Job Description

At UL, we know why we come to work.

Thousands of us around the world wake up every day with a common purpose: to make the world a safer, more secure and sustainable place. Science is in our DNA; we are endlessly curious and passionate about seeking and speaking the truth. We take delight in knowing that our work makes a meaningful contribution to society, and we are proud that our culture is centered on integrity, collaboration, inclusion and excellence. UL stands at the forefront of technological advancement, and we are continually challenged to find new ways to foster innovation and positive change. Satisfying? Yes. Exciting? Absolutely!

What you'll learn & achieve:

A Hybrid Working Model

UL Solutions has embraced a hybrid working model which allows eligible roles to split their time between the office and other locations, providing our teams with more flexibility to their working week. The expectation is that working life at UL Solutions will involve working from the office 2-3 days per week minimum.



Reporting to the VP HR Global Services & Solutions, based in Northbrook, Illinois USA, the HR Director Asia-Pacific, Middle-East, and Africa will partner with the region's leadership to deliver a regional people strategy that aligns with current and future business objectives and supports the global people strategy and HR initiatives.

This role plays a critical role in the ambition to make UL Solutions an employer of choice for top talent across APAC/MEA and will work closely with both HR and business leads to improve the overall employee experience through building great interactions with our people. The role is a key player on the Global Services & Solutions HR Leadership Team and provides leadership and direction to the regional HR team and the business on company HR policies and practices, including recruitment, workforce planning, performance management, succession planning/leadership development, compensation and benefits, employee relations, training, and legal compliance as well as ensures the successful implementation and execution of HR programs throughout the region.

The APAC/MEA region consists of approximately 6,200 employees across 22 countries (17 in Europe, 3 in Middle East, and 2 in Africa) and the HR Director leads an HR team of approximately 30 (8 are direct reports), based in China, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore. The role closely partners with peer HR Directors in the Americas and Europe regions as well as Capability Center Heads for Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, Talent & Development, Safety & Security as well as our HR Business Advisory team.

Job Responsibilities

• Develops and implements HR strategies for APAC-MEA by attracting, retaining and engaging the best HR talent in the market, informed by the overall HR strategy.
• Manages and leads and efficient, engaged and high-performing HR Operations team across the region, always with the Employee Experience in mind. Leads and implements projects/initiatives as required to deliver on requirements and strives for world-class employee engagement in order to support business success throughout the region and enterprise.
• Provides regional insight for the global HR team and ensures APAC-MEA has a voice when global systems, processes and initiatives are being designed centrally for regional/local implementation. Ensures these are viable options and executes and influences their early and successful adoption. Champions change programs and facilitates change implementation across the region.
• Develops and delivers an annual people roadmap that supports the delivery of overall business and HR strategic objectives across the hire to retire employee lifecycle and associated process, all within budget.
• Partners with the line management and business leaders and HR Business Advisory, as required, to drive employee engagement and retention strategies across APAC-MEA in order to drive business success throughout the region.
• Provides recommendations and counsel to local and regional business heads and other key regional stakeholders for special projects and initiatives as determined by the business leaders, as well as HR programs, procedures and initiatives designed by the HR Capability Centers.
• Oversees leadership coaching, counsel, and other middle-management/leadership services by the regional HR team. Ensures, with the help of the business and HR team, that development plans are in place and activated for high performers/potentials with a focus on Managerial level talent.
• Leads Employee/Labor Relations, and HR Compliance regionally, including disciplinary actions, terminations, redundancies/reductions-in-force, union/works council negotiations, government required reporting, employee handbooks, etc. in line with local labor laws and global HR processes. Partners with Ethics & Compliance (E&C) to assist with E&C investigations and applicable disciplinary actions within the region. Liaises with internal legal counsel on compliance issues and acts as a connection point between UL Solutions headquarters and the region.
• Maintains knowledge and understanding of HR regulations, industry trends and local practices across the region and ensures compliance with internal policies as well as related laws, regulations and official guidance.
• Partners with the Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition and Talent Management & Learning capability centers as well as the HR Employee Solutions Centers to execute strategy and ensure global processes and practices are being adopted throughout the region and that data is informing decisions and approaches.
• Partners with DE&I to drive regional/local DE&I strategy and adoption. Helps implement regional/local DE&I programs, processes, etc. to enhance the value of people brining their whole selves to work.
• Supports the business and HR Business Advisory team, with the help of the HR Field Business Partnering team on the ground locally, with M&A due-diligences, integrations and change management as required to ensure a smooth transition and successful cultural integration of any new entities.
• Leads, coaches and develops regional HR team to ensure high engagement and peak performance.
• Performs other duties as directed.

What makes you a great fit:

University Degree in Human Resources Administration, Business Administration or a related discipline, plus generally fifteen years of professional level Human Resources experience with several years' experience in a senior HR leadership role and experience managing HR professionals across borders and cultures. Master's degree preferred but not required.

• Commercially astute and experienced business partner and generalist who demonstrates driving change through to results and has the ability to quickly build effective and high trust relationships while being culturally sensitive and understanding that all things are not equal.
• Resilient and able to navigate a complex matrix operating structure and a very fluid environment.
• Strong leadership skills and experience inspiring, leading, motivating and growing individual contributors and teams from strategy through to operational execution.
• Demonstrated experience building and scaling teams and planning strategically 3+ years out as well as formalize tangible action plans to operationalize strategy.
• Experience influencing at all levels of organization, including building high engagement through effective collaboration with key stakeholders and implementing regional and/or company-wide changes.
• Excellent creative thinking, problem solving and analytical skills with the ability to use and interpret data to solve operational and strategic issues.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to communicate both verbally and in writing to all levels of the organization as required.
• Excellent presentation and consultative customer service skills with an ability to influence and manage key relationships at all levels within the organization. Provides creative solutions with demonstrated effectiveness at both the strategic and tactical levels.
• Awareness of best practices in the market as well as legislative and regulatory changes to support and influence the business and HR agenda.
• Demonstrated experience leading regional and/or global projects end-to-end with multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to travel as required.

What you'll experience working at UL:

• Mission: For UL, corporate and social responsibility isn't new. Making the world a safer, more secure and sustainable place has been our business model for the last 128 years and is deeply engrained in everything we do.

• People: Ask any UL employee what they love most about working here, and you'll almost always hear, "the people." Going beyond what is possible is the standard at UL. We're able to deliver the best because we employ the best.

• Interesting work: Every day is different for us here as we eagerly anticipate the next innovation that our customers create. We're inspired to take on the challenge that will transform how people live, work and play. And as a global company, in many roles, you will get international experience working with colleagues around the world

• Grow & Achieve: We learn, work and grow together with targeted development, reward and recognition programs as well as our very own UL University that offers extensive training programs for employees at all stages, including a technical training track for applicable roles.

• Total Rewards: All employees at UL are eligible for bonus compensation and benefits commensurate with the standard rewards offered in each individual location or country, for the relevant position level. We also provide employees with paid time off including vacation, holiday and sick time off.

Learn More:

Working at UL is an exciting journey that twists and turns daily. We thrive in the twists and revel in the turns. This is our every day. This is our normal.

Curious? To learn more about us and the work we do,