Human Resources Business Partner

About the Role

The HR Business Partner (HRBP) will align and execute a division-based HR strategy for staff in the Provost’s Office and administrative departments, working as part of the larger HR organization at WFU. The role provides leadership, guidance, and resources for all staff HR-related activities, including talent acquisition, development, management, and engagement. The HRBP will report to the Executive Director for Recruitment and Solutions and, through a dotted-line relationship, to the Provost, functioning as an Institutional Talent Partner representing the Provost’s Office. This individual will serve as the key strategy collaborator with administrative leaders in the Provost’s Office and will be a member of the Provost’s leadership team.

By fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation, the HRBP will play a pivotal role in strategically shaping the division’s staff workforce to achieve its ambitious goals and contribute to the university’s overall success. The role requires proactive, strategic thinking, an understanding of change management, and the ability to balance competing needs while aligning recommendations with the short- and long-term strategies of the University and the Provost’s Office.

Responsibilities

Employee Relations

• Serve as the division’s initial HR point of contact for employee relations matters, providing strategic consultation and partnering with HR-Employee Relations on all employee relations matters.
• Provide consultative guidance and advice to administrative leaders and managers on staff employee matters, ensuring alignment with institutional policies and practices established by HR-Employee Relations.
• Develop processes within the division to support the consistent application of approaches and standards established by HR-Employee Relations.
• Participate in case management meetings with HR-Employee Relations, assist with relevant documentation, identify trends, and promptly escalate complex or high-risk matters to the Director of Employee Relations.
• Conduct initial intake with departmental leaders regarding employee concerns. When a matter may require a workplace investigation, consult and coordinate with the Director of Employee Relations and HR-Employee Relations before initiating investigative activity and throughout the investigation process.
• Collaborate with HR-Employee Relations and Provost’s Office leaders regarding employee separations, including transition and succession planning. Analyze separation data to identify trends and escalate recurring concerns to Provost’s Office leadership and HR-Employee Relations.

Talent Acquisition

• In partnership with the Recruiter for the Provost’s Office, develop and lead the execution of a comprehensive talent acquisition and retention program that effectively attracts and retains a talented workforce to drive the Provost’s Office core mission.
• Conduct analysis to fully understand position requirements of jobs within the division and assist hiring managers in developing position descriptions.
• Develop and drive recruitment strategies for individual positions, or groups of positions, to source highly talented potential employees.
• Serve in Workday as a Talent Liaison to provide support to the Director of Talent Management and primary Talent Liaison as needed.
• Assess onboarding of staff across Provost’s Office administrative units and assist with addressing any gaps related to tools/resources.
• Provide support consistent with the Provost’s Office Recruiter guidance for divisional recruitment and selection processes, ensuring consistent candidate communications, efficient processing, policy, and legal compliance.
• Assist in negotiating/extending job offers, provide compensation support, and partner with the HR-Employment Solutions team to organize the execution of effective onboarding of employees.
• Work with all Provost’s Office senior administrative leadership team to develop an understanding for the long-term staffing needs of the division.

Professional Development

• Responsible for assessing, improving/creating, and promoting targeted employee learning and development programs, leveraging and aligning with programs offered by the university.
• Align individual and team development programs to support long-term organizational strategies.
• Develop, deliver, and procure training and development to support objectives.
• Guide managers on developing career development and growth opportunities for employees.
• In collaboration with all members of the Provost’s leadership team, lead in the design and execution of individual and team development and succession plans that build resiliency in the workforce.

Talent Management

• Develop and deliver a comprehensive talent management program that includes performance assessment, employee feedback, performance improvement, pay for performance, and formal disciplinary programs.
• Lead and facilitate, in partnership with HR-Employee Relations, performance management processes across administrative areas in the division for all levels of staff employees.
• Maintain a market-based staff salary structure for the Provost’s Office in consultation with HR-Compensation and Provost’s Office senior leadership. Monitor consistency of promotion/pay decisions.
• Partner with the Provost’s administrative leadership team and serve as a strategic advisor and thought partner for organizational redesigns within the Provost’s Office.
• Collaborate closely with the AVPABA to ensure that hiring plans and HR actions fit within the scope of the budget for the division.
• Develop and manage fiscal resources necessary to meet HR program requirements within the division.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 5 years of related experience in human resources.
• Recent progressive and consultative HR experience in a complex organization with diverse departmental cultures, geographies, and operating environments, including experience providing forward-facing strategic recommendations, working with executive leadership, and influencing and managing people and projects in direct and indirect supervisory roles.
• Increasing levels of responsibility to include a broad HR generalist background with experience in multiple disciplines such as talent acquisition, talent management, talent development, performance management, compensation, and more.
• Experience working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment with quickly shifting priorities.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to maintain discretion and the highest ethical and professional standards while dealing with confidential information.
• Management-level experience delivering HR services.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• Related HR certifications such as PHR, SPHR, or SHRM-CP.
• Significant and increasing levels of HR responsibility within higher education.
• Experience with Workday HCM.

Accountabilities

Responsible for one direct report.

Physical Requirements

• Work primarily involves sitting/standing, communicating with others to exchange information, operating a computer, and assessing the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned.

Environmental Conditions

• Subject to inside environmental conditions. Not typically exposed to adverse environmental conditions.

This position is not eligible for sponsorship of non-immigrant or immigrant visa status through Wake Forest University.