Great things are happening in the Europe and Australia (EUAU) region. Each day, our 2,500 plus colleagues bring their passion to our offices, manufacturing sites, R&D center, and commercial/distributor markets across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. We are energized by over 150 years of bringing people together with the food they love. With beloved brands Old El Paso, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Fibre One, Latina Fresh and more, we are on a mission to become the undisputed growth leader in food for EUAU. In a world that’s ever-changing, we look to stay ahead and seek people who share our love of food and are hungry to shape the future. This role provides operational and managerial oversight for a regional HR Direct/HR Operations/Payroll team and supports Compensation & Benefits activities in France including Corporate and Supply Chain locations. Leader will focus on process excellence, transaction delivery, and continuous improvement of HR Direct/Payroll and compensation & benefits processes, partnering with Global leadership and local HR teams to ensure efficient and compliant operations. Primary Responsibilities Operations & Management: Manage the day-to-day operations of the regional HR Direct/HR Operations/Payroll teams, ensuring adherence to SLAs, KPIs, and established metrics. Develop and implement a standardized operating model, including work intake processes. Collaborate closely with the Global HR Direct/Payroll and local Leaders on all HR Direct, payroll and compensation & benefits activities and escalations. Partner with Global Total Rewards team to deliver compensation & benefits programs. Determine appropriate resource allocation and staffing to support team operations across multiple time zones and operational hours. Oversee performance management and development of all team members. Analyze and prioritize incoming work, manage backup processing support, and oversee workload distribution across the team. Lead process improvement and automation initiatives, implementing a continuous improvement framework. Drive ongoing payroll and compensation & benefits process optimization across France. Partner with the France SLT, global and local stakeholders on change management initiatives, ensuring adherence to regional and local laws. Process Harmonization & Improvement: Identify, recommend, and implement process improvements and standardization initiatives for HR Direct/Payroll and compensation & benefits within the French context. Prioritize significant operational performance improvement projects for HR Direct/HR Operations/Payroll and compensation & benefits in France. Ensure alignment with global, regional, and local processes for HR Direct/HR Operations/Payroll and compensation & benefits in France. Critical Support & Collaboration: Establish and maintain processes with the Global HR Direct/Payroll Vendor and Local HR teams (pre-processing, during processing, and post-processing). This also includes collaboration with benefits providers in France. Align processes with the French Finance and Treasury teams. Assist in the integration of local and global processes via the Global HR Direct/HR Operations/Payroll Vendor and benefits platforms. Assist in defining the French HR Direct/Payroll and benefits calendar, reports, and other key documentation. Compensation & Benefits Support: Support the French implementation of compensation and benefits programs and policies. Provide guidance and support to local HR teams on compensation and benefits matters specific to France. Ensure compliance with all relevant French laws and regulations related to compensation and benefits. Assist in the annual compensation review process for France. Maintain up-to-date knowledge of French compensation and benefits trends and best practices. Participate in the development and implementation of new compensation and benefits programs for France. Team Management & Development: Lead and mentor the team. Foster a culture of continuous learning and development within the team. Drive team engagement and collaboration. Education and Experience Bachelors/Masters Degree with 5-10 years of related experience Specific Job Experience/Skills Needed Demonstrates leadership and influence within and outside of team. Has prior leadership experience (e.g. team lead, or manager or people) Excellent written and verbal communication, experience with presentations, stakeholder management, and communications at high levels in the organization. Experience with ServiceNow, Workday and ADP Payroll required. Knowledge of Time and Attendance systems. Competencies/Behaviors Required Ability to influence in/outside of team Self-starter and can work with limited guidance Team-focus, naturally wants to build all team members Anticipates downstream impact of process/system changes End-to-end mindset, strives to solve root cause when troubleshooting, and improve processes