HR Business Partner

001 The Northern Trust Company; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 115,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k & Pension

Medical & Dental

Paid Time Off

Parental & Caregiver Leave

Life & Disability Insurance

Well-being Benefits

Equity & Bonus Program

Job summary

Northern Trust seeks an experienced HR Business Partner to support COO Business Services, Technology, and Chief Data & Analytics Office. You will partner with senior leaders to align people strategy with business goals, coach leaders, and influence workforce planning.

You will translate data into insights using analytics and AI-enabled tools, drive change initiatives, manage risk, and coordinate with COEs to deliver practical HR solutions across the global enterprise.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field.
• Experience: 8+ years in HR Business Partner or comparable role.
• Strong consulting and advisory capability with proven experience coaching senior leaders.
• Ability to analyze data, assess risk and apply sound judgment to inform and influence decision-making.
• Deep domain expertise across HR policy, practice and process, with a strong understanding of how HR disciplines integrate.
• Highly collaborative relationship manager with foundational knowledge of workforce planning and organizational design.
• Effective communicator with the ability to explain complex or sensitive information, build consensus and lead change initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems, apply best practices and act as a resource for less experienced colleagues.
• Experience leading or contributing to small projects with manageable risk and resource requirements.
• Strong awareness of the external market and competitive environment.
• Experience in Workday preferred

Responsibilities

• Strategic Business Partnering: Partners with leaders to understand business goals and challenges; brings people and workforce implications into business decisions early and proactively.
• Workforce planning and talent foresight: Translates business strategy into workforce needs (skills, capacity, roles, timing); anticipates risks and gaps rather than reacting late.
• Organization design & effectiveness: Advises on team design, role clarity, spans of control, and ways of working; supports reorganizations and improvements to how work gets done.
• Leader coaching and talent decisions: Coaches leaders on performance, development and difficult talent decisions; builds leader capability rather than taking ownership away from leaders.
• Change leadership & transformation: Supports or leads change initiatives by translating enterprise change into local impact; focuses on readiness, adoption, and sustained outcomes.
• Data analytics and AI-enabled insights: Uses people data, analytics, and AI-enabled tools to surface insights, tell a story, and inform decisions; shifts conversations from reporting to meaning and implications.
• Succession and Leadership planning: Partners with leaders on identifying critical roles, assessing readiness, and defining development actions; senior HRBPs shape longer-term succession strategy.
• Culture, Engagement & Inclusion: Helps leaders understand how behaviors drive culture and engagement; embeds inclusive practices into everyday people decisions.
• Risk Management & Employee Relations: Facilitates navigation of complex employee cases with support from ER SMEs; balances policy, risk, fairness, and employee experience while identifying systemic issues.
• HR Solution integration with COEs: Acts as the integrator between the business and HR COEs (Talent Acquisition, Talent, Learning & Development, Rewards, DEI)
• Enterprise influence and facilitation: Facilitates leadership and talent discussions and represents HR credibly in business forums; influences outcomes through trust, insight, and judgment.

Skills

HRBP

Coaching leaders

Data analytics

Workday

Stakeholder management

Change management

Policy & compliance

Risk assessment

Communication

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in business administration

Tools

Workday

Job description

About Northern Trust

As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions. Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide. With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Head of HR Consulting for COO Business Services, Technology, and Chief Data & Analytics Office, this individual contributor role will support client groups within our Business Services groups in the Enterprise Chief Operating Office. This role serves as one of several HR Business Partners aligned with senior leaders within this organization to ensure effective coordination between business clients, the HR Consulting Function and HR Centers of Expertise (COEs) to strategically and proactively deliver HR solutions.

Key responsibilities

• Strategic Business Partnering: Partners with leaders to understand business goals and challenges; brings people and workforce implications into business decisions early and proactively.
• Workforce planning and talent foresight: Translates business strategy into workforce needs (skills, capacity, roles, timing); anticipates risks and gaps rather than reacting late.
• Organization design & effectiveness: Advises on team design, role clarity, spans of control, and ways of working; supports reorganizations and improvements to how work gets done.
• Leader coaching and talent decisions: Coaches leaders on performance, development and difficult talent decisions; builds leader capability rather than taking ownership away from leaders.
• Change leadership & transformation: Supports or leads change initiatives by translating enterprise change into local impact; focuses on readiness, adoption, and sustained outcomes.
• Data analytics and AI-enabled insights: Uses people data, analytics, and AI-enabled tools to surface insights, tell a story, and inform decisions; shifts conversations from reporting to meaning and implications.
• Succession and Leadership planning: Partners with leaders on identifying critical roles, assessing readiness, and defining development actions; senior HRBPs shape longer-term succession strategy.
• Culture, Engagement & Inclusion: Helps leaders understand how behaviors drive culture and engagement; embeds inclusive practices into everyday people decisions.
• Risk Management & Employee Relations: Facilitates navigation of complex employee cases with support from ER SMEs; balances policy, risk, fairness, and employee experience while identifying systemic issues.
• HR Solution integration with COEs (Centers of Excellence): Acts as the integrator between the business and HR COEs (Talent Acquisition, Talent, Learning & Development, Rewards, DEI), ensuring solutions are practical, aligned, and business-relevant.
• Enterprise influence and facilitation: Facilitates leadership and talent discussions and represents HR credibly in business forums; influences outcomes through trust, insight, and judgment.

Skills and experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related field
• Experience (8+ years) operating in a HR Business Partner or comparable role.
• Strong consulting and advisory capability with proven experience coaching senior leaders.
• Ability to analyze data, assess risk and apply sound judgment to inform and influence decision-making.
• Deep domain expertise across HR policy, practice and process, with a strong understanding of how HR disciplines integrate.
• Highly collaborative relationship manager with foundational knowledge of workforce planning and organizational design.
• Effective communicator with the ability to explain complex or sensitive information, build consensus and lead change initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex problems, apply best practices and act as a resource for less experienced colleagues.
• Experience leading or contributing to small projects with manageable risk and resource requirements.
• Strong awareness of the external market and competitive environment.
• Experience in Workday preferred

Salary

Salary Range: $114,500 - 194,700 USD. Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay.

Benefits

• retirement benefits (401k and pension)
• health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability)
• paid time off
• parental and caregiver leave
• life & accident insurance
• other voluntary and well-being benefits
• discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component

Work Authorization

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa).

Reasonable Accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at [e-mail], or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.

Looking for greater? You found it.

A global financial leader with more than 22,000 employees in 23 locations worldwide, Northern Trust empowers our employees to achieve more than just business goals. Our focus on work-life balance, career mobility and unique opportunities are just a few of the reasons we’ve been named one of the world’s most admired companies.

Terms and Conditions

Candidate Privacy Notice California Applicant Privacy Notice Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision (U.S) Transparency in Coverage Disclosure - North America Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If, because of a medical condition or disability, you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center or call 1-800-807-0302 (North America), [phone] (Asia Pacific), 1800-425-0333 (India), [phone] (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

APAC/INDIA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy and practice of Northern Trust to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Northern Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion or belief, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. All employment decisions will be made in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with our obligations under the law and codes of practice. This includes human resources' decisions relating to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, transfers, promotions and access to learning and development.

Canada EEO STATEMENT

Northern Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Hiring and other employment decisions at Northern Trust are made without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, ethnic origin, age, disability, citizenship, veteran status, sexual orientation, record of offences, marital status, family status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, or local law, regulation, or ordinance. This includes human resources' decisions relating to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, transfers, promotions and access to learning and development.

EMEA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy and practice of Northern Trust to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Northern Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion or belief, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. All employment decisions will be made in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with our obligations under the law and codes of practice. This includes human resources' decisions relating to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, transfers, promotions and access to learning and development.

USA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy of The Northern Trust Company to afford equal opportunity in all phases of employment without regard to an individual's age, race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic tests and information, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status or any other legally protected status. EEO Know Your Rights (U.S.)