HR Director

Work Schedule

Environmental Conditions

Job Description

Director, Human Resources, Clinical Development Services Division (CDSD)

When you’re part of the team at Thermo Fisher Scientific, you’ll do important work, like helping customers to find cures for cancer, protecting the environment, or making sure our food is safe. Your work will have a real impact, and you will be supported in achieving your career goals. Our staff members are committed to making a difference in our organization, for our client partners and the patients we serve. We seek individuals with proven competencies and strong character to help lead our organization now and into the future.

PPD®, the clinical research business of Thermo Fisher Scientific, provides drug development, laboratory, and lifecycle management services to our customers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical devices, academic and government organizations industries. 

This role will support our Clinical Development Services Division (CDSD) within PPD, more specifically, supporting a newly established Digital business unit, the Clinical Development Strategy and Innovation (CDS&I) unit, and Integrated Data Services (IDS) function.

How will you make an impact?
As a Senior HR Business Partner (known as HR Director internally), you will act as a strategic architect and transformation partner across the portfolio. You will be partnered with members of the leadership teams to co-lead transformation programs, shaping organizational design, workforce capability, and leadership effectiveness.

You will support the Executive Director, Human Resources, in delivering an integrated people and workforce strategy across our Digital, IDS, and CDS&I groups— ensuring alignment with the enterprise’s Workforce of the Future agenda. Operating at a senior level, you will influence the design of the future organization, embed scalable workforce models, and enable leaders to deliver cultural and performance outcomes that accelerate transformation.

What will you do?

• Architect the future organization — design and implement workforce architecture aligned to evolving digital, data, and innovation operating models, ensuring structural clarity and scalability.
• Translate business priorities into actionable people, talent, and change strategies that deliver operational excellence, leadership capability, and cultural readiness for transformation.
• Curate talent and capability pipelines that develop the leadership skills needed for future success; promote a forward-thinking, inclusive talent mindset that attracts, retains, and engages diverse, high-performing talent.
• Coach and influence senior leaders to strengthen leadership effectiveness, build cohesive teams, and embed a culture of accountability, innovation, and agility.
• Steward culture and change, creating an environment that reflects our 4i values — Integrity, Intensity, Innovation, Involvement — and driving engagement and resilience through transformation.
• Co-lead key transformation initiatives, ensuring seamless workforce transition, strong communication, and alignment across interdependent business areas.
• Leverage business acumen and data insights to interpret analytics, identify workforce trends, and drive data-informed decisions that improve talent, leadership, and business outcomes.
• Partner cross-functionally with HR Centers of Excellence (COEs) including Talent, Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, HR Shared Services, and Diversity — to deliver integrated, enterprise-wide HR programs that enable business success.
• Lead organizational design and change management solutions, facilitating organizational evolution and effectiveness through capability, structure, and culture alignment.
• Provide creative, pragmatic solutions to complex global challenges by combining insight, innovation, and collaboration across HR and business stakeholders.
• Collaborate closely with local HR and global partners to ensure seamless implementation of programs, consistency in execution, and a unified employee experience.
• Champion organizational adaptability and workforce readiness, anticipating business shifts and designing HR interventions that strengthen resilience and future capability.

How will you get here?

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, psychology, or equivalent and relevant formal academic / vocational qualification. Advanced degree preferred.
• Previous HR business partnering experience with senior leadership that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job (comparable to 8+ years’ experience).
• In some cases an equivalency, consisting of appropriate education, training, and/or directly related experience will be considered sufficient for an individual to meet the requirements of the role.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Proven success in implementing organizational optimization and business change programs and initiatives.
• Experience collaborating with global teams in a fast-paced, heavily matrixed, and diverse environment.
• Exposure to Process Improvement approaches and ability to implement.
• Strong consultative style with proven success in coaching and developing leaders to drive organizational performance.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to make data-driven HR decisions.
• Knowledge of modern HR practices principles and policies. Awareness of emerging HR trends.
• Strong experience in Microsoft Office, ability to collate data and prepare presentations, professional communication skills.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and act with tact and emotional intelligence.
• Skilled in developing professional relationships with leadership and peers.
• Ability to travel up to 10-20% of time as needed.

At Thermo Fisher Scientific, we are committed to fostering a healthy and harmonious workplace for our employees. We understand the importance of creating an environment that allows individuals to excel. Please see below for the required qualifications for this position, which also includes the possibility of equivalent experience:

• Able to communicate, receive, and understand information and ideas with diverse groups of people in a comprehensible and reasonable manner.
• Able to work upright and stationary for typical working hours. 
• Ability to use and learn standard office equipment and technology with proficiency.
• Able to perform successfully under pressure while prioritizing and handling multiple projects or activities. 
• May require as-needed travel (0-20%). 

Location: This role is office based in either Morrisville, NC (Raleigh, NC area) or Cambridge, UK. Relocation assistance is NOT provided.

*Must be legally authorized to work in the United States or UK without sponsorship. 

*Must be able to pass a comprehensive background check, which includes a drug screening (US only)