Director, People

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Director, People & Organisation and Internal Communication

Category: Human Resource Management

Location:

Roma, Lazio, IT

Director, People & Organisation and Internal Communication, Italy

Location

Job category

People & Organisation

Your impact begins here

As the Director, People & Organisation and Internal Communication for Italy, you will shape the culture, organisation, and people agenda of one of Novo's most important affiliates. You will act as a trusted advisor to the General Manager and leadership team, translating business ambitions into people, organisation, communication and culture strategies that enable sustainable growth.

Your impact will be visible in the way we attract, develop and retain talent, create an engaging employee experience, build organisational capabilities, strengthen leadership effectiveness and foster a culture where people can perform at their best while living our values.

What you'll bring

To assess your fit quickly, here is what matters most for this role.

• A Master's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration or a related discipline.
• Significant leadership experience in Human Resources roles within a complex, international environment.
• Extensive experience partnering with senior business leaders and leadership teams on organisational design, culture, talent and people-related strategies.
• A proven track record of leading organisational transformations and change management initiatives.
• Strong expertise across the full people lifecycle, including talent management, succession planning, performance management, rewards, employee engagement, learning and development, and workforce planning.
• Experience navigating complex labour relations environments and working with employee representatives and unions.
• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic leadership with operational excellence, ensuring efficient and compliant people processes.
• Strong communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trust and alignment across diverse groups.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Professional fluency in English and Italian, or ability to quick learn Italian.
• Demonstrated experience leveraging AI and digital technologies to enhance organisational effectiveness, employee experience, workforce planning, talent management and business decision-making.

Useful, but not essential

• Experience in healthcare, pharmaceuticals or another highly regulated industry.
• International or regional HR leadership experience.
• Experience overseeing internal communication strategies.

What you'll do

You will define and drive the HR & Internal communication agenda for Novo Italy, ensuring that the affiliate has the culture, capabilities and organisational effectiveness required to achieve its strategic ambitions.

• Lead the development and execution of People & Organisation strategies aligned with global, regional and local business priorities.
• Drive organisational effectiveness, workforce planning, succession management and talent strategies that strengthen leadership pipelines and future capabilities.
• Act as a strategic coach and advisor to leaders, supporting business decisions related to people, culture, communication and organisational design.
• Lead organisational transformation and change initiatives, helping the business navigate growth, complexity and evolving market dynamics.
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration and employee engagement.
• Ensure the organisation attracts, develops and retains diverse talent through effective recruitment, onboarding, learning and development programmes.
• Oversee employee relations and maintain constructive partnerships with employee representatives and unions, ensuring compliance with local labour legislation and company principles.
• Drive internal communication strategies that create transparency, alignment and engagement across the organisation.
• Lead People & Organisation operations and governance, ensuring efficient, compliant and employee-centric processes throughout the employee lifecycle.
• Lead the affiliate's people agenda for AI and future workforce capabilities, ensuring the organisation is equipped with the skills, mindsets and leadership required to thrive in an increasingly AI-enabled environment.
• Build, inspire and develop a high-performing People & Organisation and Internal Communication team.
• Represent Novo externally through benchmarking, networking and employer branding activities that strengthen our po