Director of HR Shared Services

About Us

Challenge Manufacturing’s mission is to manufacture with operational excellence by empowering our employee-owners. As a leading tier 1 supplier of complex metal assemblies for the global automotive industry, we drive innovative solutions for future mobility. We believe the best ideas come from individual unique perspectives. These ideas combined with the teamwork of industry leaders allow us to accomplish any challenge. Our team members take pride in the work we do and embody our core values of safety, ownership, and teamwork every day; they are the true driving force in our operations.

Challenge is proud to be one of the largest employee-owned automotive companies in North America. One of the many benefits of joining the Challenge team is the ESOP program. This program allows Challenge to give shares of the Company to all employee-owners annually. These shares are an additional retirement benefit that will continue to grow during your time at Challenge. Being part of an ESOP means our employee-owners share in Challenge’s success!

About the Role

The Director of HR Shared Services should have a people-focused mentality with strong organizational skills and a positive outlook. This role will serve as a strategic leader in all aspects of total rewards, including the acquisition, development, and internal mobility of employees. They will drive initiatives related to recruiting, onboarding, performance management, and promotion strategies that align with organizational goals. In addition, this role will oversee the administration and optimization of the HRIS system, ensuring data integrity, user experience, and the effective use of HR technology in decision-making. The ideal candidate will bring passion and positivity with a solution-focused mindset and thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly growing environment with a strong ability to work independently on a broad variety of projects.

Responsibilities

• Direct the employee acquisition process to ensure Challenge seeks out and acquires the best candidates with the most efficient process in the fastest possible way, including managing the application, interviewing, and new hire on-boarding processes.
• Direct and monitor the HRIS system to ensure all data is correct, benchmarking and monitoring HR metrics, organizational charts, on-boarding of employees, turnover, and other key data points.
• Coordinate with HR Leaders to ensure all benefits and payroll data points are accurate, and implement processes to ensure employees have the best possible experiences with all matters related to Human Resources.
• Plan, implement, and monitor all annual employee evaluation processes, interacting with HR disciplines to develop and direct employees toward personal and company goals.
• Craft policies that support internal promotion and monitor those policies.
• Develop an organizational development plan for the company, including skills gap analysis, organizational development, and DEI goals and plans.
• Manage a core competencies framework to ensure employee skills align with organizational goals, partnering with departments to define and assess role-specific competencies.
• Lead workforce planning by forecasting future staffing needs and aligning hiring and development strategies to meet business goals.
• Oversee succession planning to ensure strong internal pipelines for key roles and support long-term leadership development across teams.
• Implement engagement feedback processes such as surveys, stay and exit interviews, and 30/60/90-day check-ins to improve retention and employee experience.
• Design and manage a mentorship program to support employee development and career growth through structured guidance and support.
• Use HR data and reporting to identify trends, reduce costs, and improve processes that support overall HR effectiveness.
• Conduct compensation analysis to ensure roles are competitively benchmarked and structured to attract and retain top talent.

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years’ management or HR experience required.
• Degree in Human Resources or related field preferred.
• Technical or automotive background is a strong plus.
• Passion for customer and company success.
• Positive team player who thrives in a hands-on environment.
• Self-motivated and solution-focused.
• Takes responsibility for actions, results, and mistakes.
• Demonstrates honesty and integrity in all aspects of work.
• Strong conflict resolution skills.
• High standards of performance for self.
• 25% overnight travel required.

Location & Schedule

This position is located at our Corporate Office in Walker, MI. Occasionally, this may require you to arrive early, stay late, or work on weekends, outside of our regular hours, to ensure we successfully meet customer needs, deadlines, or urgent requests.

Benefits

One of the many benefits of joining the Challenge team is the ESOP program. This program allows Challenge to give shares of the Company to all employee-owners annually. These shares are an additional retirement benefit that will continue to grow during your time at Challenge.