Unilever

Global TA Hub, GPS & GM Partnering Director

La Lucia, Durban, South Africa Full time

JOB PURPOSE

The Global TA Hub, GPS & GM Partnering Director, leads the integrated global operations of Hub Talent Acquisition, Position Management, and Global Mobility Partnering.

This role ensures operational excellence, high data integrity and quality, and consistent People Experience across all markets, while responding to future workforce needs via E2E journeys.

This senior leader sets the global operational strategy, provides governance, strengthens capabilities, and builds trusted partnerships with HR and business stakeholders, ensuring the PEX Operating Model is executed with consistency and excellence worldwide.

You’ll be part of a team that believes in doing work that matters — for people and the planet. 

Because here, we don’t just hire for jobs. We invite you to be part of something bigger. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Governance:

  • Define and implement the global performance strategy for TA Hubs, Position Management, and Global Mobility Partnering.
  • Establish global standards, demand planning, KPIs, SLAs, and governance mechanisms.
  • Ensure alignment with Talent Acquisition CoE, Reward, Master Data Governance, and HRIT.

People & Team Leadership:

  • Lead and develop a global network of teams across eight hubs.
  • Build capabilities, enable growth, and foster a culture grounded in psychological safety, performance, inclusivity, and accountability.

Operational Excellence: Oversee consistent, compliant, and high-quality operational delivery in:

  • E2E Talent Acquisition processes for WL1 and sourcing for WL 2 and WL3, UFLP Services and Front-Line Workers in some Hubs for some markets
  • Workday Position & Org architecture Management
  • Global Mobility Partnering. Ensure data quality, SLA adherence, risk control, and process excellence.

Senior Stakeholder Partnering:

  • Serve as the senior advisor to PEXLT in Market Heads and business leaders.
  • Represent hubs in global governance forums and strategic workforce discussions. Influence decision-making with insights, business understanding, and operational expertise.

Data, Insights & Performance:

  • Instill a data-driven culture across all hubs.
  • Own data quality for TA process, position management, and mobility processes.
  • Use analytics to drive decisions, highlight risks, and identify opportunities.

Continuous Improvement & transformation: 

  • Drive adoption of digital tools and scalable, repeatable ways of working.
  • Embed continuous improvement mindsets and practices across all hubs (system upgrades, process redesign, simplification).
  • Deploy all new products developed by the Innovation Tower on time and in full.

Vendor & External Partner Management:  

  • Run BAU relationships with vendors responsible for supporting and providing services based on different steps of the process (recruitment agencies, relocation, immigration).
  • Ensure contractual performance, compliance, and service quality. Support cost management and continuous value delivery.

People Experience Leadership:

  • Champion the colleague experience across recruitment, joiners, position changes, and mobility journeys.
  • Embed fairness, inclusion, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity.
  • Ensure processes and interactions reflect Unilever’s purpose and values.

KEY INTERFACES

  • PEX in Market Lead
  • PEX Innovation Tower & Talent Acquisition CoE
  • Reward & Mobility CoE
  • Line Managers
  • Master Data Governance
  • HRIT (Workday / ServiceNow)
  • External mobility, immigration, and recruitment vendors

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

  • 10+ years’ experience in a Leadership/Management role in at least two areas: Talent Acquisition operations; Position/workforce architecture/ Global Mobility or HR Operations
  • Proven leadership of large global or virtual teams.
  • Strong knowledge of Workday; familiarity with case management.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage complex global stakeholders and influence senior leaders.
  • Transformation and continuous improvement experience in matrixed environments.
  • Strong data interpretation and insight-generation capability.
  • Global compliance awareness

Preferred

  • Experience in fast-moving consumer goods or large global multinationals.
  • Advanced HR or Business qualification.

UNILEVER LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOURS

Care Deeply: Role-models empathy, inclusion, and fairness across hubs. Builds trust, psychological safety, and strong human connections. Supports teams through complexity and change to deliver business outcomes.

Deliver With Excellence: Sets high standards and drives accountability for operational results. Ensures rigour, discipline, accuracy, compliance, and data integrity in all processes. Removes obstacles and enables teams to operate at their best.

Focus on What Counts: Prioritises work that creates meaningful business and People Experience impact. Simplifies processes, reduces complexity, and drives clarity across hubs. Makes resource-savvy decisions based on data and strategic relevance.

Stay Three Steps Ahead: Anticipates future workforce, technology, and organisational needs. Scans for trends, risks, and opportunities early. Leads the evolution of global operations to meet tomorrow’s demands.

TRAVEL & WORKING CONDITIONS

20% international travel. Flexibility to work across multiple time zones.

Unilever is an equal opportunities employer and committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.  We are intentional in employing the best talent that reflects the demographics of our country, and which will help build representation of currently under-represented groups. We therefore invite applications from all candidates representing diversity of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief. When appointing potential candidates, the South African Employment Equity and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Legislation will be considered.  

We are required by law to verify your ability to work lawfully in South Africa. If you are applying as a foreign national, please note that you may be requested to provide supporting documents supporting this.

This is an office-based role in Durban and requires 100% of time attendance on site.

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.