Area Business Manager People
- Full-time
Job Description
WHAT YOU’LL DO
As Area Business Manager for the People area, you will hold overall business responsibility for how our people processes, services, data and technology capabilities are shaped, prioritised and developed, ensuring they continuously support business needs and create value across the organisation. Working in close co-leadership with the Area Tech Manager, you will connect people, process and technology needs to set a clear direction, develop scalable solutions and deliver measurable business value. You will also have formal people responsibility, leading and developing colleagues in the area while creating the conditions for strong collaboration, ownership and delivery. This is a forward-looking role in an area where we are still shaping the future, with the opportunity to bring a modern, relevant and creative perspective to how people solutions are designed, prioritised and brought to life.
You will:
- Co-lead the People area together with the Area Tech Manager, ensuring clear direction, shared priorities and strong alignment between business and technology.
- Hold overall responsibility for the area’s development and performance, beyond individual transformation initiatives.
- Set a clear direction for how the People area supports colleagues, managers and HR teams across the organisation.
- Turn business and people needs into clear priorities, plans and actions that create value in everyday work.
- Lead improvements across the employee journey, making our people processes, services and tools easier to use, more reliable and more effective.
- Work closely with People, Tech and market teams to connect real business needs with practical solutions that can scale across the organisation.
- Make thoughtful choices on what to focus on first, balancing colleague experience, compliance, capacity, cost and long-term impact.
- Create alignment between different teams and stakeholders, helping them work together towards shared outcomes.
- Ensure the area is run responsibly, with clear ownership of resources, budgets, risks and continuous improvement.
- Lead and develop people in the area through formal people responsibility, creating a collaborative, inclusive and forward-looking environment where teams can do their best work.
WHO YOU’LL WORK WITH
You will work in close co-leadership with the Area Tech Manager, combining business and technology perspectives to set direction, align priorities and create value across the People area. Together, you will collaborate with the wider Area Tech team and process teams across the People Life Cycle to build simple, scalable and future-ready solutions shaped by real business needs and supporting the full employee journey.
WHO YOU ARE
We know that relevant experience can take different forms. What matters is that you understand the complexity of working across people, process and technology, and that you are motivated by building something better in a fast moving environment where priorities can change. You are comfortable stepping into unclear situations, working hands on with others and helping teams move forward even when the full plan is not yet defined.
We are looking for people with…
- Experience from leading change, business development, transformation or product/service delivery within HR, People, shared services or another complex environment.
- Strong understanding of HR processes, employee data, employee lifecycle capabilities and how digital tools can make work easier, more consistent and more effective for colleagues, managers and HR teams.
- The ability to turn business and people needs into clear priorities, practical plans and outcomes that others can understand and act on.
- Financial acumen with experience managing budgets, investments, and resource allocation.
- Strong analytical capabilities and the ability to balance value creation, cost optimization, and ROI.
- Experience working in changing environments where priorities shift, plans evolve and progress depends on close collaboration across different teams.
- Strong stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills, including the confidence and perseverance to work through different opinions, competing priorities and difficult conversations.
- Knowledge of governance, risk, compliance and operational excellence in relation to HR data, access, platforms, integrations or global people processes.
- Relevant HR understanding, with the ability to connect people related needs, processes and data to business outcomes.
- A degree within HR, business administration, organisational development, technology or a related field.
And people who are…
- Customer-focused and value-driven.
- Collaborative and hands on, with the ability to build strong partnerships while also getting close to the details when needed.
- Able to connect long term ambitions with day-to-day execution, even when the path forward is not fully clear.
- Resilient and persistent, with the energy to keep moving forward through complexity, changing direction and stakeholder challenges.
- Empowering leaders that develop people and create an inclusive environment.
- Curious, innovative, and open to new perspectives.
- Accountable, proactive, and focused on delivering outcomes.
- Clear communicators who can create alignment and engagement across diverse stakeholder groups, especially when priorities are unclear or opinions differ.
WHO WE ARE
H&M Group is a global company of strong fashion brands and ventures. Our goal is to prove that there is no compromise between exceptional design, affordable prices, and sustainable solutions. We want to liberate fashion for the many, and our customers are at the heart of every decision we make.
We are made up of thousands of passionate and talented colleagues united by our shared culture and values. Together, we want to use our power, our scale, and our knowledge to push the fashion industry towards a more inclusive and sustainable future.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE WORKING HERE
At H&M Group, we are proud to be a vibrant and welcoming company. We offer our employees attractive benefits with extensive development opportunities around the globe.
An example of our benefits:
- 25% Staff discount on all our H&M Group brands, both in stores and online (H&M, COS, Weekday, Monki, H&M HOME, & Other Stories and ARKET).
- H&M Incentive Program – HIP. Learn more about the program here.
- With a presence in markets around the world, we offer extensive career development and international mobility.
JOIN US
Our uniqueness comes from a combination of many things – our inclusive and collaborative culture, our strong values, and opportunities for growth. But most of all, it’s our people who make us who we are.
Take the next step in your career together with us. The journey starts here.
We are committed to a recruitment process that is fair, equitable, and based on competency. We therefore kindly ask you to not attach a cover letter in your application.
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