SENIOR DIRECTOR, PEOPLE & CULTURE OPERATIONS

Almirall; Barcelona; On-site; EUR 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Almirall seeks a P&C Senior Director Operations to lead the global People & Culture operational excellence, covering Talent Acquisition, Compensation & Benefits, HR Administration, Soft Services, Learning & Development, and AI-enabled processes.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will drive governance, analytics, budgeting, and service delivery across geographies while building high-performance teams and implementing scalable, employee-centric solutions.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree required in HR-related field.
• 10+ years in senior P&C roles in multinational environments.
• Experience across Compensation & Benefits, HR Administration, Talent Acquisition, L&D, HR Technology.
• Experience leading cross-border HR operations.
• Fluency in English and Spanish.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operational areas of the P&C Corporate function, ensuring alignment with business strategy and governance.
• Partner with Strategy & Business Partners to translate priorities into scalable, high-quality execution.
• Drive operational excellence across Talent Acquisition, Compensation & Benefits, L&D, HR Administration and Soft Services via process simplification and automation.
• Ensure consistent People Administration services and policy implementation across geographies.
• Design and evolve frameworks for GPS, TRSP, and other HR processes for efficiency and impact.
• Lead AI integration into P&C operations to improve decision-making and employee experience.
• Own governance framework including service catalogues, decision rights, and escalation.
• Provide reporting, budgeting, dashboards, and workforce data across domains.
• Enhance analytics to support workforce insights and risk identification.
• Define SLAs and KPIs; drive cross-functional projects to improve service delivery and scalability.
• Coordinate with global and local P&C teams for policy execution.
• Act as strategic partner to senior leadership on workforce trends and service performance.
• Champion employee-centric solutions and continuous improvement.
• Lead, develop and empower teams within scope.

Skills

Strategic judgment

Operational execution

Stakeholder management

Data analytics

AI and digital transformation

Change management

Leadership & teams

Budgeting & finance

Cross-border leadership

English & Spanish fluency

Education

Master’s degree in HR/related field

Job description

We’rebuilding the future of medical dermatology by focusing on unmet patient needs and giving people the space to think independently, take ownership and make an impact that matters.

Our purpose is simple: to transform patients’ lives by addressing real needs. We work with care, act with courage, keep things simple andfocusour innovation where it makes a difference.

Recognisedas a Top Employer in Spain since 2008 and in Germany since 2025, we continue to invest in an environment where people can grow and move forward.

If you care differently, you belong here.

POSITION SUMMARY / MISSION

The P&C Senior Director Operations leads the operational excellence agenda of the People & Culture Corporate function, with responsibility for Talent Acquisition, Compensation & Benefits, People Administration, Soft Services, Learning and Development, performance and talent processes, P&C technology, analytics, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence into P&C practices.

Reporting directly to the Chief People Officer and serving as a key member of the Global P&C Leadership Team, the role ensures the efficient and strategic execution of P&C operations globally. It provides scalable, data-driven, and employee-centric solutions while driving operational excellence, process optimization, governance, service quality, and technological innovation across the P&C function.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and oversee the operational areas of the P&C Corporate function, ensuring alignment with business strategy, internal governance, and applicable requirements.
• Partner with P&C Strategy & Business Partners counterparts to translate strategic priorities into robust, scalable, and high-quality operational execution.
• Drive operational excellence across Talent Acquisition, Compensation & Benefits, Learning and Development, People Administration, and Soft Services through process simplification, standardization, automation, and digital enablement.
• Ensure effective, accurate, and consistent People Administration services and policy implementation across geographies, in close coordination with global and local P&C teams.
• Design, implement, and continuously evolve the operational frameworks and processess for GPS, TRSP, and other performance, talent, and development processes, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and measurable impact.
• Lead the integration of Artificial Intelligence into P&C operations to improve decision-making, automation, productivity, service quality, and employee experience.
• Own the P&C operations governance framework, including service catalogues, decision rights, process ownership, controls, and escalation mechanisms.
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting, budgeting, dashboards, workforce data, and headcount tracking across all operational domains.
• Enhance P&C analytics and reporting capabilities to support evidence-based decisions, workforce insights, and proactive identification of operational trends and risks.
• Define and monitor service-level agreements and key performance indicators, using performance data to drive accountability and continuous improvement.Lead cross-functional and global projects that improve P&C service delivery, employee experience, scalability, and operational efficiency.
• Coordinate with global and local P&C teams to ensure seamless execution of policies, programmes, processes, and systems.
• Act as a strategic partner to senior leadership, providing insights and recommendations on P&C operations, workforce trends, organizational needs, and service performance.
• Champion employee-centric solutions and continuous improvement, ensuring that P&C services are accessible, intuitive, consistent, and responsive to business needs.
• Lead, develop, and empower the teams within scope, fostering collaboration, accountability, service orientation, innovation, and high performance.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Law, Labor Relations, Human Resources, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in senior P&C roles within multinational environments.
• Proven expertise across key P&C domains including Compensation & Benefits, HR Administration, Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, and HR Technology as well as labour relations and Personal Administration.
• Experience in leading cross-border teams and managing complex HR operations.
• Experience as a P&C Business Partner would be considered a strong asset.
• Demonstrated success in process optimization, AI, digital transformation, and operational strategy.
• Fluency in English and Spanish.

PREFERRED SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Strong strategic and operational judgment, with a hands-on and solution-oriented approach.
• Ability to translate P&C strategy into disciplined execution, scalable processes, and measurable outcomes.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder-management skills across seniority levels and geographies.
• High proficiency in data analysis, reporting, workforce analytics, and HR systems.
• Strong understanding of digital transformation, automation, AI opportunities, data governance, and employee experience design.
• Ability to lead through change, align cross-functional teams, and drive adoption of new ways of working.
• Strong programme and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize across multiple operational domains.
• Commercial and financial acumen, including budgeting, resource allocation, vendor management, and business-case development.
• Resilient, adaptable, collaborative, and committed to continuous improvement and service excellence.
• Acts as a catalyst for change, consistently displaying Almirall’s leadership behaviours by inspiring high performance, building diverse talent, leading with courage, and driving transformation aligned with our winning aspiration and strategic priorities.
• Role models Almirall’s leadership behaviours by developing talent, driving execution excellence, making data-informed decisions, and mobilizing teams to deliver outstanding P&C operations that enable business performance and growth.