Country HR Manager, Japan
Location: Nagoya, Japan
Reports to: HR Business Partner, Sales Area Asia Pacific
If you're a proactive and inclusive HR leader with a passion for driving organizational effectiveness, operational excellence, and business growth, we'd like to hear from you.
At Sandvik, we are looking for an experienced Country HR Manager to lead the people agenda across Sandvik entities in Japan. As the senior HR leader in the country, you will drive people strategy, lead end-to-end HR operations, ensure strong HR governance, and enable business growth through an engaged and high-performing workforce.
About the Job
As Country HR Manager, Japan, you will partner closely with business leaders to drive organizational effectiveness and business performance through strategic people initiatives. You will provide expert guidance on workforce planning, talent management, succession planning, employee engagement, organizational development, and change management, ensuring alignment between business objectives and people strategies.
As the senior HR leader in Japan, you will lead the full spectrum of HR activities across multiple Sandvik entities, ensuring compliance with Japanese labor legislation, employment regulations, and Sandvik policies. You will coach and support leaders on employee relations, performance management, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness while fostering an inclusive and high-performing culture.
You will also serve as a key advisor on employee and labor relations matters, fostering constructive relationships with labor unions and employee representatives while balancing business and people priorities.
In addition, you will lead end-to-end HR operations across Japan, including talent acquisition, employee lifecycle management, compensation and benefits administration, payroll coordination, employee relations, compliance, and continuous improvement of HR processes and practices. You will lead and develop the local HR team, ensuring the delivery of high-quality HR services and an exceptional employee experience.
As the designated Country HR Coordinator (CHRC), you will act as the focal point for country-wide HR governance and collaboration across Sandvik entities in Japan. This includes:
- Serving as the key interface between Japan HR and global HR shared service teams to ensure effective service delivery and continuous improvement.
- Maintaining and updating local HR policies, procedures, and governance frameworks in line with legal requirements and The Sandvik Way.
- Leading relationships with labor unions, employee representatives, and works councils, where applicable.
- Overseeing local pension governance and administration.
- Chairing the Japan Country HR Council and coordinating country-wide HR initiatives and priorities.
- Facilitating and supporting the deployment of Sandvik's Global Leadership Programs and other strategic people initiatives.
- Providing HR leadership and support for mergers, acquisitions, integrations, and organizational transformation projects.
About You
We are looking for an experienced HR leader with a strong business mindset and a passion for developing people, organizations and high performing teams.
The ideal candidate will bring:
- A bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, or a related field.
- 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including significant HR leadership or HR Business Partner experience within a multinational organization.
- Strong knowledge of Japanese labor law, employment regulations, and employee relations practices.
- Demonstrated experience managing employee and labor relations, including labor union and/or employee representative relationships.
- Proven success in organizational change, talent management, workforce planning, and leadership development.
- Experience leading and developing HR teams.
- Strong collaboration and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across all levels of the organization.
- Experience working effectively within a matrix organization.
- Strong project management, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Knowledge of pension and benefits administration; experience supporting M&A activities is an advantage.
- Fluency in both Japanese and English, written and spoken.
Why Join Us?
This is a unique opportunity to serve as the senior HR leader for Japan, shaping the people agenda and employee experience across multiple Sandvik entities. You will partner closely with business leaders, influence key people decisions, and play an important role in supporting organizational growth, transformation, and performance.
At Sandvik, we foster an inclusive and collaborative culture where innovation, continuous improvement, and people development are highly valued. This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, lead a broad HR agenda, and contribute to the success of our business and employees in Japan.
How to Apply
Submit your application no later than 2026/10/31 by clicking Apply and uploading your resume in English.
Please note that applications submitted via email will not be considered.
