In-Country Japan H2R Services Manager

Key Responsibilities

A. Country H2R Service Leadership 

• Lead end-to-end delivery of In-Country Hire-to-Retire services for Japan. 

• Ensure operational execution aligns with global service standards, service catalogs, governance frameworks, and Japanese regulatory requirements. 

• Translate strategic priorities into measurable operational outcomes. 

• Establish service delivery objectives and monitor achievement against agreed performance measures. 

• Serve as the operational authority for In-Country H2R services within Japan. 

• Represent Japan in regional and global H2R governance forums, operational reviews, and strategic discussions. 

• Ensure operational decisions balance employee experience, compliance, quality, efficiency, and business needs. 

• Strengthen stakeholder alignment and service effectiveness by partnering with Country P&O teams, Customer Delivery Excellence (CDE), Payroll Operations, and cross-functional stakeholders. 

B. Workforce Administration, Data Governance & Documentation Management 

• Establish robust workforce administration controls ensuring high levels of data integrity and operational accuracy. 

• Oversee employee master data governance activities across all applicable systems. 

• Ensure employee files, statutory documentation, and employment records are maintained in accordance with Japanese legal requirements and Novartis policies. 

• Monitor and improve data quality through structured quality assurance activities. 

• Lead root cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions associated with recurring data quality issues. 

• Ensure workforce data supports operational reporting, regulatory compliance, and payroll processing requirements. 

• Maintain governance standards for document retention, archiving, and records management. 

• Ensure H2R operations are executed in accordance with Japanese employment practices, statutory documentation requirements, local language needs, data privacy obligations, and country-specific employee lifecycle requirements. 

C. Vendor & Third-Party Service Governance 

• Establish and maintain effective governance frameworks with vendors supporting Japan employee lifecycle services. 

• Conduct regular operational reviews to assess service performance, compliance adherence, issue resolution effectiveness, and employee experience outcomes. 

• Monitor contractual obligations, service level agreements, operational commitments, and vendor performance metrics. 

• Escalate and coordinate resolution of vendor-related service failures, risks, and compliance concerns. 

• Ensure effective coordination of activities across H2R, Payroll KK, Country P&O, Payroll Operations, and external service providers. 

• Lead operational readiness activities involving third-party providers during organizational changes, regulatory updates, technology deployments, and business transformation initiatives. 

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives through collaboration with vendors and internal stakeholders. 

• Ensure vendor-supported processes align with Novartis operational, compliance, and employee experience standards. 

• Provide governance and oversight for payroll-related operational dependencies managed by external providers. 

• Provide operational leadership and country service expertise during vendor selection, transition, implementation, and stabilization activities when applicable. 

D. Upstream Payroll Readiness Governance 

• Ensure H2R-owned employee lifecycle transactions, workforce data updates, and documentation processes are completed accurately and timely to support stable payroll outcomes. 

• Partner closely with Payroll Operations, Payroll KK, and technology teams to support end-to-end service performance. 

• Lead investigation and remediation of systemic process gaps affecting payroll outcomes. 

• Contribute H2R operational controls, evidence, and remediation plans for payroll governance reviews, audits, and compliance activities. 

• Ensure operational readiness during payroll enhancements, regulatory changes, system deployments, and transformation initiatives. 

• Drive stabilization and continuous improvement activities within the integrated operating model. 

E. People Leadership, Capability Building & Organizational Effectiveness 

• Lead, coach, and develop a small team of H2R professionals to achieve operational, customer, and service objectives. 

• Create an environment that promotes accountability, collaboration, customer centricity, and continuous improvement. 

• Establish clear performance objectives aligned with organizational priorities and service commitments. 

• Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching discussions, development planning, and career conversations. 

• Identify capability gaps and implement targeted development initiatives. 

• Drive succession planning and talent development activities to ensure long-term organizational sustainability. 

• Ensure effective workload allocation, workforce planning, and resource management across all operational activities. 

• Build a resilient service model through cross-training, knowledge transfer, job rotation, and capability diversification. 

• Foster employee engagement and promote a culture aligned with Novartis Values and Behaviors. 

• Promote innovation, ownership, and continuous learning within the team. 

• Ensure team readiness during organizational change, transformation initiatives, regulatory updates, and technology deployments. 

F. Digital, Analytics & Future of Work Enablement 

• Promote adoption of digital solutions, self-service capabilities, and modern service delivery approaches. 

• Drive utilization of enterprise platforms, including Workday, ServiceNow, Microsoft technologies, analytics platforms, automation solutions, and future digital capabilities. 

• Identify opportunities to leverage automation, artificial intelligence, and data-driven insights to improve operational effectiveness and employee experience. 

• Develop operational dashboards, governance reporting, and performance metrics for leadership review. 

• Translate operational data into actionable recommendations and business insights. 

• Provide meaningful workforce and operational insights to support leadership decision-making, workforce planning, and service improvement initiatives. 

G. Decision Making Authority

• Determines local operational priorities.
• Approves operational improvement initiatives.
• Owns vendor performance escalations.
• Recommends controls and remediation activities.
• Represents Japan operational interests within regional governance forums.

Essential Requirements 

• Minimum of 10 to 15 years of progressive experience in HR Operations / Hire-to-Retire experience with strong expertise across hire, employee lifecycle management, and separation processes.
• Proven people leadership experience, including performance management, coaching, capability development, succession planning, and workload management.
• Strong knowledge of Japanese HR operations and employment practices, including employee documentation, workforce administration, and compliance requirements.
• Experience managing employee data governance and HR systems, ensuring data integrity, quality controls, and records management.
• Experience managing payroll-impacting HR processes, with a strong understanding of upstream activities that influence payroll accuracy and compliance.
• Vendor and third-party service management experience, including governance, service performance monitoring, issue resolution, and stakeholder coordination.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to partner effectively across local, regional, and global functions.
• Experience leading operational transformation and change initiatives, including process improvement, technology adoption, and service optimization.
• Hands-on experience with HR technology platforms, preferably Workday, ServiceNow, and reporting or analytics tools used to drive operational performance.
• Strong experience in escalation management, stakeholder engagement, and operating effectively within governance and assurance roles across matrixed, cross-functional environments. 
• Business-fluent Japanese and English communication skills, enabling effective engagement with Japan-based employees, vendors, leadership teams, and global stakeholders.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience leveraging ServiceNow, including AI-enabled capabilities, to simplify processes, reduce duplication, and redirect team capacity toward higher-value work. 
• Experience using reporting and visualization tools such as Power BI + AI-enabled capabilities to generate governance insights, performance reporting, and trend analysis.
• Experience working within outsourced, captive, or hybrid HR service delivery models, with exposure to vendor governance and service assurance. 
• Exposure to audit, risk, or internal control environments, including familiarity with compliance-driven service delivery.
• Experience working in regional or global shared service organizations with complex stakeholder environments.
• Experience leading continuous improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, or operational excellence initiatives.
• Project and change management experience, including organizational change and workforce readiness activities.
• Experience leveraging digital technologies, automation, AI, or self-service solutions to improve HR operations.
• Advanced reporting and analytics capability, including dashboard development and data-driven decision support.
• Experience representing a country organization in regional or global governance forums and influencing senior leadership decisions.