Remote HR Deals Lead - Associate Director

Cognizant; Madison (WI); Remote; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking an Associate Director, HR Deal Lead to steer the people workstream across strategic bids and employee transitions, from early design through contracting and handover. You will collaborate with Sales, Solutioning, Commercial, Finance, Legal, Delivery, and regional HR teams to shape risk profiles and cost inputs for deals.

You will lead due diligence, translate data into actionable risks, and present solutions to senior stakeholders, including C-suite.

Qualifications

• Experience leading an HR deal workstream, including end-to-end people activities supporting outsourcing engagements.
• Experience in transformation, employee relations, or workforce transition, with success independently leading complex workstreams.
• Strong practical knowledge of employment law.
• Experience in client-facing delivery, commercial risk assessment, contractual review, and cross-functional stakeholder management within a matrix organization.
• Commercial acumen and a solution-focused approach.
• Credibility with senior stakeholders, with strong judgment and risk awareness.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and negotiation confidence.
• Strong program management skills and ability to work amid ambiguity, competing priorities, and deadlines.
• Collaborative, resilient working style, across cultures.
• Ownership mindset and drive to deliver meaningful outcomes.
• Embodiment of Cognizant’s values: Work as One, Dare to Innovate, Raise the Bar, Do the Right Thing, and Own It.

Responsibilities

• Lead HR input into people solution design for outsourcing pursuits, partnering with Sales, Solutioning, Commercial, Finance, Legal, Delivery, and regional HR teams.
• Assess regional sensitivities and regulatory employee-transfer implications. Define appropriate transfer, rebadge, rehire, restructuring, and integration approaches.
• Lead people due diligence and translate employee data into clear risks, assumptions, dependencies, liabilities, and mitigation actions. Develop HR cost inputs covering compensation and benefits, pensions, payroll, redundancy or severance, consultation, and transition activity to support deal pricing and approvals.
• Review people-related provisions in master services agreements, statements of work, transfer schedules, and related contractual documents while working closely with Legal and Commercial teams. Present the people solution to senior internal and client stakeholders, including C-suite stakeholders, provide practical guidance, and influence decisions where workforce risk may affect deal viability or delivery.
• Establish strong customer engagement and lead client-facing activities, including oral presentations, due diligence, solution design, town halls, Day One activities, offer letters, client status reporting, and meetings. Plan and deliver end-to-end employee transitions, including employee communications, onboarding, payroll and benefits readiness, stabilization, and HR handover. Contribute to team capability through reusable tools, playbooks, training, coaching, and knowledge sharing.

Skills

HR deal lead

Transformation experience

Employment law

Client-facing delivery

Commercial acumen

Senior stakeholder credibility

Clear communication

Program management

Cross-cultural collaboration

Ownership mindset

Cognizant values

Job description

Cognizant is seeking an Associate Director, HR Deal Lead to steer the people workstream across strategic bids and employee transitions, from early design through contracting and handover. You will collaborate with Sales, Solutioning, Commercial, Finance, Legal, Delivery, and regional HR teams to shape risk profiles and cost inputs for deals.

You will lead due diligence, translate data into actionable risks, and present solutions to senior stakeholders, including C-suite.