HR Director

Location

Tokyo, Japan

Reports To

Country General Manager

About the Company

Our client is a globally recognized premium consumer brand with a strong international heritage and a reputation for quality, innovation, and exceptional customer experience. Operating within the luxury and lifestyle sector, the business continues to invest in growth, talent, and brand development across key international markets.

The Japan business is well established and plays an important role within the broader organization, supported by a highly engaged workforce and a strong retail and commercial presence.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced HR Director to lead the full people agenda for the Japan business. This position will serve as a key member of the local leadership team, partnering closely with senior business leaders to drive organizational effectiveness, talent strategy, employee engagement, and business performance.

The successful candidate will combine strategic HR leadership with strong operational execution, acting as a trusted advisor to management while leading a small HR team and supporting a workforce of approximately 200 employees.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the people strategy of a premium, customer centric business while working within a dynamic international environment.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic HR Business Partnering

• Partner with the Country General Manager and leadership team to align people strategy with business objectives

• Provide guidance on workforce planning, organizational design, succession planning, and leadership development

• Support organizational change initiatives and business transformation projects

• Act as a trusted advisor on talent, culture, and employee matters

Talent Management & Development

• Lead talent review and succession planning processes

• Drive performance management and employee development initiatives

• Support leadership hiring and talent acquisition strategies

• Identify and develop high potential employees

• Promote internal mobility and career development opportunities

Employee Engagement & Culture

• Foster a positive, inclusive, and high performance culture

• Lead employee engagement initiatives and action planning

• Support leadership capability development

• Drive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives

• Enhance the overall employee experience

HR Operations & Compliance

• Oversee employee relations and ensure compliance with local labor laws

• Provide guidance on compensation and benefits matters

• Drive continuous improvement of HR policies, programs, and processes

• Ensure effective HR governance and risk management

Regional & Global Collaboration

• Partner with regional and global HR stakeholders

• Support the implementation of global HR programs and initiatives

• Ensure local practices align with broader organizational standards and objectives

Qualifications

Required

• Significant HR leadership experience within luxury, retail, consumer goods, hospitality, lifestyle, fashion, beauty, or other customer focused industries

• Broad HR generalist experience covering business partnering, talent management, employee relations, organizational development, and HR operations

• Experience leading and developing HR teams

• Strong stakeholder management and influencing capabilities

• Experience partnering directly with senior leadership teams

• Strong understanding of Japanese employment practices and labor regulations

• Native level Japanese and business level English

Preferred

• Experience within international or matrix organizations

• Experience supporting retail, commercial, or multi site employee populations

• Exposure to organizational transformation and change management initiatives

• Experience working in a fast paced, growth oriented environment

Why Join?

• Strategic HR leadership role with direct access to senior business leadership

• Opportunity to influence culture, talent, and organizational direction

• Broad ownership across all areas of HR

• Exposure to an international and highly collaborative environment

• Well established brand with strong market positioning and continued growth ambitions

• Competitive compensation and performance based bonus structure

• Long term career development opportunities within a global organization