HR Business Partner

Position Summary

We are looking for a strategic and tactical HR partner to support business operations and drive HR initiatives across 4 areas – Kinesso, Orion, Magna and our Corporate HQ (Legal, Finance, IT, Communications) as well as contributing to wider Mediabrands strategic HR projects.

This role works in true partnership with the business by fully understanding their goals and strategies and supporting those via proactive HR practices. Working with the HR Director, and the senior stakeholders in the business, including Finance, you will agree and develop the HR strategy for these areas ensuring consistency and integration where necessary. 

You will develop a deep understanding of the business, identifying key areas where HR can support and introduce initiatives that add value. You will work as part of a matrix HR team and will have line management responsibility for an HR Advisor as well as providing mentorship and guidance for other members of the team.

Job Responsibilities

• Work closely with agency leadership to craft the HR strategy to support the business strategy.
• Work with the Finance lead to understand the agency commercials to help drive financial success and make commercial decisions.
• Hold regular informal meetings with management/leadership team members.
• Attend management/leadership meetings to update on HR initiatives, influence, and drive the people agenda.

Employee Relations

• Manage end-to-end employee relations issues within the group, using the HR Advisors or HR Assistants where appropriate to take minutes and draft letters etc. This will include (but is not limited to) performance management, restructures, redundancies, settlement negotiations, flexible working requests, mediation, parental leave requests.

Learning & Development 

• Work with the leadership teams and L&D Manager to build the agency’s L&D strategy in line with the IPA’s CPD requirements.
• Work with L&D Manager to implement training.
• Work with the wider team to ensure induction and on boarding processes are continually fit for purpose.
• Design and deliver training in the areas of performance management, career development, interview skills and management skills.
• With the support of the L&D Manager, ensure the agency meets the IPA’s annual CPD requirements.

Change Management & Employee Engagement 

• Analyse and present the annual employee survey results in an engaging format compiling key themes and recommendations.
• Work with leadership teams to develop action plans, ensuring employee involvement and ownership where appropriate.
• Use people analytics data to regularly report to the business on key metrics and provide recommendations on HR initiatives using these insights.
• Attend agency meetings to update on HR initiatives.
• Management /leadership coaching & development.
• Provide coaching and training to managers to ensure consistent best practice in people management.
• Oversee annual goal-setting and appraisal process. 

Resource Planning/Recruitment 

• Work in partnership with hiring managers and the Talent Acquisition team to add value to the recruitment and selection process.
• Build knowledge of and relationships with external and internal high-potential talent in order to ensure succession planning
• Input into resource planning with leadership teams and spot opportunities to move talent within the business.

Talent Management & Diversity & Inclusion

• Work with leadership teams to identify critical talent using our 9-box grid and work with managers to produce and implement retention and succession plans.
• Work with HR Director on proactive talent management projects.
• Work with the leadership teams and wider HR team to drive D&I initiatives that will help the business meet its D&I targets and work towards closing the Gender Pay Gap.
• Work with the wider HR team and key stakeholders to drive the OPEN values proposition across all touchpoints in the employee lifecycle.
• Provide support for, and on occasion lead, OPEN company initiatives from the initial planning and project management to gaining leadership buy in, managing budgets and on the day coordination.

Reward & Recognition

• Work with the Reward Manager to provide data to relevant leaders for salary reviews, input into salary survey, and guide leadership team on salary review recommendations, using benchmarking and gender pay gap data.
• Train and coach managers on communication of salary reviews and bonuses to promote transparency and consistency.
• Work with Reward Manager to implement benefits review and renewal.
• Work with Reward Manager to implement new reward initiatives and input into and promote current initiatives.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Proven experience in a Business Partner role within a dynamic, constantly evolving professional service, media, technology, creative or communications agency environment.
• Experience of working in a complex, matrix environment.
• Experience managing and developing direct reports.
• CIPD qualified.
• Advanced level of Microsoft Office.
• Experience of HR information systems and using data to provide business insights.

Commercial:

• Demonstrates a good understanding of our business model, how it makes money and how HR can support that.
• Demonstrates the ability to balance employee support with commercial decisions.
• Experience partnering with Finance to drive commercial people decisions and plans.
• Credible influencer:
• Uses professionalism and a combination of HR knowledge and commercial nous to influence and gain commitment from all stakeholders.

Driven to deliver:

• Demonstrates determination, resourcefulness and purpose to deliver the best results for the business. Delivers on promises and commitments. Responsive and communicative.
• Collaborative:
• Works effectively and inclusively with a range of people both inside and outside the business.

Courage to challenge:

• Shows courage and confidence to speak up even when confronted with resistance or unfamiliar circumstances.

Curious:

• Inquisitive and future-focused. Seeks out new and innovative ways to add value to the company.
• Decisive thinker:
• Demonstrates the ability to analyse and understand data and information quickly.
• Uses information, insight and knowledge in a structured way to identify options, make recommendations and make robust, defendable decisions.

Agility:

• Able to flex and adapt to changing demands in a fast moving environment.

IPG Mediabrands is the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). Mediabrands manages approximately $40 billion in marketing investment globally on behalf of its clients and provides strategic services and solutions across its award-winning, full-service agency networks UM and Initiative and through its innovative marketing specialist companies Reprise, Magna, Orion, Rapport, Healix, Mediabrands Content Studio and the IPG Media Lab. Mediabrands clients include many of the world’s most recognizable and iconic brands from a broad portfolio of industry sectors. The company employs more than 13,000 marketing experts in more than 130 countries representing the full diversity of humanity. For more information, please visit our website: www.ipgmediabrands.com.