People Partner

tms; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

tms is seeking a progressive People Partner to empower our Global People team and support designated client groups. You will drive strategic HR initiatives, workforce planning, and talent development to improve engagement and business outcomes.

You will partner with leaders to design organizational structure, optimize performance processes, and enable a high-impact employee experience across learning, succession planning, and culture initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, Business Admin, or related field; 3–5 years in a People Partner/HR Generalist role.
• Solid knowledge of core HR practices: employee relations, performance, development, compensation, employment law.
• Strong strategic, analytical, and relationship-building skills; global experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted partnerships with leaders to translate business goals into people strategies.
• Advise leaders on organizational design, workforce planning, and leadership effectiveness.
• Shape the employee experience across onboarding, performance, learning, engagement, and culture.

Skills

People partner

HR business partner

Workforce planning

Data analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business

Job description

About Us

tms unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to drive transformational change for the world’s leading brands. With 1,200+ employees across 26 countries, we offer an impressive range of solutions – from inspiration and innovation to category management and delivery.

About Us

tms unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to drive transformational change for the world’s leading brands. With 1,200+ employees across 26 countries, we offer an impressive range of solutions – from inspiration and innovation to category management and delivery.

Operating as a creative agency, a strategic consultancy, a sourcing business, and a technology provider, we engage with over 110 million customers every single day for our clients, including McDonald’s, T-Mobile, O2, Starbucks, and adidas.

Most importantly, we’re a place where you can achieve great things, and be recognized as the best.

What Matters The Most

Breakthrough, business-driving ideas come from extraordinary people with the freedom to be their most authentic selves at work. Authenticity and diversity are critical elements of our business. They can only be realized when we create access and equity for all. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging and aspire to be ever-evolving.

tms is a place where brilliant people are better together. If you want your ideas to be heard and to contribute to a culture of inclusion and authenticity, bring us your voice! Visit us at tmsw.com.

WHY WE THINK YOU WILL LOVE THIS ROLE

The People Partner will sit within our Global People team.

Proactivity. Agility. Strategic Thinking. Business Transformation.

The People Team exists to enable, empower, and support our people to unleash their potential and ultimately drive business performance through an unmatched employee experience.

We are seeking a progressive People Partner to assist in continuing to build a strong foundation in our HR Team, optimizing key areas such as Workforce Planning, People Analytics, HR Technology and Talent Management. We are looking for a hand raiser, unafraid of a challenge.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Drive Strategic People Partnership: Build trusted, influential partnerships with leaders across designated client groups, developing a deep understanding of their business objectives, organizational priorities, and talent needs. Translate business strategy into forward-thinking people strategies that strengthen organizational effectiveness, elevate the employee experience, and drive business performance.
• Advise and Influence Leadership: Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to leaders, managers, and employees, providing strategic counsel on organizational design, workforce planning, leadership effectiveness, talent development, employee engagement, and complex people matters. Challenge conventional thinking, offer fresh perspectives, and influence decisions that balance business needs with the employee experience.
• Shape the Employee Experience: Champion a culture where people feel engaged, supported, and empowered to do their best work. Partner with leaders to develop and implement impactful people initiatives in the areas of workforce planning, onboarding, performance, learning and development, engagement, recognition, and culture.
• Drive Talent and Performance Excellence: Lead the performance management strategy and cycle for designated client groups, including goal setting, mid-year and annual reviews, ongoing feedback, and individual development planning. Equip leaders to build high-performing teams, strengthen accountability, identify development opportunities, and create meaningful career pathways that support both individual growth and organizational success.
• Champion Talent Development and Succession Planning: Partner with leaders to identify critical talent, assess organizational capabilities, strengthen succession pipelines, and develop strategies to attract, retain, and grow top talent. Collaborate with Talent Management and Learning & Development to build leadership capabilities and prepare teams for future business needs.
• Enable Organizational Growth and Transformation: In partnership with the Director, People Partner, lead and support organizational effectiveness and change management initiatives that enable business transformation and growth. Help leaders navigate organizational change, assess people and culture impacts, strengthen communication and alignment, and ensure teams are equipped to adapt and thrive.
• Leverage People Insights to Drive Action: Use workforce data, employee feedback, engagement insights, exit interview findings, and emerging people trends to identify opportunities, anticipate challenges, and inform strategic recommendations. Translate insights into actionable initiatives that improve retention, strengthen engagement, enhance organizational health, and deliver measurable impact.
• Navigate Complex Employee Relations and Performance Matters: Provide thoughtful, balanced, and solutions-oriented guidance on employee relations, performance concerns, workplace challenges, and employee development. Coach managers to lead with confidence, consistency, and empathy while mitigating risk, fostering accountability, and supporting a fair and inclusive workplace.
• Collaborate Across the People Function: Partner closely with our HR Centers of Excellence, including Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Total Rewards, HR Technology, and People Operations, to deliver integrated people solutions. Connect business priorities with functional expertise, identify opportunities for innovation, and ensure people programs are relevant, effective, and aligned with organizational objectives.
• Champion Continuous Improvement and Innovation: Identify opportunities to evolve people practices, streamline processes, and enhance the effectiveness of HR programs and services. Bring forward new ideas, challenge existing approaches, and contribute to the development of scalable, forward-thinking solutions that strengthen the People function and the broader employee experience.

Skills And Experience We Would Like You To Have

• Education & Professional Experience: Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Typically, 3–5 years of progressive experience in a Human Resources Business Partner, People Partner, or HR Generalist role, with demonstrated experience partnering with leaders to deliver people strategies that support business objectives.
• Strong HR Foundation: Solid knowledge of core HR practices, employee relations, performance management, talent development, compensation, and applicable employment legislation. Experience applying sound judgment to complex people matters and translating HR principles into practical, business-focused solutions. PHR/SPHR or SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP certification is preferred.
• Passion for People & Culture: A genuine passion for creating an inclusive, engaging, and high-touch employee experience. Committed to fostering a culture where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to grow, contribute, and do their best work.
• Strategic & Commercial Mindset: Ability to connect people strategies to business priorities, understand organizational and financial drivers, and balance employee needs with business objectives. Demonstrates curiosity, sound commercial judgment, and the ability to identify opportunities that create meaningful business and people outcomes.
• Relationship Building & Influence: Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to build trusted relationships, influence stakeholders, and partner effectively with leaders at all levels. Confident providing constructive challenge, navigating competing priorities, and influencing decisions through credibility, insight, and sound judgement.
• Analytical & Data-Driven Thinking: Comfortable interpreting HR metrics, workforce trends, and employee feedback to identify opportunities, anticipate challenges, and inform recommendations. Able to translate data and insights into actionable strategies that strengthen organizational effectiveness and the employee experience.
• Global HR Experience: Experience supporting geographically distributed teams and navigating the complexities of partnering across different markets, cultures, and time zones is an asset.
• Agility & Prioritization: Thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment where priorities can shift quickly. Able to think critically, act decisively, and balance competing demands while maintaining accuracy, sound judgment, and attention to detail. Takes ownership of priorities and adapts seamlessly to evolving business needs.
• Project Management & Execution: Strong project management, organizational, and execution skills, with the ability to lead multiple initiatives simultaneously, manage competing deadlines, and drive projects from concept through implementation. Brings structure, accountability, and a solutions-oriented mindset to delivering impactful results.
• Global HR Experience: Experience supporting geographically distributed teams and navigating the complexities of partnering across different markets, cultures, and time zones is an asset.
• Continuous Learning & Innovation: Demonstrates curiosity, a growth mindset, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Actively seeks opportunities to learn, share best practices, improve processes, and contribute new ideas that enhance the effectiveness of the People function.

Starting salary between $90,000-$95,000

If you have any questions about the job, we are open to discussing this role further, so please feel free to get in touch.