Head of Shared Services, China, Shanghai (CN)

Our client is a well-established multinational with significant global reach and a strong local footprint in China, where it employs more than 7,000 people. Built on a sustainable business model, the company is now making strategic investments to modernise and transform its HR function.

The Head of Shared Services reports jointly to the China HRVP and the Global Head of the Shared Service Centre, and is tasked with leading the end-to-end setup of the HR shared service centre in China. The role will align all processes with global HR ways of working and business priorities, structure workflows, and build the team from the ground up, transitioning existing regional generalists into the new centre while developing their functional capabilities to ensure a smooth and effective transformation.

We are looking for an individual who has deep experience in complex, large‑scale industries, a proven track record in HR shared services, and hands‑on knowledge of global HRIS systems such as Workday or SuccessFactors (familiarity with local systems is an advantage). This position will be responsible for driving payroll module implementation and, over time, owning the end‑to‑end employee life‑cycle.

This is a great opportunity to influence senior leaders and help shape business strategy. It requires a hands‑on approach, as the company has strong entrepreneurial roots and a culture that values ownership and action. The role offers excellent exposure to senior leadership populations and a solid chance to make a tangible impact at that level.

This role operates in an unstructured and complex environment with demanding stakeholders. The organisation is highly matrixed, requiring strong stakeholder management skills to navigate effectively. You will need to drive changes in a very sensitive manner, so solid maturity and proven change management experience are essential to succeed in this position.