Chief People Officer

Key Responsibilities

People & Organizational Leadership (Core Focus)

• Develop and implement a comprehensive HR strategy that is fully aligned with and supports the overall business goals, including people acquisition, development, employee engagement, and organizational business plans.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to executive and senior management on organizational and management matters, particularly in evolving the current legacy structure into a modern organizational framework.
• Develop and execute robust recruiting and retention strategies to meet the organization's talent needs across all functions, with a particular emphasis on attracting and retaining top talent.
• Build and implement comprehensive career management strategies, including training and development plans, career tracks, and succession planning, to ensure a strong and diverse talent pipeline for future leadership.
• Evaluate and make recommendations on comprehensive compensation and benefits plans, ensuring they are competitive, equitable, and support the attraction and retention of high-performing individuals.
• Provide overall leadership and strategic guidance to the HR department, overseeing all aspects including talent acquisition, career development, succession planning, retention, training, compensation, and benefits.
• Build and grow high-performing teams within HR and advise on best practices for building and managing high-performing teams, ensuring clear missions, roles, and responsibilities.
• Animate team performances by setting appropriate objectives and KPIs, controlling their fulfillment, ensuring regular reporting, and conducting annual appraisals, to drive accountability and results.
• Identify and nurture talent, making strategic development and training decisions to upgrade the talent pool and enhance knowledge management.
• Propose appropriate team sizing and organizational structures, validating recruitment within teams as per budget, ensuring alignment with commercial growth plans and operational efficiency.

Strategic Partnership & Business Acumen

• Collaborate closely with all internal stakeholders, including the Executive Committee and other corporate functions, to ensure HR strategies are fully integrated with commercial objectives and operational realities.
• Understand the global distribution strategy and sales channels (Retail, E-Commerce, Wholesale, Travel Retail) to effectively support talent needs and organizational design for success.
• Support the organization in achieving global sales targets by ensuring the right talent, culture, and HR frameworks are in place.
• Act as a brand ambassador internally, fostering a culture that reflects the brand's values and supports its reputation.

Professional Requirements

• In-depth experience with a proven track record in senior HR leadership roles (e. g., Chief People Officer, HR Director), ideally within a global, multicultural, and client centric environment, preferably in luxury goods or a similar industry.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement comprehensive HR strategies that directly drive business results and support growth.
• Solid experience in German HR topics, specifically related to works council and union relations.
• Expertise in all facets of HR, including talent acquisition, retention, career management, compensation & benefits, employee relations, change management and in particular organization design, fostering an inclusive work environment.
• Proven track record of acting as a strategic business advisor to executive leadership on complex organizational and people-related topics.
• Strong understanding of all sales channels (retail, e-commerce, wholesale), market dynamics, and P&L ownership, enabling effective partnership with commercial leaders.
• Experience in corporate, matrix structures and managing complex stakeholder maps (group/brand/division)
• In-depth experience with manufacturing / industrial organizations
• Hands-on approach to data analysis and operational details within HR, combined with a visionary perspective for long-term strategic planning, particularly in how HR supports growth and innovation.
• Ability to balance quick wins with sustainable growth levers from a people perspective.

Personal Requirements & Behavioural Competencies

• Excellent strategic vision and conceptual strengths, demonstrating a true global thinker mindset, especially in linking people strategy to business outcomes.
• Very strong in execution and delivery, with a results-driven personality focused on people-centric solutions.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively at all hierarchical levels and represent the organization to internal and external stakeholders with conviction and empathy.
• Charismatic, pleasant presence with excellent people management skills, capable of energizing teams, building trust, and fostering a positive, high-performance culture.
• Strong international background and mindset, with high intercultural sensitivity and experience leading diverse teams.
• High flexibility and ability to deal with conflicts in a problem-solving attitude, demonstrating fairness, empathy, and a constructive approach.
• Passion, strong commitment, reliable, and transparent in all HR dealings.
• Strives to deliver promised and forecasted results, demonstrating a fighting spirit for people initiatives and organizational development.
• Empathetic and people-oriented, with the ability to display sensitivity, tact, and responsiveness while maintaining the highest level of confidentiality.
• Strong managerial and entrepreneurial skills, with proven leadership and organizational capabilities.
• Strong business acumen, in luxury goods or similar industries, to understand and proactively support challenges faced.
• Ability to multi-task effectively and manage priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Fluent in German and English.
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