Director Talent, Japan

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

To Plan, Create and Lead the Talent Strategy for Japan

Key Responsibilities:

Talent Acquisition:

• Set vision and drive strategic and operational goals for the market across all aspects of talent acquisition including strategies and practices to support future trends and business growth through talent acquisition excellence.
• Oversee execution of Talent Acquisition programs and initiatives across the region.
• Drive standardized and effective recruitment process that provides high quality as well as equal and inclusive experiences for candidates and hiring managers.
• Manage and influence business and functional leaders on talent acquisition priorities to ensure that organizational needs are met.
• Establish and maintain market and industry expertise including a comprehensive view of trends and competitors to help identify opportunities to improve talent acquisition results.

Talent Management:

• Responsible for the overall Talent Strategy for the market and lead contact for the Market HR Lead for all Talent related programs and services.
• Lead the strategic planning for “Build or Buy” Talent priorities.
• Succession planning: partner with the Market HR Lead and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to develop succession for key leadership roles, establishing clear talent mapping and building a diverse pipeline of future leaders; create visibility on global talent pipeline for key positions in the region.
• Pro-actively analyse business demand and consult HR Business Partners with tailored Talent solutions for the identified local business demands. Design and drive the implementation of all non-core products and services (ensure efficiency and consistency of Locally Developed programs and services for the Market by leveraging best practices from the Global Talent network).
• In partnership with the Market HR Lead run all core Talent meetings at SLT level (e.g. Succession, TLU, Talent Conferences).
• Provide outside-in perspective (from Business / HR Business Partners into HR Talent) and contribute to the creation of integrated HR Talent products & services.

Learning and Development:

• Identify training and development needs across the organisation and leverage existing L&D programs or if not available, design locally relevant programs to enhance employee skills and capabilities.
• Foster a learning culture and promote continuous learning and development opportunities.
• Ensure individual learning and development plans and career pathways for high potential talent.

Onboarding and Employee Engagement:

• Enhance the adidas onboarding plan with locally relevant content and experiences to deliver an engaging onboarding program for new employees to ensure a smooth transition into the organisation.
• Develop and execute social activities and engagement initiatives with an internal narrative that will engage employees and foster a positive work culture.

Employer Branding and Candidate Attraction:

• Build local strategy for our Employer Value Proposition activation and high touch candidate experience ensuring local relevance.
• Create and maintain a strong online and offline presence within the market to enhance adidas’s reputation as an employer of choice, also leveraging partnerships with key education institutions to attract young talent.
• Utilize appropriate and relevant recruitment platforms, social media, and networking events in different markets to identify and attract potential candidates.

Leadership, People Management and Team Building:

• Provide transformational leadership for empowered, high-performing teams.
• Promote a collaborative, motivating, diverse, and psychologically safe work environment, leading by example, role modelling adidas values and behaviours.
• Foster a high-performance culture with clear goals and expectations, constructive feedback, and performance reviews on a regular basis.
• Provide coaching and support to enable personal development and Talent excellence within the team.
• Act as a role model in compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and adidas policies.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to think and act strategically.
• Influence with/without authority.
• Strong team player with relevant working experience in a global matrix organization.
• Strong customer orientation, confidence to manage demand, HR Leadership team and expectations and ability to operate on senior hierarchical levels (stakeholder management).
• Articulate, clear in written & verbal communication; engaging presentations to large groups/teams.
• Provides ideas and thought leadership on people topics.
• Ability to lead recruiters/talent partners across multiple teams and/or locations towards achieving objectives.
• Strong project management skills.
• Ability to manage change, problem solve and influence hiring behaviour.
• Ability to work on local, national and international searches.
• Strong level of expertise within the market(s) you are responsible for and across multiple functions.
• Talent Generalist with cross-functional knowledge of all Talent areas (Talent Management, Leadership & Learning, Organizational Development)
• Strong knowledge of all core Talent processes.
• Commercial Awareness, customer focus, ability to align Talent, HR Strategy & Business Strategy.
• Advanced facilitation skills and strong internal consulting skills; diagnostic skills with ability to analyse the situation and provide solutions, ideally Certified Coach; basic Program Design skills, ability to build trustful relationships with key stakeholders and HR Partners

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• BS/BA Degree is required.
• Circa 12 years’ experience in market Talent Management/HRBP positions in an international and matrixed corporate environment.
• Circa 5 years managing enterprise sized teams to achieve organizational goals.
• Proven functional expertise across multiple business units and a strong understanding of market Talent/TA trends.
• Fluent written and spoken English and Japanese language skills.