Senior HR Business Partner

About Waystone  

Waystone is a leading asset-servicing solutions provider of institutional governance, administration, risk and compliance services to financial institutions. With over 25 years’ experience and a comprehensive range of specialist services to its name, Waystone helps our clients structure, operate and grow through our expertise, innovation and digitisation, backed by the operational scale to support global expansion

As a strategic partner to multiple business lines in the Waystone Group, the Senior HR Business Partner supports the Global P&D team and local senior management groups by acting as a strategic partner, focusing on alignment of business objectives with employees and management, work force relations, risk management, talent development, and organizational development.

The Senior HR Business Partner plays a critical role in supporting organisational transformation, including AI-enabled workforce evolution, business automation, and mergers and acquisitions. The role partners with senior leaders to ensure people strategies, organisational design, capability development, and cultural integration support sustainable business growth and value creation

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

AI, Automation & Digital Transformation

• Act as the People lead for AI and automation initiatives within assigned business areas, ensuring workforce implications are identified, assessed, and managed effectively.
• Partner with business leaders to identify opportunities to simplify, standardise, automate, and optimise people-related processes and operating models.
• Drive adoption of AI-enabled tools and ways of working, supporting leaders and employees through change management, capability building, and communication initiatives
• Advise leaders on the organisational design, workforce planning, and skills implications arising from AI, automation, and digital transformation programmes
• Support the identification of future skills requirements and reskilling/upskilling strategies to ensure workforce readiness for evolving technologies

Mergers, Acquisitions & Integrations

• Conduct HR due diligence activities, including assessment of workforce risks, employment obligations, organisational structures, reward programmes, retention risks, and cultural considerations.
• Partner with Corporate Development, Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders to support transaction planning and execution.
• Develop and deliver post-acquisition integration plans covering organisational design, leadership alignment, cultural integration, workforce harmonisation, and employee experience.
• Identify key talent within acquired organisations and implement retention strategies to minimise critical talent loss during periods of change.
• Assess and advise on employment law, regulatory, benefits, compensation, immigration, and employee relations implications associated with transactions across multiple jurisdictions.

Strategic Focus

• Act as a trusted global advisor and senior business partner to the senior leadership team, supporting to deliver people plans.
• Provide oversight with proposed solutions to Senior Leaders of all relevant risks and mitigations to be raised and addressed at exec level.
• Lead and manage projects and work streams arising from the people strategy and other initiatives, including change and transformation activity.
• Demonstrate high levels of commercial acumen and strategic thinking with the ability to work at pace across several senior business stakeholders.
• Translate the company people strategy at a functional level to ensure that function specific targets are met.
• Work with business leaders to continually evolve their functional organizational design in line with Waystone organizational design principles to ensure that the organization is fit to meet future business strategic aims.
• Support the central development and functional implementation of strategies to support a high-performance culture.

Operational Management:

• Working closely with functional leads and their teams to anticipate and identify critical business needs and drive an engaged, inclusive culture where everyone can belong.
• Deliver annual processes that drive greater business value through people i.e., leadership of the compensation processes & annual performance management process.
• Promote and leverage people MI, providing valuable and key insight to business leaders, translating data and trends into clear people priorities to influence and drive positive change.
• Coach and guide managers on organizational structural changes.
• Facilitate annual talent and succession planning activities.
• Lead the management of employee relations initiatives and issues, such as disciplinary, grievance, dismissal, through to employment regulation and law.
• Collaborate across functions to deliver key people activity through others in an evolving environment.
• Manage day to day HR operations including supporting in the functioning and delivery of processes relating to the entire employee - employer relationship, recruitment, onboarding, probation reviews and appraisals, through to any issues leading to termination.
• Develop processes and initiatives to aid expediency and efficiency of the HR function.

Leadership:

• Assess and anticipate HR-related needs, including proactive communication and business management.
• Formulate partnerships across the function to deliver value added service to management and employees that reflects the business objectives of Waystone globally.
• Support development and execution of change management plans, including communication strategies, in support of business change.
• Work closely with management and employees to improve work relationships, build morale, increase productivity and retention.
• Support the Global People team as and when required on strategic project work, such as ESOP, Strategic People initiatives, People Analytics, Mergers and Acquisitions, Integrations etc.
• Nurturing, coaching and mentoring team members and the wider HR community.
• Act as a point of escalation and support for the team and business in complex/critical issues.
• Support the HR team with coaching, challenging, and supporting senior managers on HR issues.

Governance & Risk:

• Ensure compliance with country legislation and employment laws.
• Align HR policies, programs and initiatives with business strategy, divisional goals and corporate culture, meeting legislative requirements and market norms.
• Provide guidance and input on business unit restructures, workforce planning, succession planning.
• At all times be knowledgeable and aware of best practices, regulatory environment and emerging legislation and ensure compliance with legal, audit and risk requirements as it relates to Waystone employees in your assigned jurisdiction.
• Manage and resolve complex employee relations issues. Conduct effective, thorough and objective investigations to support solutions.

REQUIREMENTS

Education:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree educated with a recognized professional HR designation (e.g. CIPD, GPHR etc.)
• A minimum of 10 years’ experience, with at least 5 years’ direct experience at a Manager or similar level.

Experience:

• Mature and proactive, with evidence of having worked as a true business partner to senior management within a multi-business organization.
• Proven core HR competencies, experience and knowledge of employment law.
• A demonstrated ability to lead and positively influence colleagues and team members.
• Must be highly adaptable, with exceptional communication, influencing and coaching skills.
• Delivery focused and able to demonstrate a highly customer centric service.
• Experience in strategically driving and implementing change.
• Understand operating in a COE model and how to leverage those relationships to deliver large scale projects.
• Strong experience working on a broad range of generalist deliverables such as, talent, coaching, development, employment law, engagement, performance, and compensation.
• A hands-on leader with integrity and a desire to work in a dynamic, mission-driven environment.
• Demonstrated leader with a passion for the organization’s mission is essential.