HR Director for France and Switzerland

Description

Provide strategic and operational HR leadership
- Lead HR strategy and transformation across France and Switzerland

Our client is an international company in the hospitality industry.

Strategic Leadership & Transformation

Modernize HR processes across both countries (hiring, onboarding, performance, learning, mobility, exits), ensuring scalability, simplicity, and compliance.
Transform compensation & benefits to ensure market competitiveness, internal equity, and cost effectiveness (salary structures, bonus schemes, incentives, benefits benchmarking, job leveling).
Establish HR governance (policies, standards, controls, RACI) and define KPIs and reporting cadence.
Provide data-driven insights to support executive decision-making (workforce analytics, turnover, absenteeism, productivity, cost of labor).
Shape the talent strategy: workforce planning, succession, leadership pipeline, and development paths tailored to hospitality operations.
Drive change management for HR initiatives, communicating clearly with leaders, managers, and frontline teams.

Operational Excellence

Ensure end-to-end payroll oversight (accuracy, timeliness, controls) for France and Switzerland; supervise vendors and internal teams.
Maintain labor law compliance: French Labor Code (including CSE, DSN, social declarations, collective agreements) and Swiss HR practices (cantonal considerations, social insurances, working time, LPP/AVS).
Oversee employee relations and social dialogue (works councils and union interactions in France; collaborative approaches in Switzerland).
Ensure robust case management (disciplinary matters, grievances, disputes) with legal partners where needed.
Strengthen HRIS and data quality (master data, roles, access, dashboards) and drive process automation.
Support health & safety, well-being, and prevention measures adapted to hospitality operations and retail-like environments.
Uphold a service-oriented HR model with timely, pragmatic support to operations and managers.

Leadership & Collaboration

Lead and develop a team of 2 HR Managers in France (coaching, objectives, performance, upskilling).
Partner closely with operational leaders.
Serve as a trusted advisor to the CFO (and CEO when needed) on workforce planning, organizational development, and people risks.
Ensure regular presence in Paris to support local HR teams, operations, and stakeholders.

10+ years of progressive HR experience, including cross-border responsibilities and multi-site operations.
Proven track record leading HR transformation while maintaining strong operational control.
Deep knowledge of French labor law (CSE, collective bargaining, social contributions, working time, temp/seasonal labor) and solid understanding of Swiss HR practices (social insurances, pensions, working time, terminations).
Strong payroll oversight and compensation strategy experience, including benefits and incentive design.
Experience in hospitality or adjacent retail/blue-collar environments with diverse employee populations.
Demonstrated stakeholder management: executive communication, social partners, and operational leaders.
Comfortable with HR analytics and HRIS (defining KPIs, dashboards, and data governance).
Bilingual French & English (written and spoken); additional languages are a plus.
Hands-on, pragmatic, service-oriented, with a strategic mindset and strong execution.
Change leadership and influencing skills; able to navigate ambiguity and drive adoption.
Analytical rigor, attention to detail, and high standards of confidentiality and ethics.
Strong planning and prioritization, able to balance transformation with day-to-day delivery.

Full time and permanent position.

Quote job ref

JN-122025-6903958

Job Function

Human Resources

Specialisation

HR Director

Industry

Retail

Location

Geneva

Contract Type

Permanent

Job Reference

JN-122025-6903958