Head of HR M&A

Switzerland, Basel

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across five continents.

While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of.

At Lonza, we are looking for a Head of HR M&A to lead the HR agenda across our global portfolio of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructurings, and other strategic corporate transactions. This highly visible leadership role will own the end-to-end people agenda, from early-stage exploration and due diligence through transaction execution, integration or separation, and post-close stabilization.

Working closely with Corporate M&A, Finance, Legal, IT, business leadership, and the broader HR organization, you will shape the people strategy for complex transactions, lead cross-functional HR deal teams, and ensure successful execution against the overall deal strategy. You will act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, bringing deep HR M&A expertise to identify and mitigate people risks, accelerate decision‑making, and enable successful value creation.

• Own the global HR M&A portfolio, setting strategy, priorities, governance, resources, and accountability across multiple concurrent transactions and strategic corporate programs
• Lead and develop the HR M&A team, ensuring effective execution across acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, restructurings, and other complex transactions
• Act as the senior HR deal lead for key transactions, from early-stage exploration and due diligence through close, integration or separation, and post-close stabilization
• Provide strategic HR expertise on deal strategy, people risks, workforce implications, organizational design, employee experience, and value creation opportunities
• Lead and coordinate cross-functional HR work streams spanning Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, HR Services, Digital HR, HR systems, payroll, benefits, talent, and employee communications
• Partner with senior stakeholders across Corporate M&A, Strategy, Finance, Legal, IT, business leadership, and HR to drive alignment, resolve complex issues, and enable timely decisions
• Oversee HR integration and separation activities, including workforce transitions, business continuity, HR services, systems, employee experience, and delivery against transaction objectives
• Lead or oversee HR-related negotiations, Transition Service Agreements (TSAs), cost modelling, external advisors, and relevant transaction documentation
• Own portfolio‑level risks, dependencies, budgets, resources, timelines, and escalations while ensuring compliance with employment law, regulatory, works council, union, and consultation requirements
• Provide clear recommendations and executive‑level reporting to senior leadership and steering committees, ensuring HR delivery supports successful transaction execution, performance, and value realization

• 15+ years of progressive HR experience, with significant depth in HR M&A, ideally gained through consulting, project-driven environments, and/or an in-house M&A function within a multinational organization
• Proven experience leading HR work streams across complex acquisitions, divestitures, integrations, separations, restructurings, or other strategic corporate transactions
• Broad expertise across HR M&A, Total Rewards, HR Operations, HR systems, workforce transitions, and complex cross‑functional programme delivery
• Strong understanding of the full M&A lifecycle, including due…