Senior HR Manager, Talent & Succession

COFCO International is a global agri-business with a clear vision, strong values and a positive culture, focused on being a leader in the global grains, oilseeds and sugar supply chains. We provide the food the world needs in a responsible way. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, we are ambitious, with the right structures and culture to meet the world's increasing and changing needs. With 12,000+ people in 35 countries, our global portfolio includes assets across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. We trade with over 50 nations, while providing farmers unique direct access to the growing Chinese market.

The Senior HR Manager, Talent & Succession is responsible for designing, leading, and continuously enhancing the organization's enterprise-wide talent management and succession planning.Operating at a corporate level, this role ensures the organization has a robust leadership pipeline, critical role succession coverage, and a sustainable approach to identifying, developing, and retaining high-potential talent.

The position partners closely with senior business leaders, HR Business Partners, Learning & Development, and executive leadership to align talent strategies with business objectives, strengthen leadership capabilities, and drive organizational readiness for future growth.

The position is going to be based in Porto, Portugal in our Global Business Services centre.

Key Responsibilities:

Talent Management Strategy

• Develop and implement a comprehensive enterprise talent management framework aligned with business strategy and workforce priorities.
• Lead the design and governance of talent identification, assessment, and development processes across the organization.
• Establish consistent approaches for evaluating potential, readiness, and leadership capability.
• Drive initiatives that strengthen organizational capability, leadership effectiveness, and employee growth opportunities.
• Monitor external market trends and best practices to continuously evolve talent management programs.

Succession Planning

• Manage the corporate succession planning process for executive, leadership, and critical business roles.
• Facilitate annual talent and succession reviews with senior leadership teams together with HRBP’s.
• Assess organizational bench strength and identify succession risks and opportunities.
• Develop succession strategies and readiness plans for key talent pools and critical positions.
• Track succession metrics, readiness levels, and leadership pipeline health across the organization.

Individual Development

• Together with HRBP’s, ensure development plans are in place for identified high-potential and successor candidates.
• Support executive coaching, mentoring, and leadership acceleration initiatives.
• Evaluate leadership development outcomes and organizational impact.

Talent Reviews & Assessment

• Lead enterprise talent review processes and calibration discussions.
• Drive the implementation of talent assessment methodologies, including potential assessments, leadership assessments, and talent mapping approaches.
• Provide insights and recommendations to senior leaders regarding talent risks, development priorities, and succession readiness.
• Ensure consistency and objectivity in talent decision-making across the organization.

Workforce & Organizational Planning

• Support strategic workforce planning initiatives focused on critical roles and future skills requirements.
• Analyze talent data and workforce trends to inform strategic decisions.

Governance, Analytics & Reporting

• Manage and continuously improve governance frameworks for talent and succession processes.
• Develop executive-level dashboards and reports related to succession coverage, leadership pipeline strength, talent movement, retention, and development effectiveness.
• Utilize data and analytics to assess program effectiveness and guide continuous improvement.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong partnerships across HR Centers of Excellence and business functions.
• Facilitate talent discussions with executive leadership teams and governance forums.
• Drive alignment and accountability for talent development across the enterprise.

Desired Qualifications:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Law or Finance.
• Master's degree or advanced HR qualification preferred.

Experience

• 8-12+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, including experience in talent management, succession planning, and operational HR roles.
• Demonstrated experience in HR within complex, multinational organizations.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership teams and senior stakeholders.
• Good understanding of assessment methodologies and workforce planning practices.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong business acumen.
• Excellent executive presence and stakeholder management skills.
• Analytical mindset with experience leveraging talent data and metrics.
• Strong facilitation and influencing capabilities.
• Ability to manage ambiguity and drive organizational change.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience with talent management technologies and HR systems.
• Fluency and hands on experience with modern technologies in HR.

COFCO International is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice to know how COFCO collects and processes your personal data during your job application.