Job Title: Human Resources Business Partner
Job Description
The Human Resources Business Partner plays a key role in managing Canadian-wide HR operations while serving as a strategic partner to operations teams in a manufacturing and technical environment. This role supports approximately 150 employees across production, manufacturing engineering, and process engineering groups, providing guidance on the full employee lifecycle and collaborating closely with leadership. The HR Business Partner drives HR programs, implements continuous process improvements, and coaches frontline leaders to enhance employee experience and organizational effectiveness.
Responsibilities

• Manage Canadian-wide HR operations, including maternity, short-term, and disability leaves, ensuring accurate administration and compliance with applicable policies and procedures.
• Coordinate onboarding and offboarding activities across Canadian business groups, providing a smooth and consistent experience for new hires and departing employees.
• Act as the primary HR business partner supporting leaders across designated operations groups, including production, manufacturing engineering, and process engineering.
• Partner closely with operations leadership to support approximately 150 employees at the Waterloo facility, aligning HR initiatives with business objectives.
• Advise managers on employee lifecycle activities, including hiring, internal movement, and separations, to support workforce planning and organizational effectiveness.
• Coach leaders on employee relations, performance management, conflict resolution, accommodations, and employee experience, promoting fair and consistent people practices.
• Drive key HR programs and annual processes, including recruitment, onboarding, compensation cycles, performance reviews, training initiatives, engagement activities, and compliance requirements.
• Collaborate with leadership to identify talent needs, build succession plans, and support strategic workforce initiatives that enable long-term business growth.
• Leverage HR systems and people analytics to generate data-driven insights, interpret workforce metrics, and provide recommendations that support decision-making.
• Partner cross-functionally with EHS, Finance, Operations, Quality, and Facilities to support business objectives, organizational change initiatives, and continuous process improvement.
• Coach and mentor junior supervisors on the production floor, strengthening leadership capabilities and supporting a positive and productive work environment.
• Contribute to continuous improvement efforts in HR processes and administration, identifying opportunities to streamline workflows and enhance service delivery.
• Demonstrate strong business acumen by understanding operational priorities and aligning HR strategies with manufacturing and technical business needs.
• Support HR administration activities as needed, ensuring accurate documentation, record-keeping, and adherence to internal policies.
• Take initiative to propose and implement new HR processes and practices that improve efficiency and employee experience within a large organizational setting.

Essential Skills

• Proven experience as an HR Generalist or HR Business Partner, ideally gained in a manufacturing and technical environment.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with operations teams such as production, manufacturing engineering, and process engineering.
• Comfort working with numbers and data, including interpreting HR metrics and using people analytics to inform recommendations.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to understand operational priorities and translate them into effective HR strategies.
• Solid knowledge of HR operations, including leave management, onboarding, offboarding, and HR administration.
• Experience advising managers on employee lifecycle activities, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness.
• Skill in coaching leaders on employee relations, performance management, conflict resolution, accommodations, and employee experience.
• Ability to drive HR programs and annual processes, including recruitment, compensation, performance management, training, engagement, and compliance.
• Effective leadership communication skills, with the ability to influence and build trust with leaders and frontline supervisors.
• Capability to act as a business partner to operations teams, providing strategic and practical HR support.
• Proficiency using HR systems and tools to manage data and generate insights.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Continuous improvement experience or certification, with the ability to support and champion process improvement initiatives.
• HR experience supporting production, manufacturing engineering, and process engineering groups.
• Experience in continuous process improvement and business analysis within an HR context.
• Strong interpersonal and coaching skills to mentor junior supervisors on the production floor.
• Ability to work effectively in a large organization and navigate complex stakeholder relationships.
• Exposure to leaders, such as Directors, with the confidence to provide counsel and challenge constructively.
• Experience collaborating cross-functionally with EHS, Finance, Operations, Quality, and Facilities teams.

Work Environment
This role is primarily based on-site in an office environment supporting operations at a manufacturing facility, with one day per week work-from-home flexibility available after an initial three-month ramp-up period.
Working hours are flexible within typical daytime schedules, such as 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM or 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The Human Resources Business Partner works closely with operations leadership and supports approximately 150 employees across production, manufacturing engineering, and process engineering groups, while other functions such as research and development, sales, finance, and corporate teams are supported by other HR partners.
The environment offers the advantages of a large organization, including clearly defined growth opportunities, the ability to take initiative, and the chance to implement new processes that positively impact both employees and the business.
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Waterloo, ON.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $75000.00 - $98000.00/yr.
Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Waterloo,ON.