Sr Manager, HR M&A & Integrations

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced HR M&A Subject Matter Expert (SME) with strong project and program management capabilities to lead the people-related workstreams for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. This role is responsible not only for HR due diligence and advisory support, but also for planning, coordinating, and executing complex, cross-functional M&A initiatives from diligence through post-close integration or separation.

The ideal candidate combines deep HR and employment expertise with disciplined delivery, structured planning, and the ability to manage multiple stakeholders, timelines, and risks simultaneously.

Key Responsibilities

M&A Strategy & Advisory

• Serve as the primary HR advisor on all M&A and divestiture activities, embedding people considerations into deal strategy and execution planning.
• Partner with Corporate Development, Legal, Finance, IT, and HR leadership to define HR scope, timelines, risks, and dependencies for each transaction.

Project & Program Management

• Own the HR M&A project plan for each transaction, including scope definition, milestones, dependencies, risks, and deliverables.
• Develop and maintain detailed workplans, RAID logs (risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies), timelines, and status reporting.
• Lead cross-functional HR workstreams (HRBPs, Total Rewards, HRIS, Payroll, Immigration, Benefits, ER) and ensure alignment to overall deal timelines.
• Track progress against milestones and proactively manage risks, escalations, and decision points.
• Prepare executive-level updates and dashboards for senior stakeholders.

Due Diligence & Risk Management

• Lead HR due diligence activities, coordinating inputs across HR COEs and external advisors.
• Identify people-related risks (employment, comp & benefits, unions/works councils, compliance, immigration, retention).
• Quantify people costs, integration/separation effort, and potential synergies or liabilities.
• Document risks clearly with mitigation strategies and ownership.

Transaction Execution (Signing & Closing)

• Ensure HR readiness for signing and closing, including communications, consultations, data transfer, and system impacts.
• Coordinate consultation processes (e.g., TUPE, collective obligations, works councils) in partnership with Legal and HRBPs.
• Manage cutover planning and Day 1 readiness from an HR perspective.

Integration & Separation Delivery

• Lead execution of HR integration or separation plans, including:
• Org design and role mapping
• Compensation and benefits alignment
• Policy harmonization
• HRIS and payroll impacts
• Immigration and mobility considerations
• Ensure post-close actions are clearly documented, assigned, and tracked to completion.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Act as the central point of coordination between HR, business leaders, external counsel, and vendors.
• Manage HR-related vendors (employment counsel, immigration providers, benefits brokers) to timelines, scope, and quality standards.

Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Own and continuously improve HR M&A playbooks, templates, and project artifacts.
• Capture lessons learned and refine processes to improve speed, consistency, and risk management in future deals.
• Introduce tools and frameworks to improve project visibility and execution discipline.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• 7+ years of HR experience, including significant involvement in M&A, divestitures, or complex transformations.
• Strong understanding of employment law concepts, workforce planning, and global HR considerations.
• Proven experience leading complex, multi-workstream projects with competing priorities and tight deadlines.
• Strong planning, prioritization, and execution discipline.
• Experience building and managing project plans, status reporting, and risk logs.
• Comfortable driving accountability across senior stakeholders without direct authority.
• Experience using project management tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, Smartsheet, MS Project).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level reporting.
• Ability to translate complex HR and legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance.
• Strong facilitation and influence skills across HR and non-HR audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting global or multi-jurisdiction transactions.
• Familiarity with HRIS platforms (e.g., Workday) and people analytics.
• Formal project management training or certification (PMP, Prince2, Agile) is a plus.

Key skills/competency

• HR M&A
• Due Diligence
• Project Management
• Integration Planning
• Stakeholder Management
• Employment Law
• Compensation & Benefits
• Risk Management
• Process Improvement
• HRIS