Title

Head of Human Resources

Salary

Approximately ¥15M base salary, depending on experience, plus 20% target bonus.

Location

Tokyo, Japan

Primarily office-based, with 1 day per week working from home and flex-time available.

Employment type: To be confirmed

Target start: Q1 2027, to be confirmed

Reports To

President & CEO, Japan

The role also has a functional reporting relationship to the global HR organization in Europe and serves as a member of the local Executive Committee.

About the Company

Our client is the Japanese subsidiary of a globally recognized European premium automotive brand.

With approximately 90 employees in Japan, the organization combines the scale, standards and international reach of a global group with a lean local structure. The Japan business works closely with its European headquarters while adapting global priorities to the needs of the local market.

About the Role

This is the senior HR leadership position for Japan, with ownership of the full people and organization agenda.

Reporting directly to the President & CEO and participating in the Executive Committee, the Head of Human Resources will act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership while remaining closely involved in day-to-day HR execution.

The successful candidate will lead workforce strategy, organizational change, talent, compensation and benefits, employee relations, labor and compliance, development, global mobility and HR operations.

The role will also act as an important bridge between Japan and the company's European headquarters, translating global HR priorities and frameworks into practical, locally appropriate solutions.

The HR function operates with a lean structure consisting of the HR Head, an HR Specialist and temporary HR support, so this position requires someone equally comfortable discussing organization strategy with executive leadership and handling hands-on HR matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and lead the end-to-end HR agenda for the Japan organization.
• Act as a strategic people advisor to the President & CEO and Executive Committee.
• Develop and implement people strategies aligned with local business priorities and the organization's long-term global strategy.
• Lead workforce planning and organizational effectiveness initiatives, including appropriate workforce efficiency and cost-optimization measures.
• Strengthen succession planning, talent management, employee development, engagement and retention.
• Oversee compensation and benefits, employee relations, labor matters, HR compliance, global mobility and HR operations.
• Ensure HR practices are consistent with Japanese employment requirements while appropriately implementing global policies and frameworks.
• Partner closely with global and regional HR stakeholders, ensuring effective communication between Japan and European headquarters.
• Identify organizational and people risks and provide practical, commercially minded recommendations to leadership.
• Lead and support organizational transformation and change initiatives.
• Provide both strategic leadership and hands-on HRBP support within a lean local HR organization.
• Build trusted relationships across the business and foster an effective, high-performing organization.

Qualifications

Required

• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, with approximately 3–5+ years in a Head of HR, HR Director, senior HRBP or comparable leadership position.
• Broad HR generalist expertise spanning the employee lifecycle.
• Experience working within a multinational or foreign-affiliated organization.
• Strong understanding of Japanese employment practices, labor requirements and HR operations.
• Demonstrated ability to advise CEO and executive-level stakeholders on organization and people topics.
• Ability and willingness to combine strategic HR leadership with hands-on execution.
• Strong business judgment, integrity and executive-level communication skills.
• Ability to operate effectively within a lean organization and manage competing priorities.
• Native-level Japanese and business-level English, with the ability to communicate effectively with both local and international stakeholders.

Preferred

• Experience within a European-headquartered multinational organization.
• Experience adapting and implementing global HR frameworks within Japan.
• Experience in automotive, premium consumer/luxury, manufacturing or related industrial environments.
• Exposure to organizational transformation, restructuring, workforce optimization or cost-efficiency initiatives.
• German-language capability.

Why Join?

This is a rare opportunity to take full ownership of the HR agenda for the Japanese business of a high-profile global premium automotive organization.

The position offers direct access to the President & CEO, membership of the Executive Committee and significant visibility with global headquarters. Rather than operating within a large, highly segmented HR structure, you will have the opportunity to influence decisions across the entire people agenda, from workforce strategy and organizational transformation through to talent, employee relations and HR operations.

For an experienced HR leader who enjoys being strategic but genuinely hands-on, the role offers an unusual combination of executive influence, international exposure and end-to-end ownership.