Executive Director, Head of HR M&A

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across five continents.

While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

At Lonza, we are looking for a Head of HR M&A to lead the HR agenda across our global portfolio of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructurings, and other strategic corporate transactions. This highly visible leadership role will own the end-to-end people agenda, from early-stage exploration and due diligence through transaction execution, integration or separation, and post-close stabilization.

Working closely with Corporate M&A, Finance, Legal, IT, business leadership, and the broader HR organization, you will shape the people strategy for complex transactions, lead cross-functional HR deal teams, and ensure successful execution against the overall deal strategy. You will act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, bringing deep HR M&A expertise to identify and mitigate people risks, accelerate decision-making, and enable successful value creation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the global HR M&A portfolio, setting strategy, priorities, governance, resources, and accountability across multiple concurrent transactions and strategic corporate programs
• Lead and develop the HR M&A team, ensuring effective execution across acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructurings, and other complex transactions
• Act as the senior HR deal lead for key transactions, from early-stage exploration and due diligence through close, integration or separation, and post-close stabilization
• Provide strategic HR expertise on deal strategy, people risks, workforce implications, organizational design, employee experience, and value creation opportunities
• Lead and coordinate cross-functional HR workstreams spanning Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, HR Services, Digital HR, HR systems, payroll, benefits, talent, and employee communications
• Partner with senior stakeholders across Corporate M&A, Strategy, Finance, Legal, IT, business leadership, and HR to drive alignment, resolve complex issues, and enable timely decisions
• Oversee HR integration and separation activities, including workforce transitions, business continuity, HR services, systems, employee experience, and delivery against transaction objectives
• Lead or oversee HR-related negotiations, Transition Service Agreements (TSAs), cost modelling, external advisors, and relevant transaction documentation
• Own portfolio-level risks, dependencies, budgets, resources, timelines, and escalations while ensuring compliance with employment law, regulatory, works council, union, and consultation requirements
• Provide clear recommendations and executive-level reporting to senior leadership and steering committees, ensuring HR delivery supports successful transaction execution, performance, and value realization

Required Qualifications:

• 15+ years of progressive HR experience, with significant depth in HR M&A, ideally gained through consulting, project-driven environments, and/or an in-house M&A function within a multinational organization
• Proven experience leading HR workstreams across complex acquisitions, divestitures, integrations, separations, restructurings, or other strategic corporate transactions
• Broad expertise across HR M&A, Total Rewards, HR Operations, HR systems, workforce transitions, and complex cross-functional programme delivery
• Strong understanding of the full M&A lifecycle, including due diligence, transaction planning, integration/separation, TSAs, people-related risk management, and post-close stabilization
• Demonstrated ability to lead multiple complex transactions simultaneously and manage international, cross-functional project teams and external advisors
• Exceptional business and financial acumen, with the ability to translate transaction strategy into pragmatic HR priorities, execution plans, and value creation opportunities
• Strong executive presence, communication, negotiation, and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships with senior leadership and external stakeholders
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, project management, and execution capabilities, with the ability to translate complex information into clear recommendations and executive-level materials
• Proven ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, highly confidential, complex matrix environments, demonstrating sound judgment, resilience, adaptability, and a high degree of independence

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves. At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically.

People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world — the satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference.

Lonza is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a qualified individual with disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.