HR Director - Alliance Healthcare UK

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Job Purpose

The HR Director will serve as a strategic partner within Cencora’s global business-facing function, collaborating closely with the Alliance Healthcare Senior Leadership Team to align HR strategies with business goals. This role requires a strong business acumen to navigate complex operations and foster a people-focused culture that supports the organization’s objectives. You will develop proactive solutions rooted in a thorough understanding of the business model and its strategic direction, ensuring that culture and people processes remain at the forefront of decision-making. The HR Director will focus on aligning HR activities, such as talent management, organizational design, and resource planning, with the global HR strategy. Additionally, you will drive employee engagement initiatives that align with Cencora's engagement ambitions, ensuring a motivated and high-performing workforce.

Primary Accountabilities

• HR Strategy Implementation: Collaborate with the Global HR leadership team to ensure the effective roll-out of HR strategy both locally and globally.
• Business Partnering: Work in partnership with designated client groups, including the Alliance Healthcare UK Executive Leadership Team, to fully understand key business drivers, needs, and future challenges. Develop a thorough understanding of business and people plans to ensure effective strategic business partnering.
• Working with Centres of Expertise:
  • Employee Relations: Partner with the Employee Relations Centre of Excellence to proactively address employee relations issues, ensuring compliance with legal guidelines and fostering a positive workplace culture. Emphasize the importance of collective bargaining in maintaining strong labour relations and addressing employee concerns effectively.
  • Talent Development: Collaborate with the Talent Development Centre of Excellence to support the delivery of talent development initiatives that enhance employee skills and facilitate career progression.
  • Talent Acquisition: Work with the Talent Acquisition Centre of Excellence to meet organizational talent needs, advising on recruitment processes, and contributing to the development of effective talent attraction strategies.
  • Total Reward: Engage with the Total Reward Centre of Excellence to ensure competitive compensation structures and benefits packages that align with industry standards and motivate employee performance.
• Change Management: Act as a leader to implement organizational change. Support the business through transformations by enabling and upskilling leaders to manage change effectively and ensuring compliance with legal and social requirements. Foster a culture that embraces change and utilize tools and techniques to support employees through transitions.
• Transformation: Lead large-scale, people-impact business transformation projects by translating business area plans into specific HR requirements. Initiate, manage, and oversee projects that deliver HR programs aimed at driving organizational improvement. This includes ensuring that the projects not only align with organizational objectives but also facilitate effective change management, enhance employee engagement, and support overall business goals. Continuously monitor project outcomes to evaluate their effectiveness and make necessary adjustments to strategies and implementations. Manage TUPE and M&A activities as required.
• Industrial Relations: Foster and maintain positive industrial relations by effectively managing relationships with employee representatives and unions. Utilize strong people skills to address employee concerns, negotiate resolutions, and promote a collaborative workplace culture. Emphasize the importance of collective bargaining in maintaining strong labour relations. Ensure all employee interactions are handled with sensitivity and professionalism, contributing to a harmonious working environment.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

• The ability to influence at senior levels and coach executive leaders to adopt appropriate solutions that align with people's goals and objectives.
• Strong business acumen, enabling you to identify how HR can best contribute to business success and influence strategic decisions.
• Experience of acting as a change agent, working proactively to make organisational change happen.
• Strong industrial relations experience, particularly in unionized settings, with recognition of collective bargaining and strong influencing skills.
• Act as a coach to empower senior leaders to drive collaborative working and foster a culture of teamwork and engagement.
• Strong customer focus.
• Practical knowledge of UK HR practices and procedures.

Essential Requirements

• Experienced Business Partner, supporting senior executive business leadership.
• CIPD qualified (preferred).
• Microsoft Office (all packages to intermediate standard excluding Access).

What Cencora offers: Benefit offerings outside the US may vary by country and will be aligned to local market practice. The eligibility and effective date may differ for some benefits and for team members covered under collective bargaining agreements.