HR Business Partner

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

The HR Business Partner is responsible for HR activities at our Melrose Park facility. This position will serve as a strategic business partner to the Site Operations Leadership Team and is a member of the plant staff. The HR Business Partner will lead all HR initiatives with a focus on performance and talent development, retention, employee relations, onboarding, staffing strategy, coaching and counseling, partnering on training strategies and the Labor/Management relationship. This role will develop & execute the people strategy for the site and the successful candidate must be a strong agent of change. The HR Business Partner will have direct influence in the future success of Melrose Park.

Key responsibilities

•    Partner with peers in Human Resources and Operations Leadership to drive consistent application of Kerry’s policies and practices across assigned location(s). 
•    Identify potential gaps and develop recommendations and strategies to minimize risks across assigned business areas.
•    Partner with Business, Operations and HR leadership to drive standard practices and programs across the organization. • Participate in large scale projects across responsible business units and functions. 
•    Use high level of accountability and initiative to address complex business challenges Influencing and Coaching • Form solid working relationships, based on thorough knowledge of the assigned business and sites to enable sound judgement and development of the people plan related to business decisions. • Partner with the Plant Manager in driving positive Labor/Management relationships with both local and international union leadership. 
•    Ensure the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) are consistently applied, addressing any inconsistencies through the Grievance Process. Identify and recommend language changes that may be required to manage the business environment. 
•    Partner with Client Leaders to assess and implement an optimal organizational design to support business growth. • Coach leaders on appropriate and proactive management techniques and make timely and informed decisions on when to escalate issues. 
•    Champion the development of the Strategic Site plan and the people aspects of this plan ensuring year on year step change activities. 
•    Act as a senior leader of the site teams to drive group cohesiveness, project deliverables and HR KPI’s • Lead and Develop HR Resources within the plants to enable growth and career opportunities. Classified as General Business Recruiting 
•    Partner with Site/Client Leader to develop workforce plan and recruitment strategies to include proactive recruitment on hard to fill or known upcoming vacancies. 
•    Identify and apply multiple recruiting strategies to ensure a timely and appropriate response to fill open positions. Minimize time to fill open requisitions while improving the fit of new hires. 
•    Administer recruiting efforts through Company processes/polices; partnering with both internal Company resources and approved external vendors. 
•    Develop retention strategies to ensure a positive team member experience. HR Programs 
•    Analyze, interpret, develop, and implement HR policies, programs, and procedures as appropriate 
•    Provides objective and timely feedback when new programs/changes to existing programs are introduced. • Champion the Employee Engagement/Our Voice process at the site and partner with the leadership team to develop and implement engagement action plans for the facility.
•    Champion the Talent Management process at the site and partner with managers to develop and update development plans for employees 
•    Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements: EEOC/AA, ADAA, FMLA and other leaves in addition to any state specific requirements
•    Participate in and/or lead projects as assigned.

Qualifications and skills

•    Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Human Resources, Business or related field. 
•    5-7 years’ experience in a generalist human resources function. 
•    Fluency in Spanish required. 
•    Previous experience in a manufacturing environment is highly preferred. 
•    Previous human resources experience in a union environment is highly desirable. 
•    SPHR Certification or the SHRM equivalent preferred 
•    Excellent verbal and written communication skills 
•    Experience supporting senior level leadership with workforce analysis to include structure, recruitment, compensation, projects etc.
•    Easy to approach with the ability to engage employees and be a strong employee advocate while maintaining company values.

The typical hiring range for this role is $122,128 to $168,453 annually and is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, location, etc.  In addition to your pay, Kerry offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and retirement contribution (all benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility requirements.