of people processes and systems, in close collaboration with HR, Finance, People Systems, and external service providers, including ADP.

What You’ll Do

• Service Delivery & Operational Excellence
  • Provide overall leadership and accountability for PSC services across Southwest Europe, covering Payroll, Time & Attendance, and Benefits Administration.
  • Ensure accurate, compliant, and timely payroll delivery for all employee populations in the region.
  • Oversee payroll funding, reconciliations, audits, general ledger interfaces, and month-end and year-end activities.
  • Establish and maintain strong governance, controls, and audit-ready documentation across all PSC processes.
  • Drive a culture of service excellence, continuous improvement, and employee experience focus within the PSC team.
  • Identify opportunities to simplify, standardize, and optimize processes using data, technology, and best practices, partnering with enabling functions to implement improvements.
• Vendor & Stakeholder Management
  • Act as the primary PSC interface for Southwest Europe with ADP as the payroll service provider.
  • Own vendor governance, including:
    • Monitoring and managing service level agreements (SLAs).
    • Holding vendors accountable for service commitments and issue resolution.
    • Leading escalation management and root-cause analysis.
  • Partner closely with Finance, Total Rewards, HR Business Partners, and People Systems to ensure seamless, end-to-end process outcomes.
• HR Transformation & Systems Enablement
  • Actively contribute to People Support Center transformation initiatives, with a strong focus on standardization, automation, and efficiency.
  • Support system implementations and enhancements within the region, including:
    • Functional requirements gathering.
    • User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
    • Go-live readiness and post-implementation stabilization.
  • Serve as a subject matter expert for payroll, time, and benefits processes in system and transformation projects.
• People Leadership
  • Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing PSC team, fostering accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
  • Set clear objectives, performance expectations, and development plans aligned with PSC and overall HR strategy.

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of progressive experience in Payroll and People Operations roles, including leadership responsibility within a Southwest Europe context.
• Strong hands-on and governance-level experience with ADP payroll platforms and associated payroll ecosystems.
• Proven track record in managing external payroll vendors, including SLA management and vendor accountability.
• Solid understanding of payroll, tax, and employment compliance across Southwest Europe, including the DACH region.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to HR transformation and systems modernization initiatives.
• Experience supporting system implementations, including requirements definition and UAT.
• Exposure to Time & Attendance and Benefits Administration platforms and integrations.
• Strong solution-oriented mindset, with the ability to balance operational rigor and continuous improvement.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills.
• Fluency in German.
• Experience operating within a People Support Center or HR Shared Services model.

Preferred

• Experience working within global or matrixed HR organizations.
• Familiarity with HRIS platforms such as SuccessFactors or SAP HCM, as well as HR ticketing systems like ServiceNow and ADP platforms.
• Payroll certification (CPP, FPC, or equivalent).

Success Profile

The successful People Support Center Leader – Southwest Europe is a strategic operator who ensures flawless execution of critical people processes while actively shaping the future of HR service delivery. This leader brings together operational excellence, strong vendor partnerships, and transformation mindset to deliver compliant, scalable, and employee-centric People Operations solutions across the region.