Strategic HR Business Partner

Role introduction

POSITION SUMMARY

At HSO, exceptional business performance starts with exceptional people. As a Strategic HR Business Partner, you will partner with Service Line Leaders to build high-performing teams, strengthen leadership capability and develop an organization positioned for sustainable growth.

This is not a traditional HR Business Partner role. You will serve as a trusted advisor, translating business priorities into people and organizational strategies that improve performance, strengthen workforce capability and enable growth.

As part of a lean, collaborative People team, you'll balance strategic advisory work with hands-on execution. Whether facilitating a talent review, partnering with Resource Management to improve utilization, coaching a manager through a complex employee issue or implementing a new people initiative, you'll help solve the business's most important people challenges.

We're looking for someone who is commercially minded, curious and energized by building, improving and making a measurable impact.


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Business Partnership
  • Serve as the trusted advisor to Service Line Leaders on leadership, talent and organizational performance.
  • Develop a deep understanding of business strategy, financial goals and workforce needs to align people priorities with business objectives.
  • Provide practical counsel, constructive challenge and data-driven insights that improve business decisions.
  • Identify talent, leadership and organizational risks early and partner with leaders to develop effective solutions.
  • Support organizational growth, restructuring and change initiatives while maintaining engagement and business continuity.
• Leadership & Talent
  • Coach leaders to build high-performing teams through effective performance management, feedback, development and accountability.
  • Lead performance management governance across assigned business units, ensuring consistent application of performance ratings, compensation decisions, and promotion practices.
  • Evaluate and challenge pay and promotion recommendations to ensure strong business justification, alignment with compensation philosophy and salary structures, and equitable outcomes.
  • Partner with and coach leaders on effectively communicating performance and career-related decisions to employees.
  • Lead talent reviews, succession planning, promotion discussions and talent calibration sessions.
  • Partner with Talent Acquisition on workforce needs and hiring priorities.
  • Identify and accelerate high-potential talent through coaching, mentoring, stretch assignments and internal mobility.
  • Support quarterly people review processes by delivering workforce analytics and talent insights to Senior Vice President, HR, including performance distributions, promotion readiness, succession pipeline strength, critical talent identification (top 5/bottom 5), and development planning recommendations across the organization and service lines.
  • Drive career development and internal mobility initiatives by helping employees establish long-term career goals, providing clarity on advancement opportunities, and partnering with leaders to align development plans with organizational talent needs and succession priorities.
  • Partner on annual performance, compensation and reward processes to ensure equitable, market-informed outcomes.
• Business Performance & Workforce Planning
  • Partner with Service Line Leaders and Resource Management to optimize consultant deployment, utilization and workforce capacity.
  • Monitor utilization, leverage and bench trends, recommending actions that improve productivity and profitability.
  • Help maintain a balanced talent pyramid by aligning hiring, promotions, development and succession with business strategy.
  • Support workforce planning, organizational design and role clarity to ensure the right capabilities are in place for future growth.
  • Use workforce analytics and business insights to identify trends, anticipate talent risks and improve organizational performance.
• Employee Experience & HR Delivery
  • Champion an exceptional employee experience across the employee lifecycle.
  • Partner closely with Service Line Leaders to analyze Culture Amp survey results, identify key opportunities for improvement, and develop, implement, and monitor action plans that enhance employee engagement and organizational effectiveness.
  • Coach leaders through employee relations matters, performance improvement plans and employment decisions with sound judgment and balanced business perspective.
  • Partner with HR leadership and Legal, as appropriate, on workplace investigations and employment risk.
  • Partner across the People team to deliver performance, development, onboarding, compensation and engagement initiatives.
  • Analyze employee feedback, stay interview insights, and exit trends to identify retention risks, improve the employee experience, and develop targeted action plans that strengthen engagement and reduce regrettable attrition.
  • Ensure consistent application of people policies, employment practices and regulatory compliance while balancing business needs.
• Building the Function
  • Help build a modern, scalable People function that enables business growth.
  • Continuously improve people programs, processes and tools by simplifying work and leveraging technology, AI and workforce data.
  • Share ideas, challenge the status quo and contribute wherever needed-we value ownership, collaboration and a builder's mindset.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING TO THE TEAM

• 7+ years of progressive HR Business Partner or strategic people consulting experience, ideally within professional services, consulting, technology or another knowledge-based environment.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to connect people strategies to business outcomes.
• Experience in workforce planning, organizational design, leadership development, talent management and employee relations.
• Confidence coaching and influencing leaders through growth, change and complex business challenges.
• Ability to interpret workforce data and translate insights into action.
• Exceptional relationship-building, communication and influencing skills.
• A collaborative, low-ego approach with the flexibility to balance strategic thinking and hands-on execution.

WHY YOU'LL SUCCEED

You understand that great People partners create business value. You build credibility by understanding the business, asking thoughtful questions and helping leaders solve meaningful challenges.

You thrive in an entrepreneurial environment where priorities evolve, collaboration matters and everyone contributes. You're equally comfortable shaping strategy, rolling up your sleeves and driving execution.

Most importantly, you believe exceptional business performance begins with exceptional people