Associate Dir, HRBP
Fortvita Biologics
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Job summary
Fortvita Biologics, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, seeks an Associate Director, HRBP to partner with our growing U.S. organization as a trusted HR advisor.
This role emphasizes organizational effectiveness, talent development, and strong California employment law expertise to support leaders from frontline to senior management. The ideal candidate will navigate complex ER matters, lead performance management cycles, and drive workforce planning and organizational design initiatives in a
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
- 12+ years of progressive HR experience, including a minimum of 5 years as an HRBP.
- 4+ years in biotechnology or pharmaceutical, with clinical-stage company experience.
- Deep, current knowledge of California employment law — FEHA, ADA, FMLA, CFRA, WARN, and multistate compliance requirements.
- Proven experience managing complex employee relations matters, including investigations, PIPs, disciplinary actions, and terminations.
- Experience with performance management, organizational design, workforce planning, and change management.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders across all functions, providing proactive, solutions-oriented HR counsel that enables organizational and individual performance.
- Translate business strategy into people priorities, aligning organizational design, workforce planning, and talent decisions with Fortvita's goals.
- Coach and influence leaders on organizational effectiveness, team dynamics, change management, and culture — acting as a credible champion for both the business and the employee.
- Manage investigations, disciplinary and corrective actions, and terminations with consistency, fairness, and legal compliance; partner with Legal as appropriate.
- Guide managers through complex people situations, building their confidence and capability to address issues proactively; complete trend analysis of ER cases and recommend systemic solutions.
- Lead the full performance management cycle, including goal setting, mid-year and annual reviews, calibration sessions, and performance improvement plans; coach managers on feedback.
- Partner with HR leadership and senior leaders on workforce planning and organizational design decisions; assess organizational health to identify gaps.
- Collaborate on compensation planning, merit cycles, promotion decisions, and pay equity reviews; support recognition programs that reinforce Fortvita's values.
- Analyze HR metrics and workforce trends; develop dashboards that give leadership visibility into attrition, engagement, performance, and headcount.
- Lead or support HR projects as the people function grows; partner with Total Rewards, Payroll, Finance, Legal, IT, and L&D to deliver integrated HR solutions.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Preference is San Francisco Bay Area - Hybrid
Travel up to 10% required
Fortvita Biologics is a San Francisco Bay Area–based biopharmaceutical company advancing next-generation biologics with the goal of addressing critical health needs. Building on our foundation in oncology, we are expanding into cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, immunology, and ophthalmology, applying our scientific rigor and platform capabilities to areas of growing global health burden. Our expertise covers antibody discovery and engineering, including monoclonal, bispecific, and polyspecific antibodies, as well as antibody-drug conjugates, all supported by development strategies rooted in thoughtful design and agile execution.
Our clinical development footprint covers the U.S., Australia, and key regions across APAC and Europe, including the EU, UK, South Korea, and Japan. With more than 100 professionals across research, development, regulatory, and operations, we bring deep expertise and a global perspective to every program. Guided by our mission to transform research breakthroughs into therapeutic excellence and driven by our vision to improve lives through scientific innovation, we are committed to delivering meaningful impact for patients around the world.
Fortvita Biologics is seeking a strategic, execution-oriented, and people-first Associate Director, HRBP to serve as a trusted HR partner to our growing U.S. organization. This high-impact role sits at the intersection of business strategy and people excellence — advising leaders, driving organizational effectiveness, and building the HR foundation that will carry Fortvita through its next phase of growth.
The ideal candidate brings deep business acumen to partner effectively with leaders at every level, from front-line managers to senior leadership, along with deep California employment law expertise and strong employee relations experience. This individual will be a visible, respected partner who is equally comfortable coaching leaders through change and navigating complex ER matters.
- Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders across all functions, providing proactive, solutions-oriented HR counsel that enables organizational and individual performance
- Translate business strategy into people priorities, aligning organizational design, workforce planning, and talent decisions with Fortvita's goals
- Coach and influence leaders on organizational effectiveness, team dynamics, change management, and culture — acting as a credible champion for both the business and the employee
- Serve as the primary HR resource for employee relations matters, managing investigations, disciplinary and corrective actions, and terminations with consistency, fairness, and legal compliance
- Partner with Legal as appropriate and keep HR leadership and relevant business leaders updated on the status of ER issues
- Guide managers through complex people situations, building their confidence and capability to address issues proactively
- Complete trend analysis of ER cases and recommend systemic solutions to HR leadership, ensuring all matters comply with California, multistate, and federal employment law — including FEHA, ADA, FMLA, CFRA, and applicable wage and hour regulations
- Lead the full performance management cycle, including goal setting, mid-year and annual reviews, calibration sessions, and performance improvement plans
- Coach managers on delivering meaningful, growth-oriented performance conversations and ongoing real-time feedback
- Facilitate talent reviews, succession planning, promotion decisions, and career development discussions, and partner with leaders to close capability gaps across the organization
- Partner with HR leadership and senior leaders on the implementation and assessment of workforce planning
- Support organizational design decisions — restructuring, span of control analysis, role clarity, and reporting structure optimization — and assess organizational health to identify capability gaps and structural inefficiencies before they become performance problems
- Partner with the HR team and managers on compensation planning, merit cycles, promotion decisions, and pay equity reviews, ensuring Fortvita remains competitive and internally equitable
- Advise managers on compensation philosophy and pay decisions, and support recognition programs that reinforce Fortvita's values and culture
- Identify leadership development needs and partner with HR leadership to design and deliver programs that build manager capability, including new manager onboarding
- Lead employee engagement initiatives, implement interim processes to measure engagement, and translate engagement data into action plans with leadership
- Serve as a visible, authentic champion of Fortvita's culture and a culture of continuous learning
- Interpret, apply, and communicate HR policies consistently and fairly, and ensure ongoing compliance with California and federal employment law, including proactive monitoring of regulatory changes
- Support accommodations processes, HR audits, and continuous improvement of HR operations and workflows
- Analyze HR metrics and workforce trends, and develop dashboards that give leadership visibility into attrition, engagement, performance, and headcount
- Partner closely with Total Rewards, Payroll, Finance, Legal, IT, and Learning & Development to deliver integrated HR solutions, and drive continuous improvement of HR processes and tools
- Lead or support HR projects as the people function grows, shifting priorities based on business need and supporting the HR team outside of HRBP scope when required
Other duties as assigned
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
- 12+ years of progressive HR experience, including a minimum of 5 years as an HRBP
- 4+ years in biotechnology or pharmaceutical, with clinical-stage company experience
- Deep, current knowledge of California employment law — including FEHA, ADA, FMLA, CFRA, WARN, and California wage and hour regulations — plus multistate compliance requirements
- Proven experience managing complex employee relations matters, including investigations, PIPs, disciplinary actions, and terminations
- Experience with performance management, organizational design, workforce planning, and change management
- Master's degree or MBA
- SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification
- Experience supporting high-growth organizations through rapid scaling, including building HR programs and infrastructure in a startup or growth-stage environment
- Familiarity with Workday HRIS and performance management systems
- Strategic business partnership — Builds trusted advisor relationships with leaders and earns a seat at the table through insight and impact
- Leadership coaching — Develops manager capability through direct, actionable, and empathetic coaching conversations
- Employee relations expertise — Navigates complex ER matters with sound judgment, consistency, and a fair, balanced approach, in partnership with Legal
Fortvita is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants and do not discriminate based on any protected characteristic under applicable federal, state, or local law. This includes but not limited to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, or hair texture and style. Harassment or discrimination on the basis of any protected trait is strictly prohibited.
We do not accept unsolicited resumes from staffing agencies or search firms. Any resume submitted without a signed agreement will be considered unsolicited, and Fortvita will not be obligated to pay any fees.
Applicants must have legal authorization to work in the United States. In compliance with federal law, all new hires will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the U.S. and complete Form I-9 upon hire.
Employment at Fortvita is at-will. This means that either the employee or the company may terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause or advanced notice. This job description is intended to describe the general nature of the work being performed and does not constitute a contract or guarantee of employment. Fortvita reserves the right to modify job duties or responsibilities at any time, based on business needs.
Reasonable accommodation: If you require reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact Fortvita’s Human Resources team at hiring@Fortvitabio.com. We are dedicated to ensuring all applicants have equal access and opportunity throughout the recruitment process.
Employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a background check and any other requirements permitted by law.
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