HR Governance and Operational Excellence Lead

Company Description
Coated Products North America (CPNA) is part of the BlueScope group of companies located in 12 countries and employs over 14,000 employees. As a leading international supplier of steel products and solutions, principally focused on the global building and construction industry, we believe that our people are our strength. Having a diverse and inclusive workplace enables us to improve our capability and ensure continued, sustainable success.

HR Governance and Operational Excellence Lead

Work Location: Hybrid from Sacramento Office

Reporting: reports to VP People, NS BlueScope Coated Products North America | Individual contributor

Position Summary

The HR Governance and Operational Excellence Lead serves as the operational partner to the Vice President, People, driving the effectiveness, compliance, governance, and continuous improvement of HR operations across BlueScope's West Coast manufacturing network.

This role is responsible for identifying, analyzing, and resolving systemic HR issues that impact employee experience, leader confidence, regulatory compliance, and organizational effectiveness. Acting as the owner of the HR operational improvement portfolio, the incumbent will lead root cause analysis, governance frameworks, audit remediation, workforce analytics, and cross-functional problem solving across HR Business Partners, Shared Services, Centers of Excellence (COEs), and business leaders.

The HR Governance and Operational Excellence Lead ensures that HR processes are disciplined, scalable, compliant, and capable of supporting the organization's evolving workforce and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

HR Governance & Operational Excellence

• Own the HR issue, risk, compliance, and operational improvement portfolio across the West Coast business.
• Identify recurring process failures, service delivery issues, policy inconsistencies, and compliance gaps impacting the organization.
• Conduct structured root cause analysis and develop sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, consistency, quality, and employee experience.
• Establish governance structures, process ownership, accountability frameworks, and escalation mechanisms across key HR processes.
• Facilitate operational reviews to monitor progress, identify emerging risks, and drive accountability for resolution.

Compliance, Audit & Risk Management

• Lead HR compliance oversight activities and support adherence to federal, state, local, and company requirements.
• Coordinate HR audits, investigations, assessments, and remediation efforts.
• Track audit findings, compliance obligations, corrective actions, and closure plans.
• Develop controls and monitoring processes that reduce business risk and improve operational discipline.
• Partner with Legal, Shared Services, and business leaders to mitigate HR-related operational and compliance risks.

Workforce Analytics & Reporting

• Develop and maintain HR dashboards, scorecards, and operational performance metrics.
• Analyze workforce trends and operational data to identify risks, improvement opportunities, and emerging issues.
• Deliver actionable insights that inform leadership decision-making and workforce planning.
• Monitor service delivery effectiveness and provide visibility into process performance, issue resolution, and compliance outcomes.
• Establish meaningful leading and lagging indicators to evaluate HR operational health.

Cross-Functional Problem Solving

• Serve as the central coordinator for complex HR issues requiring collaboration across multiple stakeholders.
• Facilitate problem-solving efforts involving HR Business Partners, Shared Services, Centers of Excellence, Legal, Payroll, Operations, and business leadership.
• Drive alignment and accountability among stakeholders responsible for process execution and issue resolution.
• Ensure systemic issues are addressed through sustainable solutions rather than temporary workarounds.

Strategic Partnership

• Act as a trusted advisor to the VP People on HR operational effectiveness, governance, workforce insights, and organizational priorities.
• Support strategic initiatives by providing operational leadership, project management, risk assessment, and data-driven recommendations.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen HR capabilities, improve service delivery, and increase organizational readiness for change.
• Contribute to the development of an HR function that is recognized for operational excellence, accountability, and business impact.

Key Performance Outcomes

Success in this role will be measured through:

• Reduction in recurring HR process failures and employee or leader escalations.
• Timely identification and mitigation of HR operational and compliance risks.
• Successful closure of audit findings and remediation actions.
• Improved service delivery effectiveness and leader satisfaction with HR support.
• Increased accountability and visibility across HR processes and workflows.
• Enhanced quality, reliability, and accessibility of workforce analytics and reporting.
• Implementation of sustainable process improvements that reduce administrative burden and business risk.

Qualifications

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, Industrial Relations, or a related field.
• 7+ years of progressive HR, HR operations, compliance, shared services, workforce analytics, or continuous improvement experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional projects and solving complex operational challenges.
• Experience conducting root cause analysis, managing corrective action plans, and implementing process improvements.
• Strong understanding of California employment laws, HR compliance requirements, and risk management practices.
• Experience developing executive-level reporting, dashboards, and workforce analytics.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, or multi-site operations environments.
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, process improvement, or operational excellence methodologies.
• HR certification such as SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, SPHR, or comparable credential.
• Experience working within matrixed organizations involving Shared Services and Centers of Excellence.

Knowledge, Skills & Competencies

• Strategic and systems thinking.
• Strong business acumen and operational mindset.
• Root cause analysis and problem-solving expertise.
• Process improvement and change management capabilities.
• Data analysis and workforce analytics proficiency.
• Risk assessment and compliance oversight.
• Project and portfolio management.
• Executive communication and influence.
• Ability to drive accountability across stakeholders without direct authority.
• Strong influence, facilitation, collaboration, and relationship-building skills.
• High degree of judgment, integrity, and discretion.

Market Range: $115K – 135K on an annual basis

Additional Information
The preceding job responsibilities and tasks were designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by associates in this job. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all job duties and responsibilities required of associates assigned to this job. Associates may be required to perform other duties as assigned. Additional job competencies, individual goals, and performance measurements are set at the department level.

The benefits are just as rewarding as the work at BlueScope. To support our goal, we offer a total compensation plan and an outstanding benefits package that includes health insurance, life insurance, short and long-term disability, paid time off, and retirement.

EEO Employer/M/F/Disabled/Protected Veteran

BlueScope is an equal
opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status, as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

About Us

We are a global leader in metal coating and painting products for building and construction industries, providing vital components for houses, buildings, structures, vehicles and more.

We have built a solid foundation for growth with a diverse portfolio of businesses in some of the largest and fastest growing economies of the world. We are headquartered in Australia, with our people and operations spread across North America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and throughout Asia.