Director Global Facilities and Real Estate Strategy

Position Title: Director of Global Work Place and Real Estate Strategy

Location: Europe, location open

Reports to: VP of HR, Corporate Functions

ABOUT THE WELLA COMPANY

Together, WE enable individuals to look, feel, and be their true selves.

Wella Company is one of the world’s leading beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands such as Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin and ghd. With 6,000 employees globally, presence in over 100 countries, Wella Company and its brands enable consumers to look, feel, and be their true selves. As innovators in the hair and nail industry, Wella Company empowers its people to delight consumers, inspire beauty professionals, engage communities, and deliver sustainable growth to its stakeholders.

For additional information about the Wella Company please visit www.wellacompany.com.

THE ROLE & OPPORTUNITY:

The Director of Global Work Place and Real Estate Strategy is a senior strategic leader responsible for shaping and executing the company’s global work place strategy. This role will partner with the business and Procurement teams to assess and evolve our location footprint to align with strategic business priorities, while bringing to life our commitment to an exceptional employee culture and experience.

The ideal candidate will drive the culture we continue to build through our working spaces.  S/he will do this while balancing cost optimization with a vision for functional, inclusive, and inspiring spaces that reflect our culture and values.

This role will lead strategic selection and planning for work locations worldwide (offices, R&D sites, studios), drive high-impact real estate projects, and oversee the development of workplace design standards that support collaboration, innovation, and speed. Acting as a global thought partner across HR, Finance, Procurement, and Operations, this leader ensures our facilities contribute to employee engagement, operational efficiency, and long-term enterprise value.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Global Work Place Strategy: Lead the ongoing assessment of the company’s global work place strategy, making recommendations on where to consolidate, grow, or transform based on business needs, talent hubs, and cost-effectiveness.  Partner with and thoughtfully leverage Procurement for all Real Estate and negotiation matters. 

• Workplace Experience Design: Define global workplace design guidelines that foster productivity, inclusion, and innovation. Ensure work spaces (offices, studios & R&D spaces) are visually appealing, environmentally responsible, and aligned with our values.

• Work Place Evolution Project Leadership: Oversee strategic projects from concept to delivery from a people and culture lens. Collaborate with local teams, architects, and internal and external partners to ensure spaces are functional, brand-aligned, and completed on time and budget.

• Employee-Centric Environments: Partner with HR and local leaders to design functional spaces, support team collaboration, and employee well-being. Conduct user research and post-occupancy evaluations to ensure continuous improvement.

• Facilities & Services Oversight: Work closely with Facilities and Procurement teams to oversee vendor selection, contract management, and operational excellence in areas such as catering, security and reception.

• Budget & KPI Management: Define annual budgets and project-specific investments. Set performance indicators for real estate efficiency, utilization, cost per seat, and satisfaction.  Keep both CapEx and OpEx top of mind.   

• Sustainability & Compliance: Ensure all workplace initiatives meet local building codes, safety standards, and environmental goals. Drive energy efficiency and green building certifications where applicable.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Strategic advisor to senior leadership and connector across global HR, Finance, IT, Legal, Procurement and regional business units to align work place decisions with business strategy.  Draft,own and update policies as needed.

• Champion site activation and cultural engagement by partnering with and leveraging the right resources for driving consistent, locally adapted moments of celebration and on-site events that bring the Wella culture to life—enhancing talent retention and attraction across global locations.

• Innovation & Trends: Monitor global trends in architecture, hybrid work, and workplace tech. Introduce innovative ideas that enhance employee experience and drive future-forward workplace planning.
• Travel as needed, 25-30% of the time

REQUIRED SKILLS:

• 12-15+ years of experience in work place management and site(s) leadership, preferably in a large, global organization.
• Proven success managing multi-country real estate portfolios and leading complex workplace transformation projects.
• Strong understanding of architectural and workplace design trends, technical building constraints, and sustainable building practices.
• Experience developing work place strategies and translating them into actionable plans and budgets.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to oversee multiple high-impact initiatives simultaneously.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen; able to build business cases and measure ROI for facility investments.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across geographies and functions.
• Fluent in English; additional languages (e.g., German, Spanish, French) a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree in Architecture, Engineering, Facilities Management, or related field; Master’s or MBA preferred.
• Experience working with procurement teams on RFPs and vendor performance.