European HR Business Partner (m/w/d/kA)
KOSTAL Group is a global, family-owned German company that develops market-leading solutions for the solar and automotive industries. The company was established in 1912 and employs about 20 000 people at 47 locations in 22 countries.
Description
KOSTAL Group is seeking a highly experienced and strategically minded European HR Business Partner to coordinate HR efforts across our European Automotive operations. This is a high-impact regional role designed for a senior HR professional with strong business-partnering experience, deep industrial knowledge, and the capability to operate across diverse cultures and geographies.
The position plays a central role in aligning HR activities across nine countries, supporting senior leadership with data-driven insights, and establishing efficient, scalable processes from the ground up. It offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of HR within KOSTAL Automotive and is intended as a successor track for a future HR Director role. You can work from any locations within EU.
Key Responsibilities
- Strategic HR Coordination as the central HR coordination point across nine countries (Spain, Ireland, Poland, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Morocco).
- Serve as a strategic business partner to local Managing Directors and Group leadership.
- Provide dotted-line guidance to local HR Directors, promoting cross-country alignment and collaboration.
Executive Support & Decision Enablement
- Deliver Europe+ HR insights, reporting, and workforce analytics to support executive and board-level decision-making.
- Create transparency in regional HR operations by developing dashboards, summaries, and reports for senior stakeholders.
- Support strategic workforce planning, restructuring efforts, and organizational development initiatives.
Process Development & Standardization
- Review, build and implement Europe-wide HR processes, ensuring consistency and scalability across the region.
- Drive efficiency in decentralized HR operations by identifying best practices and process optimization opportunities.
- Establish documentation, frameworks, and structures in areas lacking formalization.
Talent Development & Organizational Design
- Lead recurring and systematic processes like skills planning, succession management, and leadership development.
- Support HR capability building through knowledge sharing and peer alignment across HR teams in Europe.
- Facilitate regional workshops and internal HR events, ensuring content and logistics align with strategic objectives.
Cultural and Regional Engagement
- Foster collaboration across culturally diverse HR teams, with emphasis on Central and Eastern Europe.
- Provide support and guidance to senior stakeholders on region-specific HR considerations, labor practices, and union topics.
- Promote shared understanding between headquarters and regional leadership through structured coordination and personal engagement.
Qualifications
- Experience Minimum 5 years of senior HR experience in international manufacturing or automotive environments.
- Proven background in coordinating multi-country HR functions, preferably in a matrixed organization.
- Experience working at or with production plant sites is required; SSC-only profiles will not be considered.
- Familiarity with dotted-line leadership, stakeholder influence, and transformation/change programs.
- Demonstrated success in Greenfield-HR process design or restructuring initiatives.
Skills & Attributes
- Strategic and structured thinking with a hands-on, solutions-oriented approach.
- High resilience, agility, and confidence operating at board level.
- Excellent interpersonal, influencing, and cross-cultural communication skills.
- Capable of building trust and navigating complexity across multiple stakeholders and geographies.
Language & Travel Requirements
- Fluent English is mandatory
- Proficiency in German is preferred.
- Additional languages (especially Slavic or CEE languages) are a plus.
- Willingness and availability to travel across Europe up to 60–70% of the time.
Location Requirements
- Candidates must be based in Europe with unrestricted EU work and travel rights.
- Proximity to a major international airport is essential for travel feasibility.
Benefits
- A strategic, visible role supporting the transformation of KOSTAL Automotive’s European HR landscape.
- Direct influence on key decisions at senior leadership and board level.
- Flexibility to operate remotely while being deeply embedded in international operations.
- A values-driven organization committed to innovation, collaboration, and operational excellence.