HR Business Partner - Talent & Employee Relations

• Job Title: HR Business Partner - Talent & Employee Relations
• Location: Cambridge, ON (In-Office)
• Position Type: Full-time Regular
• Vacancy Status: This position will be Vacant in November
• AI Disclosure in Hiring: Artificial intelligence (AI) may be used to assist with certain aspects of the recruitment process, including the initial review and screening of applications. Final hiring decisions are made by Human Resources and hiring managers.

Role Summary

The HR Business Partner is a hands-on role at the Cambridge site that combines direct delivery of HR services with practical advice and coaching for leaders on their people matters. A collaborative member of the Human Resources team, the role owns the talent lifecycle day to day, from recruiting and onboarding through performance, development, succession and offboarding, and handles the site’s day-to-day employee and labour relations. The role also administers pension and benefits and manages WSIB claims.

The Director, Human Resources owns site-level HR strategy, collective bargaining, arbitrations and complex employee and labour relations matters, with the HR Business Partner providing hands-on support and escalating issues as appropriate. Working alongside the Director and other HR team members, the HR Business Partner spots people issues early, gives managers practical, compliant advice and does the work to put HR programs and practices in place. The role supports both non-union and unionized employees, applying Bimeda policies and procedures and the collective agreement consistently to minimize risk and ensure compliance with legislative requirements.

Key Role Specific Requirements

Day-to-Day Partnership with Leaders

Be visible and accessible on site, building trusted relationships with leaders, managers and staff and learning the business’s operations, priorities and workforce needs first-hand.

Work with leaders to turn departmental and Bimeda objectives into practical people actions and help carry them out.

Act as the go-to advisor and coach for managers on people decisions, communication and the application of HR policies and programs, stepping in to help with difficult conversations when needed.

Pull and review workforce data, BambooHR reports and employee feedback to spot issues and give leaders practical, fact-based recommendations.

Employee and Labour Relations

Advise and coach managers and staff on performance management, conflict resolution, progressive discipline, attendance management, accommodations and return to work, and handle cases hands-on, from preparing documentation to attending meetings.

Apply Bimeda policies and procedures for non-union staff and the collective agreement for unionized staff, and advise managers on how to do the same.

Conduct workplace investigations, including workplace conflict, harassment and workplace violence assessments, from interviews through findings and recommendations, and support the Director on more complex matters.

Respond to and help resolve grievances, and support the Director through arbitration and collective bargaining with research, documentation and preparation.

Build effective day-to-day working relationships with leaders, senior management and union representatives.

Recommend fair and compliant approaches, and keep thorough documentation and confidentiality on every file.

Compliance and Risk Management

Advise and train managers and staff on current and evolving legislation, including the Employment Standards Act, Labour Relations Act, Human Rights Code, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Pay Equity Act and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, so day-to-day decisions minimize risk and stay compliant.

Flag risks early and do the due diligence on files to protect Bimeda from unnecessary legal challenges regarding employment issues.

Liaise directly with legal, professional, community and government organizations and agencies.

Follow, write and update HR standard operating procedures (SOPs), policies and guidelines that bring efficiency and continuity to how HR work is done and help people managers act with speed, consistency and compliance.

Talent Acquisition and Onboarding

Own full-cycle recruitment, from workforce need and role definition through sourcing, selection, interviewing, offer and onboarding.

Work with hiring managers to define role requirements, write job postings and selection criteria, and source candidates through job boards, social media, networks, agencies and internal talent.

Screen candidates, schedule and conduct interviews, and coach hiring managers on fair, consistent and legally compliant selection decisions.

Prepare and extend offers, including salary positioning in line with compensation guidelines, reference checks and pre-employment requirements.

Run onboarding so new hires and managers have a consistent, positive experience that supports early engagement and retention.

Track recruitment metrics such as time to fill, source effectiveness and new-hire retention, and use them to fix what isn’t working.

Talent, Performance Management, and Succession

Run talent reviews, succession discussions, performance cycles and development planning, preparing the materials and facilitating the conversations.

Help leaders identify capability gaps, critical roles, retention risks and development priorities.

Advise leaders on, and coordinate, internal talent movement, promotions and career pathways.

Coach leaders through performance improvement, career development, recognition and employee engagement actions.

Workforce Planning and Organizational Change

Pull together headcount, capability and role-clarity information for workforce planning, and flag workforce risks.

Prepare business-unit analysis and recommendations for organizational structure discussions led by HR leadership.

Carry out approved structure and workforce changes, including preparing leaders, drafting employee communications and processing the changes.

Compensation, Benefits and HR Programs

Guide leaders through annual compensation, merit, job evaluation and salary administration, and process the work using established HR guidelines and approval processes.

Prepare business context and recommendations for salary positioning, promotions, and other compensation decisions.

Identify potential pay, retention, or internal equity concerns and escalate them through the appropriate review process.

Administer pension and benefits programs and manage WSIB claims from first report through return to work, advising employees and managers along the way.

Roll out HR programs and report back on adoption and business impact.

Develop, customize and deliver HR workshops and information sessions for managers and staff.

AI and HR Technology

Be a hands-on BambooHR power user: work in it daily and keep improving how it supports HR standards, onboarding and offboarding, job postings, employee documentation and other HR processes. Proficiency in BambooHR is a core expectation of the role.

Put AI and HR technology to responsible, practical use to improve the quality, speed and outcomes of HR projects and services.

Use AI tools to support analysis, research, drafting, workforce insights and process improvement, while applying sound judgment, accuracy checks and confidentiality.

Stay current on AI capabilities in HR and show leaders and HR colleagues how to use them effectively and ethically, in line with Bimeda policies and privacy requirements.

Change, Engagement, and Culture

Do the hands-on people work behind change, including transformation, restructuring, growth and process changes, and coach leaders through it.

Use engagement feedback and employee insights to build focused action plans with leaders and help follow them through.

Reinforce Bimeda’s Vision, Mission, Values and expected leadership behaviours through day-to-day partnership and de