HR Business Partner III

Jobtailor; Torrington (CT); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking an HR Business Partner to align workforce strategies with production planning and financial goals. You will partner with plant leaders to drive people initiatives, manage labor costs, and ensure policy compliance across the site.

You will coach managers, lead investigations, support training, and help build a high-performance culture. This role requires strong HR generalist experience with a focus on engagement and development.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive HR experience including at least 2 years in an HR Business Partner or strategic HR generalist role.
• Strong experience in employee relations, performance management, employee engagement, learning & development, compensation practices, training support, and workforce planning.
• Understanding of US employment law and ability to apply HR policies with consistency, fairness, discretion, and sound judgment.
• Ability to build credibility with leaders and employees through listening, clear communication, follow-through, empathy, and accountability.
• Comfort coaching managers and helping teams strengthen goals, feedback, engagement, and development practices.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, including presenting sensitive information to employees and leaders at all levels.
• Strong knowledge of US employment law; Mexico/Canada/California expertise is a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred; relevant HR experience may substitute for a degree.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and HRIS, ATS, LMS, and reporting systems.
• Primarily office-based work with occasional production-floor and lab settings; travel ~20%.
• Authorized to work in the U.S.; visa sponsorship is unavailable.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Director of HR and plant leaders to align workforce priorities with production forecasts and business goals.
• Collaborate on headcount planning, overtime, attendance, workforce utilization, hiring targets, and labor-cost opportunities.
• Support employees and leaders across shifts; conduct complex investigations and coach managers on attendance, performance, and discipline.
• Coach plant managers and frontline leaders; support training in employment law, performance management, and people leadership.
• Identify critical manufacturing positions; support succession planning and development of high-potential talent.
• Coordinate training, tuition reimbursement, and manage external partners; maintain learning content.
• Partner with leaders and recruiting to support hiring goals, retention, engagement, and development.
• Work with EHS to reinforce safety culture and OSHA awareness, workers’ compensation, and wage-and-hour compliance.
• Support restructuring, automation, site expansions, and culture initiatives; collaborate with the HR team.
• Review market data and organizational needs to advise on pay decisions and workforce structure.
• Drive initiatives on turnover, hiring, absenteeism, engagement, internal promotions, and cost management.

Skills

Employee relations

Performance management

Workforce planning

Communication

Coaching

Labor law knowledge

Training & development

HR policies & compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field

HR certification (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Office

HRIS

Applicant Tracking Systems

Learning Management Systems

Reporting Systems

Job description

• Partner with the Director of HR and plant leaders to connect workforce priorities with production forecasts, staffing models, operational plans, and business goals
• Collaborate with HR, Operations, and Finance on headcount planning, overtime, attendance, workforce utilization, hiring targets, and labor-cost opportunities
• Support employees and leaders across all shifts, conduct complex investigations, and coach managers through attendance concerns, performance improvement plans, corrective actions, and disciplinary processes
• Coach plant managers, supervisors, and frontline leaders and support training in employment law, performance management, employee relations, accountability, and people leadership
• Identify critical manufacturing positions, support succession planning, and develop high-potential employees and internal talent
• Identify development needs, coordinate training and tuition reimbursement, manage external partners, maintain online learning content, and facilitate relevant programs
• Partner with leaders and recruiting resources to support hiring goals, retention, engagement, performance, and development practices
• Partner with EHS to reinforce safety culture and support OSHA awareness, workers’ compensation, return-to-work programs, and employment and wage-and-hour compliance
• Support restructuring, technology and automation implementations, site expansions, consolidations, workforce reductions, and culture initiatives
• Support and collaborate with the five-person site HR team across all shifts
• Review market data, job responsibilities, and organizational needs to recommend pay decisions, job evaluations, and workforce structure
• Drive initiatives and report progress related to turnover, hiring, absenteeism, engagement, internal promotions, compliance, safety, and labor costs

Requirements

• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including at least 2 years in an HR Business Partner or strategic HR generalist capacity
• Strong experience in employee relations, performance management, employee engagement, learning and development, compensation practices, training support, and workforce planning
• Understanding of U.S. and regional employment law and ability to apply HR policies with consistency, fairness, discretion, and sound judgment
• Ability to build credibility with leaders and employees through listening, clear communication, follow-through, empathy, and accountability
• Comfort supporting HR processes, coaching managers, and helping teams strengthen goals, feedback, engagement, and development practices
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, including presenting sensitive, complex, or business-critical information to employees and leaders at all levels
• Strong knowledge of US and regional employment law, compensation, training, and workforce planning; Mexico, Canada or California expertise a plus
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field is preferred; relevant HR experience may be considered in place of a degree
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and ability to learn and use HRIS, applicant-tracking, learning-management, and reporting systems
• Primarily office-based work with occasional production-floor and lab settings
• Availability for approximately 20% travel based on business needs
• Must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S.; employment visa sponsorship is unavailable

Core Competencies

Demonstrates extensive HR expertise with a focus on employee relations, performance management, and workforce planning. Proven ability to partner with leadership to drive engagement, compliance, and development initiatives across diverse teams.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• 10+ Years HR Experience
• Employee Relations
• Performance Management
• U.S. Employment Law Knowledge
• HRIS Proficiency

Hard Skills

• Workforce Planning
• Compensation Practices
• Learning and Development
• Training Support
• Attendance Management
• Succession Planning
• Corrective Actions
• Disciplinary Processes
• Safety Compliance
• Labor Cost Management

Soft Skills

• Clear Communication
• Empathy
• Accountability
• Coaching
• Listening

Industry Keywords

• Employee Engagement
• Performance Improvement Plans
• OSHA Awareness
• Workers' Compensation
• Return-to-Work Programs

Tools & Technologies

• Microsoft Office
• HRIS
• Applicant-Tracking Systems
• Learning-Management Systems
• Reporting Systems