Director HR DACH

Working location: Cologne, Germany

A senior HR leader with a strong retail background, you know how to drive business performance and transformation while keeping people and culture at the heart of change. You combine strategic thinking and commercial awareness with the ability to bring people with you.

As Director HR DACH, you will be the most senior HR leader and a key member of both the DACH Management Team and International HR Leadership Team. You will shape and drive the people agenda for one of Rituals’ largest and most strategically important regions, supporting approximately 4,000 employees across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Working closely with the Managing Director DACH and Management Team, you will be a trusted strategic sparring partner, bringing a strong people, organisation and culture perspective into business decisions. You will proactively shape the HR agenda, ensuring our organisation, leadership and capabilities are ready for sustainable growth and continued transformation.

As a guardian and ambassador of the Rituals culture, you will protect what makes Rituals special while recognising the different cultural and organisational realities across DACH. You understand that performance and care strengthen each other and know how to bring Play to Win and Love to Care into balance.

You will lead and develop the DACH HR team, creating clarity, connection and ownership and bringing together local, international and central HR expertise around a shared agenda.

Curious about the future of HR, you embrace AI, data and new technologies to work smarter, strengthen decision-making and improve the experience for employees and leaders, always complemented by sound human judgement.

You move naturally between strategy and execution, challenging when needed, listening when it matters and bringing people with you through change. You combine ambition and pace with empathy, cultural awareness and genuine care.

YOUR ACCOUNTABILITIES

Business Strategy & Impact

• Partner with the Managing Director DACH and Management Team to shape the people strategy and broader business agenda across the region.
• Act as a trusted MT-level advisor and sparring partner, bringing an independent, forward-looking people and organisation perspective to strategic decisions.
• Own and drive the DACH HR agenda, translating business ambitions into clear people and organisation priorities and ensuring momentum behind their delivery.
• Connect organisation, talent, leadership, performance, reward, culture and employee relations, balancing immediate business priorities with the long-term health and capability of the organisation.

Culture & Leadership

• Be a guardian and ambassador of the Rituals culture, protecting what makes us special while helping our culture evolve as we grow.
• Bring Play to Win and Love to Care into balance, creating an environment where ambition, accountability and performance go hand in hand with care, respect, inclusion and personal attention.
• Bring our culture to life across DACH, respecting the different cultural and organisational realities of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
• Support and challenge leaders to role-model our culture, while staying close to the organisation and ensuring the employee perspective is heard in leadership decisions.
  

Transformation & Organisational Effectiveness

• Lead organisational transformation across DACH, including organisational design, workforce development, leadership effectiveness, productivity and culture transformation.
• Drive strategic workforce and succession planning, building strong pipelines for business-critical roles.
• Turn transformation strategies into tangible action and help leaders bring people through change with clarity, care and transparency.

HR Leadership & Matrix Collaboration

• Lead, inspire and develop the DACH HR team, creating clear direction, ownership and opportunities for growth.
• Empower HR professionals to be proactive business partners who understand the business and confidently bring the people perspective to the table.
• Build strong connections across the DACH HR organisation, International HR Leadership, central HR expertise and business leadership, creating one integrated agenda while respecting local needs.

Works Councils, Employee Relations & Governance

• Build strong, transparent and constructive relationships with works councils and other employee representative bodies.
• Ensure co-determination and employee representation are considered early and thoughtfully in organisational and people initiatives.
• Navigate complex employee relations matters with sound judgement, balancing business needs, employee interests, culture and responsible governance.

Talent & Organisation

• Ensure Rituals attracts, develops and retains the talent and capabilities needed for our future ambitions, with strong talent and succession pipelines for critical roles.
• Strengthen leadership capability across DACH, challenging and supporting leaders to continuously develop themselves and their teams.
• Create an environment where people understand what is expected of them, receive meaningful feedback and have opportunities to grow and perform at their best.

AI, Data & the Future of HR

• Embrace AI, data and digital innovation to make HR simpler, smarter and more impactful, while helping HR teams and leaders confidently adopt new ways of working.
• Use people data and business insights to identify trends, challenge assumptions, strengthen decision-making and anticipate future organisational needs.

International HR Leadership

• Represent DACH within the International HR Leadership Team and actively contribute to the broader international people agenda.
• Partner with central HR functions and other markets to translate international strategies into meaningful local impact, while sharing insights and best practices across Rituals.

HR Performance & Execution

• Maintain an integrated view across the full HR spectrum, including Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Learning & Development, Performance, Engagement, Reward, Well-being and Employee Relations.
• Own the DACH HR budget and strategic workforce and people-cost planning.
• Translate strategic priorities into clear actions and measurable outcomes, combining strategic direction with strong execution and staying connected to what employees, leaders and the organisation need in practice.

BRING ALL OF YOU

You are high on energy, low on ego, and bring a healthy sense of humor. You are a strong team player who adapts naturally to changing situations and actively looks for opportunities to collaborate.

In addition:

• 10+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, including senior HR Business Partner, Head of HR or HR Director responsibility within a complex, multi-site environment.
• Experience within retail, hospitality or another fast-paced consumer environment, with a strong understanding of large-scale frontline organisations.
• A credible and confident Management Team sparring partner who can challenge constructively, bring a strong HR perspective and influence senior business decisions.
• Strong experience working constructively with works councils and employee representative bodies, particularly within the German context.
• Proven experience in organisational transformation, organisational design, workforce transformation, leadership effectiveness and culture change.
• A people-centred and culturally aware leader who combines commercial ambition with empathy, curiosity and genuine care for people.
• A natural culture carrier (Play to Win, Love to Care) who understands that how we achieve results is as important as the results themselves.
• Curious and forward-looking about AI, technology and the future of HR, with a genuine interest in turning innovation into practical value for employees, leaders and HR.
• Hands-on and action-oriented. You take ownership, make things happen and are comfortable moving between strategy and execution.
• Based in, or willing to permanently relocate to, Cologne, with flexibility to travel across the DACH region and occasionally connect with international HR colleagues and central functions in Amsterdam.
  

Why Join Us?

Because you want to build something that matters. Here, you’ll be surrounded by talented, fun, and driven colleagues who are not afraid to challenge the status quo. We move fast, think big, and always ask how we can do better, for our people and our customers.

We are deeply committed to helping our people grow and thrive. If you’re someone who brings inspiration, execution, and heart, you might just be the one we’re looking for.

INTERESTED?

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your CV, including your salary expectations and possible start date/notice period, via our career site.

Grow with us! The next steps are:

• Frederik van Zeggeren (Executive Recruiter) will contact you for a first introduction call. 
• 3 (on site) Interviews follow, including a business case
• In the event of a positive outcome, we are good to go!

Any questions about the procedure? Let Frederik know via frederik.vanzeggeren@rituals.com.

Work with heart & soul at Rituals as Director HR DACH