Senior HR Business Partner (Chicago, Illinois)

Role summary: The Senior HR Business Partner (Sr. HRBP) is a strategic advisor, trusted partner, and member of the Novatae Executive Leadership Team . Serving as Novatae’s senior people leader, this role provides end-to-end HR partnership across the organization and is accountable for shaping and executing a high-impact people agenda that strengthens business performance. The Sr. HRBP enables executive effectiveness and organizational outcomes through leader coaching, organizational design, talent and succession planning, and thoughtful execution of core HR programs. This leader is known for delivering high-quality work, operating with discretion and sound judgment, and partnering across Novatae and World’s broader Human Resources organization to drive consistent, scalable people practices.
How this role shows up: This position requires an enterprise mindset, high trust, and a highly collaborative, team-oriented approach—balancing strategic advisory work with hands-on execution. The Sr. HRBP contributes as a full leadership team peer: bringing points of view, elevating risk and opportunity, and ensuring people decisions align to Novatae’s strategy and operating model. The Sr. HRBP builds credibility through responsiveness, clear communication, sound judgment, and practical solutions that work for leaders and employees.

• In this role, you will: advise and coach the executive team on high-stakes people decisions.
• Translate business strategy into a focused people plan (talent, org design, culture, engagement).
• Strengthen leadership capability and organizational health through clear expectations, fair practices, and practical execution.

About Novatae

Novatae Risk Group is World’s specialty insurance distribution business, operating as a wholesale brokerage and specialty underwriting platform (including MGA/program capabilities). We support leaders in a distributed, fast-paced environment where responsiveness and clear operating rhythms matter.

Key responsibilities

• Executive advising & coaching: Coach executives on leadership behaviors, communication, decision-making, and navigating sensitive people situations.

• People strategy & operating rhythm: Partner with the executive team to define priorities and run effective cadences (talent reviews, engagement readouts, leadership offsites) with clear follow-through.
• Culture & values leadership: Lead the way in building a strong corporate culture and reinforcing respect for our defined values through everyday behaviors.
• Org design & change leadership: Support org design (structure, role clarity, spans/layers) and support reorganizations, integrations, or rapid growth with strong change management.
• Talent & succession: Lead leadership talent reviews, succession planning, and development actions; identify capability gaps and propose solutions.
• Performance & accountability: Enable consistent goal setting, feedback, and performance management; facilitate calibration and promote equitable outcomes.
• Employee relations: Lead complex investigations and high-risk performance/behavior matters in partnership with Legal as needed.
• Program design (scale with the business): Help design and improve core people programs (manager development, annual talent processes, compensation planning, HR dashboards, Licensing compliance tracking).
• Enterprise HR partnership: Operate as an active member of World’s broader HR organization, aligning practices and stepping in to support cross-company priorities.
• Policy and Procedures Creation: Create and execution of operational policy and procedure in partnership with legal.
• M&A / Integration Support: Support acquisitions, business integrations, restructuring, and post-acquisition workforce alignment initiatives.
• Compensation Strategy & Pay Governance: Support compensation planning, market benchmarking, off-cycle compensation evaluations, and pay governance to ensure internal equity and market competitiveness.

Core HR business partner responsibilities

• Partner with leaders to strengthen team effectiveness, role clarity, and manager capability.

• Guide employee lifecycle processes (onboarding, performance reviews, promotions, internal mobility, offboarding).
• Partner with Talent Acquisition and Finance on workforce planning and headcount prioritization.
• Use people data and employee insights to identify trends, anticipate issues, and recommend actions.

Required qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive HR experience, including senior-level HRBP partnership with executives.

• Strength in executive coaching, organizational design, talent planning, and change management.
• Working knowledge of employee relations and employment practices; sound judgment with sensitive matters.
• Excellent communication and influence skills; high discretion and integrity.

Qualifications & competencies

• Executive presence; able to build trust quickly and challenge constructively.

• Experience in start-up, high-growth, entrepreneurial, or transformation environments.
• Strong cross-functional partnership (People Ops, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal).
• Systems thinking with a practical, hands-on approach and strong follow-through.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; SHRM-SCP/SPHR a plus.

Compensation
This position is located in Chicago, Illinois. The base salary for this position at the time of this posting may range from $135,000 to $160,000. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including business needs, experience, level of responsibility, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package and variable pay programs, please visit for more details.

 

Reporting relationships

This role reports to the Head of People/CHRO (or equivalent) and partners closely with the CEO and executive leadership team. The Sr. HRBP works cross-functionally with Talent Acquisition, People Operations, Finance, and Legal.
Note: This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. Novatae is an equal opportunity employer.

Equal Employment Opportunity
At World Insurance Associates (WIA), we celebrate and support our differences. We know employing a team rich in diverse thoughts, experiences, and opinions allows our employees, our products, and our community to flourish. WIA is honored to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or Veteran status. In addition, WIA makes reasonable accommodations to known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business.

 

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