Head of HR Business Partners & HR Business Partner

William Blair • Chicago, IL

34d • $270,000 - $290,000

About The Position

The Head of HR Business Partners serves as the strategic leader of the HR BP function, overseeing a team of twelve and ensuring cohesive, high‑impact HR support across all business units. This leader drives alignment across HR BP client teams, strengthens collaboration between the HR BP teams and the broader HR organization, and advances the HR BP function’s use of Workday, other digital tools, and data to enhance decision-making, streamline processes, and drive innovative solutions that support business goals.
In addition to leading the HR BP team, this leader serves as the primary U.S. HR Business Partner for one of our business units. Acting as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and ensuring people strategies enable business goals, this leader will partner closely with the Director, HR BP in London. This team supports more than 300 colleagues. Key work will include talent development processes, organizational design, leadership effectiveness, total rewards alignment, employee relations, change management, compliance, and culture—delivered in partnership with Talent Development & Culture, Compensation & Benefits, HRIS, and Talent Acquisition HR peers.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Development, Human Resources, Business, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience required (Master’s preferred).
• 15+ years of progressive HR experience, primarily in the HR generalist/business partner capacity, with 5+ years experience in investment management.
• Experience leading global teams, implementing enterprise-wide programs and processes, including in geographies outside of the United States.
• Current knowledge of HR laws, regulations, and best practices.
• Skilled at quickly building trust and collaborative relationships at all levels across an organization.
• Strategic thinker with a hands-on approach and strong project management skills.
• Excellent people skills, influence skills with a strong accountability and client service orientation.
• Well-developed critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Data-driven leadership style, including experience using data, insights, and technology-enabled recommendations to influence strategic decisions.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Demonstrated ability to apply innovative thinking and technology-driven solutions to complex talent and organizational challenges.
• Ability to lead change, influence culture, and drive performance across diverse teams.
• Strong Microsoft skills, including PowerPoint and Excel, and experience with AI tools preferred.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s preferred.
• Workday experience preferred.
• Strong Microsoft skills, including PowerPoint and Excel, and experience with AI tools preferred.

Responsibilities

• Set the strategic direction for the HR BP function, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and HR’s strategic priorities.
• Drive consistency, alignment, and collaboration across HR BP client teams to ensure a unified approach to HR service delivery.
• Establish shared practices, frameworks, and cadences that enable cross-team communication, transparency, and accountability.
• Champion effective use of existing HR systems, tools, and analytics to improve efficiency and data-driven decision making.
• Identify and integrate emerging technologies that enhance HR BP service delivery, collaboration, and leader/employee experience.
• Promote consistent adoption of digital workflows, tools, and HR technologies across the HR BP team to ensure scalable and compliant practices.
• Allocate HR BP resources to optimize support based on business priority, growth, and capability needs.
• Develop HR BP capabilities in workforce planning, coaching, organizational effectiveness, analytics, and change management.
• Champion a culture of curiosity, continuous improvement, accountability, and innovative thinking within the HRBP organization.
• Foster strong partnerships across all HR teams to deliver seamless HR support.
• Manage budgets, vendor relationships, and external partnerships, as necessary.
• Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards across regions.
• Serve as a key partner to business leaders in achieving their business goals and strategies by supporting the team with effective talent lifecycle management.
• Partner with Talent Development to lead performance management, talent reviews, calibrations, and development planning.
• Support organizational design initiatives, including job architecture and job leveling in partnership with Compensation team.
• Guide leaders on workforce planning, team structure optimization, and capability needs.
• Manage employee relations matters in alignment with legal requirements and organizational values.
• Provide guidance on compliance expectations, policy standards, and risk mitigation.
• Promote a culture aligned with organizational values through coaching and team development.
• Use data and insights to support engagement, inclusion, and leadership effectiveness.

Benefits

• medical, dental and vision coverage
• employer paid short & long-term disability and life insurance
• 401(k)
• profit sharing
• paid time off
• Maven family & fertility benefit
• parental leave (including adoption, surrogacy, and foster placement)
• discretionary annual bonus (based on company, business unit and individual performance) and/or commission-based incentives

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director