Manager, HR Compliance & Operational Excellence

**At Bayer we’re visionaries, driven to solve the world’s toughest challenges and striving for a world where 'Health for all Hunger for none’ is no longer a dream, but a real possibility. We’re doing it with energy, curiosity and sheer dedication, always learning from unique perspectives of those around us, expanding our thinking, growing our capabilities and redefining ‘impossible’. There are so many reasons to join us. If you’re hungry to build a varied and meaningful career in a community of brilliant and diverse minds to make a real difference, there’s only one choice.** **Manager, HR Compliance & Operational Excellence** **YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES** The primary responsibilities of this role, Manager, HR Compliance & Operational Excellence are to: The Manager, HR Compliance & Operational Excellence will provide strategic oversight of HR compliance governance across North America HR Foundations. The role strengthens Bayer's License to Operate by improving governance, reducing risk, simplifying processes, and modernizing how compliance work is delivered across Payroll, Benefits, HR Operations, Legal, Finance, Tax, and external partner interfaces. This leader will help shift the organization from manually intensive, person-dependent compliance execution toward clearer ownership, better process design, stronger documentation, increased automation, and responsible use of AI-enabled tools. The successful candidate will be comfortable operating across ambiguity, influencing stakeholders without direct authority, and translating complex compliance requirements into practical, scalable operating models. ## Compliance Governance & Risk Management - Provide strategic oversight of HR compliance activities across North America HR Foundations. - Maintain end-to-end visibility across critical compliance obligations, controls, audits, regulatory touchpoints, and emerging risks. - Establish governance frameworks that clarify accountability and ownership across HR, Payroll, Benefits, Legal, Finance, Tax, and related functions. - Assess and strengthen preventive and detective controls to support compliance with applicable federal, state, provincial, and local requirements. - Serve as a trusted advisor during internal and external audits and help establish consistent audit response frameworks. - Identify control gaps, process fragmentation, ownership ambiguity, and single points of failure; drive sustainable remediation plans. ## ## Operational Excellence & Process Transformation - Lead continuous improvement initiatives that improve quality, reduce risk, eliminate waste, and simplify employee and HR partner experiences. - Apply Lean, process improvement, design thinking, and operational excellence methodologies to modernize compliance-related processes. - Redesign workflows to reduce complexity, minimize handoffs, and eliminate unnecessary manual activity. - Build scalable operating models that reduce key-person dependency and improve organizational resilience. - Strengthen documentation standards, knowledge management practices, and cross-training expectations across critical compliance processes. - Partner with functional owners to transition selected operational activities into Payroll and Benefits where ownership more naturally aligns. ## ## Automation, Digitization & AI Enablement - Champion the use of automation, workflow technology, analytics, and artificial intelligence to improve compliance outcomes and reduce manual effort. - Identify opportunities to replace manual checks with system-enabled prevention, intelligent monitoring, and exception-based controls. - Partner with HR Technology, Workday, Payroll, Benefits, Digital, and Operational Excellence teams to design scalable technology-enabled solutions. - Apply emerging AI capabilities to improve process documentation, knowledge management, risk identification, employee support, and operational decision support. - Promote responsible experimentation with AI and automation w…