VP Strategic HR Business Partner - CSO (all genders)

The VP Strategic HR Business Partner (SHRBP) for the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) is a strategic leadership role responsible for aligning people strategy with Evotec’s overarching goals, particularly in the realms of AI, innovation, Therapeutic Area expertise and scientific excellence. Reporting to the Head of HR Business Partners, this position serves as a trusted advisor to the CSO and their global leadership team, driving initiatives that enable Evotec’s success in cutting-edge, high-performance environments.

The GHRBP works closely with senior leaders to shape and define the company’s AI and innovation strategy from a people perspective, ensuring that talent, organizational structures, and culture enable the company’s scientific and technological ambitions. This role partners with HR Centers of Expertise (CoEs) and local HRBP Communities teams to implement integrated, data-driven HR solutions that foster business agility, drive transformation, and enhance Evotec’s position as a leader in partnership with the life sciences, AI, and biotech sectors.

Key Deliverables and Accountabilities 

Strategic Partnership & Advisory

• Act as a strategic partner to the CSO, advising on all elements of the HR value chain, including organizational design, talent acquisition, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Partner with the CSO and other business leaders to help define and develop the organizational capabilities and talent needs to support the CSO function
• Lead the alignment and execution of the Global Evotec People Strategy with the company’s scientific vision, ensuring that the people strategy is a catalyst for growth, innovation, and competitive advantage.
• Talent Strategy and People Solutions Partner with senior leadership to define and implement a forward-looking talent strategy that enables Evotec’s AI and innovation ambitions.
• Provide strategic insight into the design and development of the company’s innovation culture, ensuring the people agenda is fully aligned with fostering creativity, agility, and a future-ready workforce.
• Collaborate closely with leadership to create organizational structures that support Evotec’s transformation ambitions.
• Advise CSO and Leadership Team on all people-related matters.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary HR interface with the CoE leaders in Total Rewards, Workforce Solutions, Talent Management, and HR Operations, ensuring seamless alignment between the people strategy and business objectives
• Build and nurture relationships with executive leadership, local HR teams, and functional leaders to ensure the consistent implementation of strategic HR initiatives across geographies.
• Serve as a key partner in driving collaboration between HR and technology leaders, helping to foster a culture of innovation and high performance across the organization.

Organizational Effectiveness & Transformation

• Lead efforts to define and address organizational capability gaps that hinder business and innovation performance.
• Design and implement change management initiatives that enable organizational agility
• Foster a growth mindset culture that is inclusive, agile, and results-driven, supporting the company’s transformation into a leading innovator in the life sciences and biotech industries.

Operational Excellence

• Collaborate with Finance and Business Operations to manage headcount, labor costs, and people investments in a manner that is aligned with strategic innovation goals.
• Oversee annual HR processes such as salary reviews, incentive payouts, and performance cycles, ensuring alignment with business and innovation objectives.
• Define and track HR and business KPIs, enabling data-driven decision-making to optimize the workforce for future needs, particularly in AI and scientific advancements.

Qualifications & Experience

• Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Psychology, or related field; advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MSc) preferred.
• Several years of progressive HR experience, with substantial exposure to global HR business partnering in life sciences, biotech, or AI-driven organizations.
• Proven ability to partner with executive leaders in complex, matrixed organizations to define and implement strategic people initiatives that align with business and innovation goals.
• Expertise in all aspects of the HR value chain, including organizational design, leadership development, and change management, with a deep understanding of how people strategy can support AI integration and innovation.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to translate strategic objectives into actionable, data-driven HR initiatives that propel growth and organizational excellence.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills across diverse cultural and geographic settings.
• Comfortable in fast-paced, highly innovative environments, with an ability to balance strategic vision and tactical execution.
• Language Proficiency: Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English and German are required.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker with a strong ability to drive data-backed decisions that advance both innovation and business performance.
• High integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to confidentiality and ethical leadership.
• Proactive and results-oriented, with the ability to manage ambiguity and complexity in a rapidly changing landscape.
• A genuine interest in enabling people success and building a culture of innovation, with a deep understanding of the impact that a forward-thinking people strategy can have on technological and scientific outcomes. 

FR : Dans le cadre de sa politique Diversité, Evotec étudie, à compétences égales, toutes les candidatures dont celles des personnes en situation de handicap.

ENG : In the frame of our Diversity policy, Evotec considers, with equal competences, all applications including people with disabilities.