Associate Director, P&O Operations

Associate Director People Operations – U.S.

Does it excite you to deliver a smooth, compliant, and well-documented People Operations experience for U.S. employees, and do you have experience working in a start-up biotech environment? If this sounds like you, and you are ready to take on a broad area of responsibilities, then you could be our new colleague.

The role supports the operational People foundation that employees and leaders rely on every day. It ensures consistent, compliant, and well-documented People Operations support for the U.S. entity, aligned with global standards led from Denmark and the U.S. This is an execution-focused role responsible for professional support across the full employee lifecycle, including accurate administration and strong system data quality. The role acts as a key operational link between U.S. employees, People leaders, external vendors (Workday, Tri Net), and People Operations in Denmark.

• Support end-to-end U.S. employee lifecycle administration (Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, changes, Offboarding) in close collaboration with Tri Net and People Operations in Denmark.
• Ensure employment-related documentation is complete, accurate, and properly stored in line with internal standards and requirements.
• Maintain and validate employee master data in Workday and Tri Net, identifying and resolving inconsistencies in coordination with People Operations.
• Support U.S. payroll, benefits, and compliance administration (execution only), including I‑9 coordination and document retention; guide employees to the correct Tri Net resources and escalating as needed.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, documentation, and standardization of People Operations workflows, including opportunities for automation and use of AI-enabled tools.
• Design and implement U.S.
  
  -specific People Operations policies, programs, and practices that reflect local regulatory requirements while remaining aligned with global Zealand Pharma principles.
• Partner with Denmark-based People Operations colleagues to localize global people programs (performance management, compensation cycles, learning and development) for the U.S. context.
• Support headcount planning and workforce analytics in collaboration with Finance and Talent Acquisition to enable informed build decisions.
• Provide guidance and coaching to U.S./D.K. people managers on employee relations matters, performance issues, and organizational change.
• Support the team with end-to-end Talent Acquisition and related administrative work.

• 5-7 years of experience in People Operations, HR administration, or HR coordination.
• Hands‑on experience with Tri Net and/or Workday (experience with AI-enabled tools is a plus).
• Design and implement U.S.
  
  -specific People Operations policies, programs, and practices that reflect local regulatory requirements.
• Drive employee onboarding, engagement, and retention initiatives that support a high‑performance, inclusive culture in the U.S. office.
• Partner with Denmark-based People Operations colleagues to localize global people programs.
• Manage U.S. People Operations including benefits administration, leave programs, payroll coordination, and compliance with federal and state employment regulations.
• Provide guidance and coaching to U.S./D.K. people managers on employee relations matters, performance issues, and organizational change.
• Support headcount planning and workforce analytics in collaboration with Finance and Talent Acquisition.
• Act as a cultural ambassador, helping to bridge between Denmark and U.S. offices through thoughtful communication, shared practices, and relationship-building across geographies.
• Support the team with end‑to‑end Talent Acquisition.
• High attention to detail and strong organizational skills; able to manage multiple parallel requests reliably.
• Clear and professional written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Experience working in a global life sciences/biotech environment is desirable.
• Working as part of an international team, reporting to a leader located in Denmark.

You will join the People & Organization function and work closely with People Operations colleagues in Denmark and key U.S. stakeholders. The team supports leaders and colleagues across the employee lifecycle and plays a key role in enabling smooth day-to-day operations through clear processes, high-quality data, and reliable documentation. In addition to ongoing administration and support, the team contributes to projects and continuous improvements, often driven by the many great questions and needs coming from colleagues across the organization.

• Expected salary range: USD 137,000‑168,000.

We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process and welcome applications from all job applicants.