Requirements: English
Company: Wella Company
Region: Paris , le-de-France
ABOUT THE WELLA COMPANYTogether, WE enable individuals to look, feel, and be their true selves.Wella Company is one of the worlds leading beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands such as Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin and ghd. With 6,000 employees globally, presence in over 100 countries, Wella Company and its brands enable consumers to look, feel, and be their true selves. As innovators in the hair and nail industry, Wella Company empowers its people to delight consumers, inspire beauty professionals, engage communities, and deliver sustainable growth to its stakeholders.For additional information about the Wella Company please visit www.wellacompany.com .Wella is committed to building a modern, strategic employee and labor relations function that fosters trust, ensures compliance, and reinforces our commitment to being a great place to work.About the RoleThis senior HR leader will play a dual role: leading our engagement with the newly formed European Works Council (EWC) and shaping an employee relations (ER) strategy that reflects Wellas values and supports our people through transformation and growth.ResponsibilitiesEnsure EWC Compliance & Governance: Serve as the key point of accountability for compliance with EU Directive 2009/38/EC. Maintain the EWC agreement, monitor regulatory developments, and partner with Wellas Employment Legal team to manage obligations, mitigate risks, and ensure no consultation duties are missed.Lead EWC Engagement & Consultation: Act as a strategic partner and advisor as Wellas primary liaison to the EWC, cultivating a transparent, trust-based relationship. Organize and facilitate meetings, align agendas with business priorities, guide consultation processes during business changes, and serve as a bridge between employee representatives and senior leadership.Coordinate Across Countries & Functions: Collaborate with HR and business leaders across Europe to ensure accurate, timely information sharing and alignment with EWC requirements and transnational matters such as reorganization, digital transformation, or cross-border initiatives.Act as Liaison: with the broader European employee representation structure, including coaching local teams on consultation execution, follow-up actions, and employee communications.Strategic Integration & Advocacy: Advise senior management on the employee relations landscape and labor sensitivities, risks, obligations, and strategies related to employee representation across Europe. Contribute to labour relations planning for M&A, business transformations, or operational shifts. Proactively embed EWC and employee voice into strategic planning, and advocate for business and HR priorities to foster alignment, support, and engagement.Policy Leadership & ER Strategy: Develop and implement a clear, consistent employee relations strategy and labor engagement policies aligned with Wellas values and global standards. Oversee complex ER matterssuch as investigations, grievances, and policy escalationsensuring compliance, fairness, and business continuity.Meetings with the EWC: Coordinate annual in-person and online meetings with EWC members, consultations, and communications with the EWC. Support negotiations and guide cross-border restructuring, workforce changes, or other transnational issues. Monitor trends in European labour law and industrial relations.Manage ER Investigations & Team Leadership: Lead and develop employee relations professionals, ensuring investigations and case management are conducted with integrity, consistency, and alignment to Wellas values and policies.Collaboration & Training: Work cross-functionally with Employment Legal, HR, and Operations teams to collaborate to ensure policy alignment and legal compliance. Provide training and support to local HR teams on effective council engagement and compliance. Deliver training for leaders and employee reps to build capability, mutual understanding, and high-quality dialogue. Promote constructive relationships with employee representatives based on transparency and mutual respect to address and resolve conflicts or formal disputes, using mediation and proactive communication to maintain partnership.External & Union Stakeholder Management: Engage with union representatives and industry peers to stay informed on labor dynamics. Ensure Wellas labor relations approach is locally relevant, globally consistent, and benchmarked against best practices.Executive Reporting & Continuous Improvement: Regularly update executive leadership on EWC activities, risks, and outcomes. Identify opportunities for improvement and innovation in employee and labor relations to reinforce Wellas reputation as a great place to work.Qualifications10+ years in labour/employee relations within a multinational environment, with deep expertise in European labor relations and experience working with EWCs, (including experience with a newly set