HR Business Partner

Summary

The HR Business Partner (HRBP) serves as the primary strategic HR contact for NCS's Field Service and Install organization - a distributed team of approximately 450 employees across nearly every U.S. state, ranging from Operations Directors and managers down to field service technicians, installers, and supervisors. Partnering closely with the HR Manager and a dedicated HR Generalist, the HRBP advises and coaches people leaders, manages complex employee relations matters, and drives initiatives in retention, performance, and manager capability across multiple time zones and a wide range of management styles. This is a hands-on partner role for someone who thrives supporting an hourly and field-based workforce in a multi-state environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as trusted advisor and coach to people leaders across the field org (Ops Directors, Operations/Install/Sr. Ops Managers, TSMs, and supervisors), supporting a wide range of management styles and experience levels.
• Manage and resolve complex employee relations matters, including investigations, conflict resolution, performance concerns, and exit decisions, partnering with the HR Manager and legal as needed.
• Guide managers through the full performance management cycle - goal setting, reviews, calibration, coaching plans, and performance improvement plans.
• Advise on multi-state employment law compliance, ensuring HR practices align with varying state and local requirements across the field footprint.
• Analyze turnover and engagement trends for field, service, install, and warehouse roles, and partner with operations to develop and execute retention strategies.
• Support workforce and organizational planning, including org design, leveling, staffing needs, and succession for the regional structure.
• Partner with operations and EHS leaders to reinforce safety and compliance expectations within the field workforce.
• Lead or support change management efforts as the organization grows and restructures.
• Provide input on compensation, leveling, and offer decisions in partnership with the HR Manager.
• Build people-leader capability through coaching, training, and consistent application of HR policy and practice.
• Partner with and provide direction to the HR Generalist on day-to-day execution, escalations, and process improvement.
• Champion the use of AI for continuous improvement, partnering across HR to redesign and automate processes rather than simply speeding up existing tasks.

Qualifications

Required

2-4 years of HR experience, including direct support of hourly and corporate/support-function populations.

• Bachelor's degree in Business Management or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Working knowledge of multi-state employment law and the ability to apply it across a distributed workforce.
• Demonstrated experience handling employee relations matters and coaching managers.
• Strong judgment, discretion, and the ability to build trust with leaders at multiple levels.
• Effective communication and influencing skills across time zones and varied management styles.
• A working understanding of what AI tools can do beyond routine tasks (e.g., drafting), with a demonstrated willingness to learn, experiment, and apply them to improve real processes.

Preferred

• SHRM-CP or PHR certification.
• Experience supporting a field-based, service, or distributed/multi-site workforce.
• Familiarity with HRIS systems and people analytics.

Working with the HR Generalist

This role is supported by a dedicated HR Generalist who handles the operational and transactional HR work for the department, allowing the HRBP to focus on strategic partnership and complex matters. The general dividing line:

HRBP (this role) - strategic, advisory, complex judgment

• Complex/sensitive employee relations and investigations
• Manager coaching and performance management consultation
• Workforce planning, org design, and leveling
• Multi-state compliance strategy and risk decisions
• Retention strategy and engagement initiatives
• Change management and people-leader capability building

HR Generalist - operational, transactional, employee-facing day-to-day:

• Onboarding/offboarding logistics and new-hire coordination
• HRIS data entry, records maintenance, and reporting
• Leave/benefits question triage and routine administration
• First-line employee questions and tickets (escalating complex matters to the HRBP)
• Compliance documentation (I-9s, postings, file management)
• Training and meeting logistics