HR Business Partner

ntrs; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 115,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Northern Trust in Chicago seeks an experienced HR Business Partner to support the COO Business Services, Technology, and Chief Data & Analytics Office, aligning HR solutions with business goals and priorities.

You will partner with senior leaders to translate business strategy into people plans, coach leaders, design organization structures, and drive change initiatives using data and AI‑enabled insights to inform decisions.

Qualifications

• 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

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

HR Business Partner

Consulting

Data analytics

Change management

Communication

Workday

Education

Bachelor's degree in business administration or related field

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 Range:

$114,500 - 194,700 USD

Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a comprehensive benefits package including 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, and other voluntary and well-being benefits. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may incl