Human Resources Business Partner

Thales Canada; Sherbrooke; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Extended Health

Dental

RRSP matching

Paid vacation

Employee discounts

Job summary

Thales Canada is seeking an on-site Human Resources Business Partner in Burlington. You will act as a strategic partner to manufacturing leadership, aligning people strategies with production goals and organizational performance.

This role covers workforce planning, talent management, and employee relations across North America. You will collaborate with HR Directors and COEs to implement global HR programs, drive continuous improvement, and ensure regulatory compliance while promoting a safe,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (B.A./B.S.) or MBA with 7–10 years in manufacturing.
• Proven success leading talent management, organizational development, and change initiatives.
• Ability to provide strategic advice, options, analyze risks, and make sound judgments.
• Understand business lifecycle and apply commercial principles to strategies.
• Advocate Thales values and lead in a matrixed environment.
• Collaborative, influential, and able to coach at all levels within the organization.

Responsibilities

• Partner with site leadership to align HR initiatives with production goals and growth.
• Provide strategic guidance on workforce planning, talent management, and change management.
• Collaborate to identify workforce capability needs and future growth.
• Support workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding, and succession planning.
• Lead or participate in HR projects supporting strategic priorities and accountability.

Skills

Strategic partnership

Talent management

Organizational development

Change management

Workforce planning

Employee relations

Leadership coaching

Data-driven decision making

Education

Bachelor's degree or MBA with 7–10 years in manufacturing

Tools

Workday

MS Office

Job description

Human Resources Business Partner

Location: Burlington, Canada

Thales people architect identity management and data protection solutions at the heart of digital security. Business and governments rely on us to bring trust to the billions of digital interactions they have with people. Our technologies and services help banks exchange funds, people cross borders, energy become smarter and much more. More than 30,000 organizations already rely on us to verify the identities of people and things, grant access to digital services, analyze vast quantities of information and encrypt data to make the connected world more secure.

Position Summary

This is an on-site position in Burlington

This position is eligible for the Americas referral program for external candidates: Tier 1 - $1500 Referral Bonus.

The Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) serves as a strategic partner to manufacturing leadership, driving people strategies that enable safe, efficient, and high-performing operations. This role partner with Business leaders to algin HR initiatives with operational objectives, workforce capability, employee engagement, and organizational performance across the manufacturing environment.

The HRBP partners closely with site leadership to attract, develop, engage, and retain a skilled workforce while ensuring compliance with employment legislation, company policies, and regulatory requirements. This role provides proactive HR guidance across workforce planning, talent management, employee relations, performance management, organizational design, change management, succession planning, and leadership development.

Working in collaboration with the HR Director, NORAM Manufacturing, the HRBP translates business priorities into actionable people strategies that support production goals, continuous improvement initiatives, and a culture of accountability, safety, inclusion, and operational excellence.

The HRBP builds trusted relationships with manufacturing leaders, front-line managers, and HR Centers of Excellence across North America.

Essential Functions/Key Areas of Responsibility

• Partner with the Site Director and Manufacturing Leadership Team to develop and execute people strategies that align with business objectives, production requirements, operational priorities, and organizational growth.

• Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to manufacturing leaders by providing strategic guidance on workforce planning, organizational design, talent management, employee relations, performance management, leadership development, succession planning, and change management.

• Collaborate with business leaders to identify workforce capability needs, anticipate labor requirements, and develop talent strategies that support operational excellence, productivity, and future business growth.

• Support workforce planning activities, including recruitment, onboarding, retention, workforce optimization, organizational restructuring, and succession planning to ensure staffing aligns with changing business and production demands.

• Partner with manufacturing leadership and TA to support labor planning, production ramp-ups/ramp-downs, shift changes, and workforce flexibility initiatives to meet changing customer and operational demands.

• Lead organizational change initiatives by assessing organizational impacts, developing change management strategies, minimizing business risk, and fostering employee engagement throughout business transformations.

• Partner with the HR Director and Centers of Excellence (COEs) to implement and sustain Global/Group HR programs, including Talent & Performance Management, Succession Planning, Compensation, Recognition, Learning & Development, and Employee Engagement initiatives.

• Provide workforce analytics and data-driven insights to support strategic decision-making, identify organizational trends, monitor workforce health, and recommend solutions that improve operational and business performance.

• Serve as the primary HR partner for employee relations matters across the manufacturing site(s), providing guidance and coaching to leaders and employees on workplace concerns, policy interpretation, conflict resolution, investigations, corrective actions, disciplinary matters, performance improvement plans (PIPs), and terminations while ensuring fair, consistent, and legally compliant outcomes.

• Partner with Payroll, Risk Management, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), and business leaders to administer payroll-related matters, Workers' Compensation claims (WSIB or applicable Provincial Workers' Compensation Boards), disability management, return-to-work and modified duty programs, leave administration, and regulatory reporting while ensuring timely case management, regulatory compliance, and minimal operational disruption.

• Partner with manufacturing leadership and Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) to promote a strong safety culture by supporting Occupational Health & Safety initiatives, environmental compliance, employee well-being, and safe work practices throughout the manufacturing environment.

• Partner with HRIS to maintain organizational and workforce data integrity within Workday by conducting regular audits of organizational structures, reporting relationships, employee records, and workforce data to support accurate reporting and informed business decisions.

• Promote a positive, inclusive, and high-performing workplace by reinforcing Thales' values, leadership expectations, employee engagement, accountability, collaboration, respect, and continuous improvement.

• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, provincial, and local employment legislation, company policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements.

• Maintain productive relationships with external agencies, regulatory bodies, and service providers, including Workers' Compensation Boards, Employment Standards authorities, Human Rights Commissions, and other governmental agencies, as applicable.

• Lead or participate in cross-functional HR and business projects that support Group, Business Line, Country, and Manufacturing strategic priorities, ensuring successful execution of key milestones and deliverables.

• Drive continuous improvement by evaluating HR processes, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and the employee experience, and implementing best practices that enhance organizational effectiveness.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree (B.A./B.S.) from four-year accredited college or Masters in Business Administration with a minimum of 7-10 years of related experience of working in a manufacturing environment; or an equivalent combination of education and experience

• Demonstrated success leading talent management, organizational development, effectiveness and/or change management initiatives

• Proven ability to provide strategic advice, develop options, analyze risks, make good judgements and solving problems

• Demonstrate an understanding of business lifecycle and models and uses this to make effective business decisions, applying commercial principles into strategies

• Act as an advocate for Company values, role modelling the Thales Leadership Model at all times and ensuring others act as role models within the function and leadership team

• Ability to work collaboratively on teams as well as influence and coach effectively and independently with all levels within the organization

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment and flexible in adapting and responding to changing situations

• Effective written and verbal communication skills

• Proficient in Microsoft Suite: Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Workday

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting manufacturing, industrial, engineering, or operations-based environments within a global, matrixed organization.

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Organizational Psychology, Organizational Development, or Business preferred.

The reference Total Target Compensation (TTC) market range for this position, inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target, is between Total Target Cash 100,000 - 140,000 CAD Annual.

This reflects how companies in a similar industry and geographic region generally pay for similar jobs. This range helps the Company make pay decisions as one data point among many. Where a position falls within this range is also dependent on other factors including - but not limited to - the employee’s career path history, competencies, skills and performance, as well as the company’s annual salary budget, the customer’s program requirements, and the company’s internal equity. Thales may offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s status protected by local, state, or federal law.

AI

We use artificial intelligence-enabled tools as part of our recruitment process to support activities such as candidate discovery, résumé matching, and interview scheduling. These tools may help screen and assess applications and recommend potential matches based on the requirements within the job description. All hiring decisions, including candidate evaluation, selection, and disposition, are made by human recruiters. Artificial intelligence does not make hiring decisions on our behalf.

Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following:

• Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, Cancer Care Program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.
• Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.
• Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave.
• Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.
• Employee Discounts on home, auto, and gym membership.

Thales is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Thales is committed to providing accommodations in all parts of the interview process. Applicants selected for an interview who require accommodation are asked to advise accordingly upon the invitation for an interview. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of providing an accessible candidate experience.

About Thales

In a world that is increasingly fast moving, unpredictable - and full of opportunities, trust is essential for societies to flourish. Trust in our institutions. Trust in our systems. Trust in technology. Trust in each other.

And the people we all rely on to make the world go round, they rely on Thales. They come to us with big ambitions: to make life better, to keep us safer.

From the bottom of the oceans to the depths of space and cyberspace, we help our customers navigate uncertainty with confidence and new frontiers with optimism. Thinking smarter and acting faster - mastering ever greater complexity and every decisive moment along the way.

We collaborate to architect and deliver high technology solutions that are both imaginative and resilient, human-centered and sustainable. So that together we can harness the extraordinary power of technology to build a future we can all trust.

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