Job Description
Job Title: Commercial People Director
Location: New York or Chicago
About the Job
The Commercial People Director is a senior strategic partner to the business leadership team, accountable for driving organisational effectiveness, workforce transformation, and leadership capability that enable sustainable commercial success.
As part of the Strategic Commercial People team, this role partners directly with a Division, Function, or Market leader to align people strategy with business priorities. The focus is on shaping a high-performing, agentic workforce that is equipped for the future, while ensuring culture, structure, and capability support both growth and efficiency.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic People and Workforce Planning
- Develop and execute a people strategy aligned with business goals and market priorities.
- Lead strategic workforce planning to ensure future capability needs are met and resources are optimised.
- Use data, insight, and external market trends to inform decisions on workforce structure and skill development.
- Identify opportunities for workforce redesign, redeployment, or automation to improve agility and performance.
2. Transformation and Organisational Design
- Lead and influence organisational design and transformation programmes to deliver growth and efficiency.
- Partner with senior leaders to align structures, capabilities, and operating models to strategic priorities.
- Ensure people and organisational changes are executed in a way that supports long-term performance and resilience.
3. Leadership Effectiveness and Culture
- Coach and challenge senior leaders to enhance leadership impact, resilience, and performance.
- Shape a culture of accountability, inclusion, and empowerment that enables agility and innovation.
- Support the development of leadership capability to drive engagement, collaboration, and sustainable success.
4. Commercial and Business Partnership
- Operate as a key member of the business leadership team, applying commercial judgement to people decisions.
- Balance cost, capability, and performance to achieve sustainable business outcomes.
- Use evidence-based insights to inform decisions on structure, talent, and future workforce investment.
5. Collaboration and Influence Across the People Function
- Work in partnership with Capability, Talent, Reward, and People Services teams to deliver integrated people solutions.
- Ensure the right expertise and resources are mobilised to solve complex business challenges.
- Contribute to the collective success of the global People Function, sharing insights and best practice across markets.
Experience and Skills
HR and People Leadership
- Significant senior HR experience in a complex, global, or matrixed organisation.
- Proven success in developing and delivering business-aligned people strategies that drive commercial results.
- Deep expertise across organisational design, workforce planning, change leadership, and leadership development.
Commercial and Strategic Acumen
- Strong business understanding with the ability to translate strategy, performance metrics, and financial goals into people and organisational plans.
- Demonstrated capability to create commercial value through strategic workforce and leadership initiatives.
Transformation and Change Leadership
- Track record of leading large-scale organisational change and cultural transformation.
- Skilled at navigating ambiguity, influencing at pace, and managing the people implications of business transformation.
Influence and Stakeholder Management
- Exceptional interpersonal and influencing skills, with the ability to engage and challenge senior stakeholders constructively.
- Credible, trusted advisor with executive presence and strong judgement.
Analytical and Insight-Led
- Strong analytical capability with experience using workforce insights and data to drive strategy and measure impact.
- Ability to synthesise complex information into clear, actionable recommendations.
Future Workforce and Culture Orientation
- Passionate about building a future-ready, agentic workforce that embraces change and continuous improvement.
- Skilled in evolving organisational culture to balance innovation, performance, and wellbeing
Salary range - $200,000 - $250,000
