Remote HR Deals Lead — Associate Director

Cognizant; Salem (OR); Remote; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays and PTO

401(k) plan

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. You will guide design, due diligence, and transfer processes, coordinating with Sales, Solutioning, Finance, Legal, and regional HR teams. This role involves travel across the Americas and beyond.

You will manage client-facing activities, develop cost inputs for pricing, and present solutions to executives, balancing risk and value in complex outsourcing deals.

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 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 confidence in negotiation.
• Strong program management skills and the ability to work effectively amid ambiguity, competing priorities, and deadlines.
• A collaborative and resilient working style, with the ability to work across cultures.
• A strong sense of ownership and a passion for work that serves customers and global challenges.
• 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 transfer, rebadge, rehire, restructuring, and integration approaches.
• Lead people due diligence and translate employee data into risks, assumptions, liabilities, and mitigation actions. Develop HR cost inputs to support deal pricing and approvals.
• Review people-related provisions in master services agreements, statements of work, transfer schedules, and related documents with Legal and Commercial teams; present to senior stakeholders.
• Establish strong customer engagement and lead client-facing activities, including oral presentations, due diligence, solution design, town halls, Day One activities, offer letters, status reporting, and meetings.

Skills

HR deal leadership

End-to-end HR activities

Employment law knowledge

Client-facing delivery

Commercial acumen

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Program management

Cross-cultural collaboration

Ownership mindset

Job description

Cognizant is seeking an Associate Director, HR Deal Lead to steer the people workstream across strategic bids and employee transitions. You will guide design, due diligence, and transfer processes, coordinating with Sales, Solutioning, Finance, Legal, and regional HR teams. This role involves travel across the Americas and beyond.

You will manage client-facing activities, develop cost inputs for pricing, and present solutions to executives, balancing risk and value in complex outsourcing deals.