HR Director Jobs in New Jersey

INTRODUCTION

Cosette Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a US-based, fully integrated pharmaceutical company with capabilities in product development, manufacturing, and commercial operations. Cosette has a fast-growing portfolio of branded pharmaceuticals consisting of products in the cardiology, women's health, and migraine markets. Cosette has a long history in quality manufacturing of complex dosage forms including topical creams, ointments, oral liquids/solutions and suppositories, which has led to consistent supply to customers and commercialization success. Cosette has corporate and manufacturing facilities in New Jersey and North Carolina and is supported by more than 300 dedicated employees across all functional areas.

Innovating every day.™

Position Overview

The Director, Human Resources serves as the principal execution engine of the HR department and the primary HR Business Partner (HRBP) for the broader organization. This role requires an operationally rigorous leader who excels at translating executive decisions and high-level strategies into practical, effective rollouts. The Director exercises full, end-to-end ownership over the development, deployment, and ongoing execution of enterprise-wide talent programs - including performance management, talent management, and succession planning. Based at our Bridgewater headquarters, this leader ensures the day-to-day HR engine runs with flawless precision, maintaining legal compliance, establishing operational governance, and driving a high-performance culture across the business.

Key Responsibilities

Core HR Business Partnering & Strategy Execution

• Broad-Scale Business Partnering: Serve as the dedicated, day-to-day HRBP for directors, managers, and staff-level teams across Cosette’s commercial, corporate, R&D, and operational functions.
• Operationalizing Executive Decisions: Take direct ownership of executing and scaling all human capital strategies, restructuring plans, and cultural initiatives finalized at the executive (ELT) level.
• Managerial Advisory: Act as the primary advisor to mid-level and senior management on employee lifecycle events, team performance, retention strategies, and change management.

Enterprise Ownership: Performance, Talent & Succession

• Performance Management Architecture: Drive the full lifecycle - both the design optimization and enterprise-wide execution - of Cosette’s annual performance management framework, including goal-setting, mid-year check-ins, and year-end evaluations.
• Talent Management & Optimization: Build and oversee progressive talent evaluation programs. Facilitate calibration sessions across departments to map internal capability and build actionable development pathways for high-potential employees.
• Succession Planning Execution: Develop and maintain the company’s core succession planning framework to identify critical talent vulnerabilities, mitigate flight risks, and secure talent pipelines for key technical and operational roles.
• Manager Upskilling: Design and deploy targeted learning and development (L&D) initiatives that enhance managerial capability and leadership consistency across the organization.

Corporate Governance, Policy & Employee Relations

• Policy Development & Modernization: Lead the design, authoring, and continuous updates of Cosette’s corporate policies, compliance protocols, and the Employee Handbook to match a multi-state, hybrid workplace.
• Regulatory Compliance: Maintain strict oversight of federal, state, and local labor laws (FLSA, FMLA, ADA, EEO), serving as the operational auditor for pharmaceutical-sector compliance and reporting.
• Day-to-Day Employee Relations: Own the resolution of employee relations matters across the organization, conducting objective investigations and ensuring a fair, legally sound framework for grievance and disciplinary actions.

Operational Governance & Case Management Oversight

• Lifecycle Data & Transaction Accountability: Establish and enforce the data governance protocols for all employee status changes (promotions, transfers, compensation adjustments, and exits), serving as the final quality-control checkpoint before data is transmitted.
• Leaves & Accommodations Governance: Hold ultimate accountability for the company’s Leave of Absence (LOA) and ADA accommodation programs, managing external vendors to ensure legally compliant case management and seamless return-to-work coordination.
• Offboarding Architecture & Retention Intelligence: Own the offboarding strategy, involuntary separation protocols, and severance management framework; evaluate enterprise-wide exit intelligence to identify root causes of regrettable turnover and report actionable insights back to the TA/PX team.

HR Delivery & Team Leadership

• Cross-Functional Coordination: Collaborate closely with specialized HR tracks (Talent Acquisition/Workforce Planning, Total Rewards, and Corporate Communications) to ensure all initiatives are rolled out smoothly and cohesively.

Core Competencies & Qualifications

• Operational Execution: A highly disciplined operator who excels at converting broad executive decisions into structured, repeatable, and scalable corporate programs.
• Full-Spectrum HRBP Experience: Strong foundational knowledge of the HRBP model, with a proven ability to support diverse employee populations and build trust with mid-to-senior business leaders.
• Programmatic Ownership & Governance: Demonstrated capacity to simultaneously design the framework for macro talent cycles and maintain strict operational oversight over core compliance and data handoffs.
• Pharma-Sector Fluency: Clear understanding of the specialized talent profiles, compliance demands, and operational tempos unique to the pharmaceutical or life sciences industry.

Experience & Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field; a Master’s degree or relevant HR credentials are a plus.
• 8–10+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, with at least 3–5 years in a dedicated HR Business Partner role or HR Manager/Director capacity.
• Proven track record of successfully developing and deploying enterprise-scale performance management, succession planning, and employee relations frameworks.
• Professional HR certification (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP) is preferred.

Salary Range

The expected base salary for this Bridgewater, NJ based position is $165,000 - $230,000. In addition, you may be eligible for a discretionary bonus if you are an active employee on the payment date.

Benefits

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, health saving account, employee assistance program, tuition reimbursement program, parental leave, wellness program, paid time off, volunteer time, and holidays.

Physical Requirements

This role will follow a hybrid work schedule, requiring three (3) onsite days per week at our Bridgewater, NJ office.