About Kerry

In careers from manufacturing to food science, Kerry’s 19,000+ people are shaping the future of food by helping to nourish and delight consumers worldwide. Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you with opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

The Commercial Human Resources Director for North America will Partner with and coach business leaders to shape and execute organizational effectiveness and talent management priorities that directly support business growth, profitability and competitive advantage. The HR Director will be an integral member of the North America Commercial Leadership team responsible for leading profitable and sustainable growth. This individual will have specific accountability for shaping and executing plans to ensure the North America Commercial Function has the requisite leadership, talent pipeline, capabilities and culture required for successful execution of its ambitious and exciting growth strategy. The ideal candidate for HR Director will be someone who thrives in a fast-paced enviornment, can manage ambiguity and collaborates across Kerry's global Centers of Expertise and Global Business Services groups to ensure seamless delivery of agreed HR priorities.

This individual plays a critical leadership role, driving strategic HR initiatives and aligning HR practices with business objectives to maximize commercial performance. Serving as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and a critical partner on the HR Leadership Team, the HR Director provides expert guidance on organizational effectiveness, organizational design, talent management, employee engagement and change management. This role acts as a key influencer, ensuring HR strategies support sustainable business growth, performance, and culture.

This role is hybrid requiring a minimum of 3 days on site at our Beloit Wisconin headquarters with key customers, stakeholders & the HR leadership team. 

Key responsibilities

Organisational Effectiveness  

• Shape & drive organisational effectiveness priorities aligned to business growth strategy  

• Lead execution of organisational effectiveness priorities and initiatives in line with business strategy and plans that improve productivity, reduce costs and enhance agility in response to market changes 

• Responsible for the people and organisation-design related aspects of change programmes - govern change initiatives to ensure people and organisational design aspects deliver commercial results.  

• Monitor and interpret key indicators of organisational effectiveness, (e.g. attrition, engagement) and ensure plans are in place to course-correct as needed 

• Coach & partner with business leaders on their role in leading organisational effectiveness for revenue growth and market leadership 

Talent Management  

• Shape & drive talent management priorities that build critical capabilities aligned to business growth strategy  

• Shape strategic talent and capability needs of the business, advise / coach leaders on leveraging relevant Talent Pipelining solutions for business growth / ensure delivery against key organisational ‘Talent’ priorities. 

• Lead core people and talent processes e.g., Talent & Succession planning, Career Development, High Potentials, and supporting internal talent mobility. 

• Partner with COEs to ensure individual and collective learning and leadership development solutions meet business requirements; coach leaders in improving leadership and management effectiveness,  

• Specify strategic resourcing requirements, work with leaders to validate open roles, coaching and challenging where necessary on requirements for new or replacement roles. 

• Input to assessment and selection process for critical / key leadership roles (with focus being Level D and critical roles at Level E, as agreed)  

Reward  

• Leverage Reward Programs to drive business performance and employee engagement 

• Partner with Reward COE on appropriate solutions to address business need 

• Consult, partner, coach Business Leaders re Total Reward decisions 

• Provide business insights to influence Reward COE strategy 

• Work with Reward COE on comp packages for Senior Leader & critical roles  

• Support leaders with the annual pay planning process  

Employee Support  

• Provide subject matter expertise in addressing complex Employee Relations issues in line with our service delivery model   

• Proactive management of Employee Relations as part of our Employee Engagement agenda; ensuring compliance to standards and use of data to develop action plans to remediate issues in a timely manner

Employee Experience  

• Onboarding of senior leaders and critical roles  

• Coach & Support People Leaders on the creation & execution of ourVoice & Engagement Plans  

Qualifications and skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field  
• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including at least 5 years in an HR Business Partner leadership role. 
• Possesses a highly developed mix of business leadership skills and human resource expertise. The ideal candidate will have led the regional commercial human resource function in a complex, global business with diverse activities, and will be very familiar with HR practices in the US and ideally also Canada 
• Proven track record of partnering with senior executives in a matrixed or global organization. 
• Strong knowledge of Organisational Effectiveness and Talent Management practices. 
• Demonstrated experience in change management, leadership coaching, and organizational design. 
• Excellent communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills. 
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to interpret HR metrics and data to inform decisions. 
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, dynamic environments. 
• HR Certification preferred.
• Global HR experience or exposure to international business environments preferred.

The pay range for this position is 177,000 - 310,000 in Annual Salary.  Kerry typically does not hire an individual at the top or near the top of the range, as we are a pay-for-performance company, and this range is set to continue to reward performance annually while in role.  Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.  The specific compensation offered to a candidate within the above range may be influenced by a variety of factors including skills, qualifications, experience, internal equity, and Location.  In addition, this position is also eligible to earn a performance-based incentive compensation.  Kerry offers a competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, paid time off, a 401(k) plan with employee and company contribution opportunities, Employee Share Plan, Life, disability, and accident insurance, and tuition reimbursement.  This job posting is anticipated to expire on 12/08/2025

​Kerry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Kerry will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen. Additional information can be found at Know Your Rights Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (dol.gov).

Beware of scams online or from individuals claiming to represent us. A Kerry employee will not solicit candidates through a non-Kerry email address or phone number. In addition, Kerry does not currently utilise video chat rooms (e.g., Google Hangouts) to conduct interviews. Refuse any request that asks you to provide payment to participate in the hiring process (e.g., purchasing a “starter kit,” investing in training, or something similar). Kerry will not ask you to pay any money at any point in the hiring process with the exception of reimbursable travel expenses. In addition, any payments made by Kerry will be from official firm accounts bearing the Kerry name.