People & Communications Director, US West & Canada

Location: Lisle, IL

Full Time

Job Title

People and Communications Director (Strategic Business Partner), US West & Canada

Company Overview

Founded in 1910 , KONE ( is a global leader that provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization that add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Our mission is to improve the flow of urban life and make our world’s cities better places to live by providing innovative solutions that help make people’s journeys safe, convenient and reliable.

Our operations in over 60 countries around the world has helped us achieve our position as an innovation and sustainability ( leader with repeated recognitions by Forbes ( , Corporate Knights for clean capitalism and others. _ _ _ _

Role Overview

This role acts as the enterprise-level architect for high performance culture, leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, and transformation across KONE’s frontline operations in the United States & Canada, This role serves as the principal strategic partner to Senior Vice President who oversee a portfolio exceeding $1.5B USD in P&L, 3,000+ employees, wide-scale unionized field operations, and complex, regionally distributed service organizations.

Acting one level below the SVP of People & Communications, Americas, this leader accelerates transformation by shaping organizational design, simplifying structures and decision paths, elevating leadership capability, mobilizing talent with courage, and embedding execution discipline while reinforcing our corporate culture. They lead with courage, speed, and simplicity – driving cultural and operational shifts required to enable business growth, digital transformation, modernization, and outstanding customer and employee experience.

This role leads and directs a team of 2 senior leaders to deliver and execute and leads/participates on critical committees that drive organizational policy and decision-making requiring strong influencing and business partnering.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Business Partnering

• Leadership Effectiveness & Capability

• Team Leadership & Development

• Organizational Development & Workforce Planning

• Change & Transformation Leadership

• Culture, Engagement, DEI, & Belonging

• People Communications

• Data, Insights, & Operating Rhythm

• Governance, Compliance, & Risk Management

Role Requirements

You will bring 10+ years of progressive and successful Human Resources experience, preferably with a multinational company, to KONE. You will use the knowledge gained through your bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (HR, Labor Relations, Business, etc.), or 12+ years of equivalent experience.

Skills & Knowledge Desired

• Advanced influencing, facilitation, storytelling, and communication skills, including the ability to translate complex strategy into simple, repeatable narratives for frontline audiences.

• Demonstrated capability in coaching leaders to lead others—strengthening clarity, accountability, empowerment, and performance throughtrust‑basedleadership.

• Strong organization design capability to drive ahigh‑performanceculture and operational excellence.

• Ability tooperatewith multidimensional leadership expectations—balancing transformation, performance, results, andpeopleleadership.

• Strong business and financial acumen; ability to partner on incentives, pricing, fixed costs, and other business leversimpactingdelivery and profitability.

• Strong analytical and insight capabilities—able to synthesize workforce, engagement, performance, and business data (e.g., Workday, engagement tools, BI) into actionable leadership insights.

• Strong organization design, workforce planning, and capability development skills, including designing and drivingmulti‑districtchange programsend‑to‑end.

• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working within Federal and State Employment Laws.

• Proven success in coaching and developing talent and teams.

• Excellent verbal, presentation, facilitation, and written communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to lead projects across business units, ensuringeffectivechangemanagementand the ability to lead others through change.

• Ability to work collaboratively in a matrix organization.

• Demonstrated ability to set priorities to ensuretimelycompletion of deadlines.

• Ability to navigate ambiguity, provide solutions to problems, and make informed decisions.

Leadership Competencies

• Inspiring Purpose - Leading change and ability to motivate and engage

• Agile Mind - Business Sense

• Focus on Momentum - Drive for results, decisiveness, and composure

• Steady Presence - Resilience and courage

• Authentic Connection – Concern for others and integrity

• Empowering Approach – Delegating and empowering, and Coach and development

Other Responsibilities

• Geographies: U.S., Canada – Travel up to 20%

• Business Model: Multi-country, unionized, field-intensive service operations (Service, New Installations, Modernization)

• P&L Exposure: Supports1SVPleading a combined business exceeding $3B USD with ~3,000+ employees

• Leadership Influence: Senior-P&C leader for frontline operations; leads multi-country HR/P&C team

• Environment: High operational complexity, high customer impact, heavy regulatory and labor exposure, accelerating digital transformation

About KONE

At KONE, we foster an innovative and collaborative culture, valuing each individual's contribution. Employee engagement and sustainability are key focuses, promoting ethical practices and mutual respect. We're proud to offer experience and opportunities to help you achieve career and personal goals while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

• We hire individuals who value culture because we believe culture drives innovation

• We value your authentic self.

• Collaborative, creative, and supportive work environment.

• Passionate about safety, quality, and innovation

• We care about the communities where we live and work.

Just some of our many benefits include:

• United States

• Competitive salary

• Flexible work schedule

• Opportunities to learn and grow

• 401K Employer Match

• 401k Employer Non-elective Contribution

• Well-being Program

• Medical, Prescription, Dental and Vision Insurance

• Digital Health Solutions & Telehealth

• Health Savings Account (HSA)

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

• Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP)

• Family & Medical Leave

• Parental Leave

• Leave to Care for a Domestic Partner

• Paid Time Off & Holidays

• Company Paid Life and AD&D Insurance

• Supplemental Life and AD&D Insurance

• Company Paid Short-term and Long-term Disability

• Buy-Up Long-term Disability

• Critical Illness Insurance

• Hospital Indemnity & Accident Insurance

• Identity Theft Protection

• Legal Insurance

• KONE Credit Union

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Commuter Benefits

Annual Base Pay Range:

The national hiring range for this role is $215,800 – $283,290. The compensation package offered will depend on candidate’s ability to meet the requirements of the role, needs for the business strategy, and a range of factors unique to each candidate, including their skill set, years and depth of experience, certifications, and location.

Variable Compensation

KONE Annual Bonus plan at 25% Target Incentive (70/30) based on achievement of company goals and individual goals.

Come share your passion and energy to make a positive impact at KONE for our customers and your career ( !

Beware of Recruitment Scams! (

KONE is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, status as a protected veteran or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

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At KONE, we are focused on creating an innovative and collaborative working culture where we value the contribution of each individual. Employee engagement is a key focus area for us and we encourage participation and the sharing of information and ideas. Sustainability is an integral part of our culture and the daily practice. We follow ethical business practices and we seek to develop a culture of working together where co-workers trust and respect each other and good performance is recognized. In being a great place to work, we are proud to offer a range of experiences and opportunities that will help you to achieve your career and personal goals and enable you to live a healthy and balanced life.

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At KONE, our purpose is to shape the future of cities. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, we move two billion people every day, making their journeys safe, convenient, and reliable with smart and sustainable People Flow®. In 2025, KONE had annual sales of EUR 11.2 billion, and at the end of the year over 60,000 employees in close to 70 countries. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.