As a key member of the Imerys Graphite & Carbon Leadership Team and the Human Resources Leadership Team you will act as the strategic architect of the people agenda for a fast growing ~250M industrial business.
This role is a "player-coach" position: you will drive high-level organizational design and engagement initiatives while ensuring operational HR excellence across a diverse geographical footprint, spanning Europe, North America, and APAC. (Belgium 170 employees, Switzerland 170 employees and the rest spread in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Republic, Malaysia, Netherlands, United States of America)
Reports To: Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
Dotted Line: Business Vice President Graphite & Carbon
Scope: ~460 FTEs
Direct reports: Country HR Organization Switzerland
Responsibilities and Duties:1. Strategic Business Partnering & Organizational Effectiveness:P&L Alignment: Translate the 250M business strategy into a scalable human capital plan, ensuring labor costs and organizational structures are optimized for growth and EBITDA targets.
Organizational Design: Act as a strategic and fully trusted advisor and sounding board to the Business GM on right-sizing the organization and leading change management initiatives.
Matrix Optimization: Orchestrate the "Golden Triangle" between Corporate HR, the Business, and local operations to ensure global standards enhance, rather than hinder, local speed-to-market.
Social Governance: Drive the labor relations strategy in Switzerland and collaborate with Belgian HR leadership to ensure a stable industrial climate. Proactively manage works councils to mitigate risks of labor disputes that could impact production or delivery.
Strategic Resourcing: Build a robust talent pipeline for "bottleneck" roles in industrial and commercial functions to ensure the business meets its innovation and sales roadmaps.
Succession & Capability Building: Lead the "Performance Journey" and succession planning with a focus on identifying high-potentials capable of progressing within the business and moving between the business unit and the wider group.
Cultural Integration: Synchronize the culture across diverse geographies to ensure that satellite offices are commercially aligned with the manufacturing hubs, driving a "One Business" mindset.
Performance-Linked Rewards: Execute the annual compensation and bonus cycles, ensuring a high correlation between individual performance and the business unit’s financial performance.
Market Competitiveness: Utilize data-driven benchmarking to attract and retain specialized technical talent in high-cost hubs, balancing competitive positioning with the BU’s margin requirements.
Candidate Profile:
Educational Background: Degree in Engineering, HR, Business Administration, or Law.
Industrial Expertise: 15+ years of HR experience, ideally within a fast growing manufacturing or industrial environment. Experience in M&A activity—including due diligence and post-merger integration—is highly desirable.
Multilingual: Fluency in English and Italian is mandatory. Proficiency in Dutch is a significant advantage.
Matrix Experience: Proven track record reporting into a global HR function while supporting a decentralized business head.
Geographic Knowledge: Deep familiarity with Swiss and/or Belgian labor law is highly preferred given the headcount distribution.
Soft Skills:
An ability to "zoom in and out"—thinking strategically at the leadership table while executing tactically with high attention to detail. You ensure that global HR processes are not just compliant, but optimized for the 250M P&L.
A "strong drive for results" balanced with the relationship-building skills required to manage high-stakes projects in a complex, matrixed environment (CHRO vs. Business GM)
Proven ability to deliver outcomes despite fast-changing parameters and high levels of ambiguity. You thrive in an action-oriented, fast-paced environment where decision-making is constant and collaborative across multiple functions.
You build and maintain a superior employee experience that acts as a competitive advantage in the market.
Excellent organizational skills with the ability to work under pressure. You meet deadlines while managing multiple high-priority projects simultaneously, never losing sight of the "fine print" or the human element always approaching people and business situations with empathy.
ILC ( Imerys Leadership competencies ): Cares for self and others, drives results, collaborates for success, commits to customers, shapes the future.
Position TypeFull timeand
PermanentOnly technical issues will be monitored through the below inbox:
recruiting.support@ imerys.com
PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT RESUMES OR APPLICATIONS TO THIS EMAIL, AS THEY WILL NOT BE REVIEWED.
To ensure fairness and legal compliance in our recruitment processes, only applications received through the online application process will be considered.
Skills Required
- 15+ years of HR experience in manufacturing or industrial environment
- Fluency in English and Italian
- Proficiency in Dutch
- Degree in Engineering, HR, Business Administration, or Law
- Experience in M&A activity
What We Do
We are a world leader in mineral-based specialties, offering high value-added solutions to many different industries, ranging from process manufacturing to consumer goods. Our value-added solutions are formulated to meet the technical specifications of each customer and contribute to the performance of a multitude of products in three categories: 1. Functional additives - added to the mineral formulation of customers’ products. 2. Mineral components - essential constituents in the formulation of customers’ products. 3. Process enablers - used in customers’ manufacturing processes, but not present in the end product. These serve many industries such as construction materials, mobile energy, steelmaking, agri-food, automotive, and cosmetics.








