IT Business Partner – Talent & Legal – Kansas City (Hybrid)

About the role

The Talent & Legal Business Partner is responsible for serving as the strategic liaison between the Talent and Legal organizations and enterprise delivery teams, managing the intake, prioritization, governance, and execution oversight of all Talent and Legal related initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary point of contact for Talent and Legal leadership regarding project requests, prioritization, status reporting, and delivery coordination.
• Build trusted relationships with Talent and Legal stakeholders to understand strategic workforce goals, operational challenges, and organizational priorities.
• Facilitate alignment between Talent / Legal initiatives and enterprise capabilities, budgets, timelines, and resource availability.
• Provide consultation and guidance on project feasibility, implementation approaches, organizational impacts, and delivery risks.
• Manage the centralized intake process for all Talent and Legal related initiatives, including technology and operational/business projects.
• Evaluate project requests for business value, employee impact, compliance considerations, and strategic alignment.
• Maintain and govern the Talent and Legal project portfolio roadmaps.
• Coordinate prioritization activities with PMO, Talent, Legal and IT leadership.
• Ensure projects are appropriately scoped, documented, prioritized, and governed.
• Oversee execution of multiple concurrent initiatives across Talent functions such as:
• Talent Acquisition
• Employee Relations
• Learning & Development
• Compensation & Benefits
• Talent Operations
• Performance Management
• Oversee execution of multiple concurrent initiatives across Legal Compliance and Risk Management areas
• Monitor project timelines, budgets, deliverables, risks, and dependencies.
• Ensure adherence to project management methodologies, governance standards, and reporting requirements.
• Facilitate issue resolution and escalation management across teams and stakeholders.
• Coordinate organizational readiness, communication, and change management activities.
• Develop and present department level portfolio dashboards, status updates, and performance metrics.
• Ensure compliance with labor regulations, data privacy standards, internal policies, and audit requirements.
• Track portfolio performance against KPIs, milestones, and expected business outcomes.
• Aid in project budgeting, forecasting, and resource planning activities.
• Cook up with Talent, Legal and IT leadership regarding funding approvals and staffing allocations.
• Monitor vendor engagements, contracts, and third-party consulting relationships when applicable.
• Lead or support change management efforts associated with Talent / Legal initiatives and system implementations.
• Identify opportunities to improve Talent / Legal processes, governance, service delivery, and operational efficiency.
• Promote standardization and process optimization across Talent / Legal programs and initiatives.
• Support employee adoption, training, and communication efforts for implemented solutions.

Technical Skills and Competencies Required

• Strong knowledge of project and program management methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid)
• Experience managing enterprise project portfolios and governance processes
• Understanding of core Talent/HR business processes, including:
• Talent acquisition
• Onboarding/offboarding
• Compensation and benefits
• Learning and development
• Performance management
• Workforce planning
• Employee engagement
• Familiarity with HR technology platforms
• Familiarity with Legal technology platforms and processes
• Proficiency with project management and collaboration tools:
• Jira
• Smartsheet
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Strong understanding of organizational management principles
• Knowledge of HR / Legal compliance and data privacy requirements
• Experience with budget tracking and resource planning
• Strong analytical, reporting, and problem-solving capabilities

Behavioral Competencies Required

• Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives without direct authority
• Strong executive presence and stakeholder engagement skills
• Demonstrated ability to influence decision-making across business and technical teams
• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and facilitation skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with executives, managers, employees, and technical teams
• Strong conflict resolution and negotiation capabilities
• Ability to align Talent / Legal initiatives with organizational strategy and workforce priorities
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills
• Ability to balance operational execution with long-term planning
• Exceptional organizational and multitasking skills
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• High attention to detail and accountability
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to foster collaboration across departments
• Customer-focused mindset with commitment to employees and business outcomes
• Comfortable operating in dynamic environments with evolving priorities
• Ability to drive organizational change and continuous improvement initiatives

Education and Certifications

• Preferred: BA/BS degree Business, Information Technology, Human Resources or related field or equivalent relevant experience.
• Preferred certifications: PMP, PgMP

Experience Required

• Minimum 10+ years of experience in program or project management within enterprise environments
• Minimum 2+ years supporting Talent / Human Resources and Legal / Risk Management business functions and processes
• Proven experience managing cross-functional enterprise initiatives involving both technology and operational/process change
• Experience working within PMO governance structures and portfolio management frameworks
• Demonstrated success managing multiple complex projects simultaneously
• Experience partnering with senior business leaders and executive stakeholders
• Experience with HRIS implementations, HR transformations, or enterprise system upgrades preferred
• Prior experience in regulated industries or environments with strong compliance requirements preferred

About Littler

Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice in the world exclusively devoted to representing management. With more than 1,900 attorneys in over 100 offices worldwide, Littler serves as the single source solution provider to the global employer community. Consistently recognized in the industry as a leading and innovative law practice, Littler has been litigating, mediating and negotiating some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record for over 75 years.

Benefits

• We offer a generous benefits package to full-time and part-time employees working at least a 50% schedule. Benefits include comprehensive health, dental and vision plans for you, your spouse/domestic partner and children.
• In addition, we provide a superior 401(k) plan, ample time off programs, mental health programs, family building and caregiving, generous paid parental leave, life insurance, disability insurance, a wellness program, flexible spending accounts, and an employee referral bonus program.

Contact Information

Please note applications are only accepted through our careers page www.littler.com/careers. For inquiries regarding this opportunity, please e-mail Jazmin Vivanco at jvivanco@littler.com with the job title in the subject line.